Luddenden Foot

No sign of the White Stork late morning or early afternoon though it was in the cow field around 8 am today (MB)

Withens Head

2 Ring Ouzels in the fields between Moorlands Farm and Withens Head Farm mid afternoon. 1 adult male and the other looked like a first summer male. Nick also got them though they were tricky to find hiding behind the walls! Also around 12 Wheatears in the fields from the wind farm car park area and a Little Owl also around.

Soil Hill

In the mist this morning:
11 Linnet
5 Lapwing
Buzzard through a gap in the mist and then back in.
GP calling
1 Peregrine shot through at close range - too quick for a shot.
At least 6 Sky lark
Mipits
2 female Wheatear

The sun came out and there was the gang of 4

Withens Clough, Cragg Vale

This aft' I did a circular walk from the Hinchcliffe Arms, up to the res', before taking the path along Turley Holes Edge as far as Higher House (they have applied to divert the public right of way past the renovated barn here), before returning along the brook.
I was hoping for tree pipit and maybe a cuckoo, but all in all it was very disappointing in a cold wind and squally showers.  All I could muster were a pair of stonechats, several willow warblers at various locations and a dipper on the brook.
My circular route was almost thwarted when I discovered the concessionary path across the dam was shut.  I was forced to take a more direct route.

Chris

White Stork

The ring as shown is too small to carry any information and probably just there to show it is a captive bird, shame that.

Elsewhere a flighty wheatear, a dozen mipit and 4 common sandpiper were at Warley Reservoir, can't see much chance of a wader fest this spring as every reservoir I've seen was overflowing.

Ski lake at Elland still covered in swallows.  Had a look up Luddenden Dean but couldn't see/hear anything out of the ordinary, need to go for a dawn visit really. Called in at Jay House Lane on the way back, only found 4 tree sparrows, suppose hens may be brooding but I had expected a few more.  Some of the hedges have been cut back exposing a few boxes, anyone know how many there are up there now?

Red Kites.Brighouse

Long shots of 1 of the 2 Kites over Brighouse this morning at 0900

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail on the side of the ski lake at EGP this aft

White Stork

We were alerted to a White Stork at Luddenden Foot by the Calderdale Countryside Service so I called in and managed good views and some photos before it flew off. Jim W will have some better photos...

The bird is ringed with a metal ring just above its left foot and is probably from Harewood.

Mixenden Res'r and Stodfold

This afternoon 1 drake Goldeneye still present on the res'r along with 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Oystercatcher and 2 Redshank. Elsewhere in the valley - 4 male Wheatears together, 1 Grey Wagtail, 10+ Linnet, 1 Reed Bunting, 3+ Skylark, 1 Chiff-chaff, 12+ Willow Warblers, lots of mipits, 2 Curlew, 1 Kestrel, 4 L B B Gulls, and a good number of resident Swallows around the local breeding areas.

Redpoll

Got A garden 1st today with a pair of Redpoll (M/F)this afternoon while trying out a naff scope I picked up on eBay the male flew into my view.

Cold edge Dams Friday Morning

5 lBBGulls east.2 reed Bunting, 1 Buzzard ,1 Raven,1 Whimbrel north,6 Linnets,5 swallows north,1 Grey Heron,4 Moorhen and 2 Wheatear

Swales Moor

It's stopped raining!!!! 1female Ring Ouzel on the top late morning. It headed off into the quarry and unable to relocate but it's probably still there this afternoon. 10 Wheatears on the top plus c12 Skylark, 20+ Measow Pipits, several Linnets and 1 Swallow >N and 2 Grey Partridge nearby.

Brighouse

From Mike Henshaw who has had trouble posting on the blog - a single Swift yesterday afternoon over at 16.40. Nice one Mike to go with Andy's earlier in the day at Cold Edge.

