Cold Edge

Kestrel female

Blackbird juvenile. Ginger

Also:  Willow Warbler 2,  Spotted Flycatcher 1

Cold Edge

Gadwall female. The bird was seen at quite close range when I stepped up from the path west of Leadbeater dam to view Haigh Cote dam. It was swimming with the 'resident' juvenile Scaup. It was flighty, and quickly departed east, while the Scaup stayed put. My photo is not sharp, but shows enough to make the identification. The head is quite plain, and paler brown than the body. The bill is slim, with the proximal two thirds of its side orange. Some of the dull white in its speculum is visible. The tail side is brown, not white.

Stonechat juvenile moulting into adult plumage

Cold Edge

Stonechat 6, including 1 juvenile and a female carrying food

Ogden

Great Crested Grebe 1

Cold Edge

'Continental' Cormorant, P c sinensis. The rear edge of the yellow gular patch drops vertically from the gape. This bird was present 2 days ago: it stood away from the carbo birds, and was noticeably less bulky than them.

Greenfinch adult female and juvenile. The female's underparts are streaked. The juvenile has streaked upper- and underparts, and there is only a small amount of yellow in the wing margin.

Stonechat juvenile. The wing margins and rump are orange

Some of 31 Lapwings

Scaup 1 juvenile

Buzzard 2

Another shot of the immature sinensis Cormorant, showing the rear edge of the gular patch dropping vertically from the gape

Cold Edge

Cormorant: 1 adult, 2 immatures. The adult is 'British', P c carbo, with the rear edge of the yellow gular patch sloping forward below the gape

Withens Head - 19th August

A Black Redstart fem/imm appeared to arrive late afternoon along with 3 Whinchats and a juvenile Stonechat. No camera with me but thankfully had the scope which is always a help up there, They appeared around 16:30 and were still around when I left. Best viewed from the roadside opposite the wind-farm car park.

20th August - no sign of them this morning though the heavy rain did not help ! 

I went to check Fly Flats, the mist was in and out with the rain. Again,a scope job found 3 Common Sandpipers present and 50+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 2 Black-headed Gulls along with a single female type Tufted Duck.

A message from BS at Ogden with a nice find of a single Ruff on the shoreline prompted me down there. I just got very wet and failed to re-locate it.

Cold Edge

Kestrel, female or juvenile

Carrion Crow adult with 3 juveniles

Adult Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. The Herring Gull is missing white-tipped primaries, probably P7-10, exposing the distal part of the tail

Scaup 3 juveniles. The bills are diagnostic

Cold Edge

Caspian Gull, probably 3rd calendar year (3cy). The bird is of similar size to the Lesser Black-back next to it, but with a smaller head and thinner bill. It has a white head with a long sloping forehead, and a dark eye set forward. The yellow bill is long, slim, parallel-sided, and with a dull red spot on the lower mandible. The greyish-pink legs are long. The upperparts are fairly pale grey, with some grey-brown greater coverts, and faint brown streaking on the neck side. The dark primaries project well beyond the tertials, with a single mirror.

Cold Edge

Scaup. The bird was shy, staying on the opposite side of the dam from where I was sitting. It dived repeatedly. It has a steep forehead, and then its profile curved smoothly from crown to nape to hindneck. There was no crest or lump at the nape, although when it faced away from the wind, its nape feathers were at times slightly lifted by the wind (3rd photo). Its body is broad. It has a long broad bill, with black confined to the tip, and no pale grey subterminal band. Its wing bar is white, strongest on the secondaries - similar to Tufted.

Mixenden Reservoir - 15th Aug

 Had a stroll around Carrs Beck, Hunter Hill and Mixenden Reservoir this morning.

Not a great deal of activity other than lots of Swallows and a few House Martins on Hunter Hill. Several Stonechats about along with a Green Woodpecker calling.

Just got to Mixenden Res'r and a lot of commotion from the resident Carrion Crows. Seems they were giving an Osprey some hassle before it flew out over the water and made it's way up towards Ogden. Just about managed some distant photos, heavily cropped. 

A nice early returner, hopefully a few more reports pending as autumn approaches.