Ringstone Edge, 22 July

Great Crested Grebe 2

Cormorant 5

Common Gull 1

Stock Dove 2

Ringstone Edge

Tufted Duck male

Teal 4

British Cormorant, P c carbo, immature. The rear edge of the yellow gular patch slopes forwards below the gape

Pheasant female

Kestrel male

Pied wagtail 2 juveniles

Magpie juvenile

Shibden Valley, 12 July

Juvenile House Martins

Whiteholme

Tufted Duck

Soil Hill

  I had completed my route around Soil Hill and was just on my way back home at around 07:20. As I passed the Entrance Copse my attention was caught by a high-pitched call. Over the past couple of weeks there have been many high-pitched calls which made me think of Treecreeper, but they always turned out to be fledgling birds of one species or another, normally tits. Consequently, I did not expect this to be any different, but tried to spot the culprit regardless. It was quite the shock when I tracked down the source of this call to find that it was indeed a Treecreeper! And more than that, the bird showed very well perching in the open for excellent views and nice photos.

  This is a species I had often considered for a Soil Hill tick, and summer often seemed like the best time as juveniles disperse from nearby breeding woodlands. Hence my increased interest in the various high-pitched calls I had encountered over the last week or so. However, it still caught me off guard this morning, being my 135th species for the Soil Hill!

-Treecreeper

  Continuing on the theme of woodland birds recently on Soil Hill, on the 14^th June I encountered just my fourth Soil Hill Nuthatch on Taylor Lane before it flew strongly north. Of my four records of Nuthatch on Soil Hill, three have come in June with the other in April.

-Nuthatch

In total managed 42 species this morniong, the full list here; https://ebird.org/checklist/S362468677

Beacon Hill

2 singing Whitethroats

Shibden Valley

Singing Greenfinch

Shibden Park

Coot pair with 2 young

Beacon Hill

Long-tailed Tit juveniles