Round and about

Mixenden Res..Wens 2 redshank,1 Common sand,12 Swallows and 1 Grasshopper Warbler reeling briefly behind the plantation. Midgley area today ...1 Cuckoo and a raven carrying food. Cold edge dams...2 Oycs,2 redshank,3 Greylags,4 + Wheatear,4 Northern Golden Plover,and a Swift Brighouse..1 brambling on Garden feeders

Cromwell Bottom

From Mike H this morning - hundreds of Swallows feeding low over the ski-lake in the bad weather plus a few House Martins. How conditions - and the birds change. Yesterday afternoon in calm conditions 2 Swallows and 1 House Martin over the ski-lake. Today in pouring driving rain and only 5c degrees loads of birds trying to find enough to keep them alive. Always worth birding when the weather is bad!

Mosleden Quarry area

This is on the main road to Buckstones, on the right after crossing the motorway above Ringstone.

Male twite singing from the wire near the entrance tonight at 6pm. Any other twite sightings in the area?
(Marshalls have asked me to look out for them on their land and maybe start a feeding station - no general access as yet, but I'll try and get it for the bird and wildlife groups.)

The fields opposite look good for twite, with dandelion and sorrel mixed in.
Linnets are feeding there already, in fact there were 30- 40 either linnets or twite over the other side yesterday when it was raining.

Other birds: Willow Warbler, Swallow, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Dunnock, Kestrel, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Oystercatcher, Mallard, plus the usual corvids, Pheasant.

Cromwell Bottom

This afternoon there were a good number of Blackcaps, Willow Warblers and Chiff-chaffs but not a sign of Whitethroat, Garden Warbler or Reed Warbler - think things will change in the next week - hopefully. 2 Swallows and 1 House Martin heading straight through east but not one hirundine over the ski-lake 1 Cormorant 2 Mute Swan 2 Tufted Duck 2 m Goosander 1 Kingfisher several Reed Buntings 1 Goldcrest singing 1 Treecreeper 1 Sparrowhawk over high 1 L B B Gull over high

Shelf Moor

A search of Shelf Moor fields this evening found 13f and 2m Wheatears.
BS

High Royd Catch Up

Been without internet access so please bare with me on this post, I'm trying to visit every week day at least once but when possible twice. One of the joys of working a patch is the excitement more common birds can bring, for example my first House Martin of the year was made extra special by it also being my first at High Royd.

22/4 10:48 to 12:34

3 Blackcap (all males)
1 Willow warbler
1 pair Teal
3 Chiffchaff
4 Coot split over 2 nests
3 Canada Geese 1 nesting
1 Jay

22/4 18.47 to 20.45

1 Willow warbler
2 Chiffchaff
2 House Martin
10 Swallow
1 Sparrowhawk (raptors of any type are scarce at the site).

23/4 06:50 to 08:10

3 Blackcap
3 Chiffchaff
2 Willow warbler
3 Mistle thrush
1 Song thrush
3 Nuthatch (1 nest site has been found)
2 Swallow
6 Moorhen
1 Reed Bunting - male
1 Sparrowhawk
1 GSW
2 Jay

23/4 17:27 to 18:30

3 Chiffchaff
2 Mistle thrush
2 Grey wagtail
1 Blackcap
6 Swallow
1 Treecreeper
1 Willow warbler
1 House martin

24/4 07:20 to 08:50

4 Blackcap
3 Chiffchaff
1 Willow warbler - all reported ww are deep onto the site and as a result are recorded only on call.
1 Mistle thrush
1 Song thrush
2 Bullfinch - both males and surprisingly together
1 Grey heron
1 Alba wagtail
2 House martin
1 GSW
5 LTT (2 pair)
7 Moorhen
4 Teal (2 pair)
5 Swallow
1 Little Grebe (good to see this again after going missing - could the shoveler still be around??)
1 Jay - incredible vocalisation by this species of late, often quite subtle.
2 Collard dove

Right I'm off to see what another hour up there will bring.

Lowland Buzzards

I was delighted to see two Buzzards displaying together at a site I haven't seen them before East of Halifax.  They looked like a M and F to me with an obvious size distance.  Would they not be on eggs by now though if they were a breeding pair?