Mixenden Res'r

 I gave it a go late morning - shouldn't have bothered !!! That east wind was raw at the gate watch-point. Very few gulls though the conditions don't seem to deter them. 6 adult Herring Gulls looking immaculate on the water with another 7 of mixed ages went straight through >W. On the water c 40 B h Gulls and 16 Common Gulls and apart from a 30+ flock of Jackdaws over that was about it !

Swales Moor

Ringby Lane - Almost 2 hrs on the top there from mid morning produced 23 species in a cold SE wind at 5c. It took a while to find anything but I was pleased to pick out my first Skylark for the year - it didn't drop in, a flyover >E. Coincidently JJL also managed a Skylark on Soil Hill this morning. Both sites, until recent years, have supported a few wintering birds. It's good to see a hopeful return !

Meadow Pipits with a final count of 16 were playing hard to get, dropping in to the long grass.

As usual the site always has a large contingency of corvids. Today was no exception with around 90 Carrion Crows and c50 Jackdaws.

The big surprise as I tracked back down the hill was a small flock of c20 Linnets on the edge of the quarry in a very weedy area. This is another bird that used to winter up here with regularity, as well as Soil Hill. Both sites occasionally attraction the odd Twite. 

Around and about !

Mixenden Res'r - single Shelduck still there looking pretty settled but I expected it would have moved on this morning with a clear sky. 

Cold Edge - Mainly to check the goose flock (still hoping Whitefront Geese)! 86 Canadas and a single Greylag was about as good as it got along with 3 Meadow Pipits, 1 Reed Bunting and a Kestrel and a few small gulls, woodpigeons and corvids.

Beacon Hill area this afternoon - c25 Goldfinch and 11 Redwings + corvids, woodpigeons and small gulls was as good as it got but it was good to be out in the dry !

Mixenden res'r

Adult Great Black-backed Gull and the Shelduck still there today.

Mixenden Reservoir

It's always worth a check at local reservoirs at any time of the year. Winter can be pretty grim at times but there is always a chance of something turning up especially in inclement weather. This morning was no exception with mist on the tops and a very cold damp south easterly.

I went to the usual watch-point. Plenty Black-headed Gulls 60+ with a few Common Gulls and 16+ Herring Gulls including noisy adults. Gulls staying to bathe and preen with plenty of coming and going.

Scanning the waters edge on the west side was a Shelduck then later preening on the embankment where it seemed to stay most of the day with updates from NK and JJL. An annual but reasonably scarce bird in Calderdale.

Great Black-backed Gulls occasionally pass through in the winter months. Today was no exception as an adult arrived, a brutish looking bird but always great to see. Best I could do with the camera was a distant shot across to the other side of the reservoir.

Size difference with an adult Herring Gull showing to its left

Mixenden Reservoir has been pretty poor in recent years but from 2010 when an adult Little Gull turned up on 9th November the site has always been worth a check. Some special birds have been seen there with, what seems a lull since 'lockdown'.!! Up to that time some of the 'specials' recorded there have included Iceland Gulls, Mediterranean Gull, Smew, Gadwall, Great Northern Diver, Common Scoter, Avocet, Dunlin, Osprey and Whooper Swans (those are the ones off the top of my head). oh and a Black Swan that probably escaped from captivity.

Cold Edge

Grey Heron 2 adults. Both birds have some grey at bill tip and base - more on the right bird.

Moorhen with Mallards

Rochdale Canal.

Took a walk along the canal from Luddenden Foot towards Brearley this afternoon.

14 Siskin were feeding high up in canal-side alders along with a Buzzard over. Not a lot else other than 2 Dippers close together from the bridge over the Calder at Luddenden Foot.

One red-head Goosander, 2 Cormorants and plenty of Mallard about along the canal and on the lagoon at Brearley.

86 Canada Geese and a single, very noisy, unringed Barnacle Goose in the fields.

Cold Edge

Stonechat male

3 of 4 Stock Doves

Pair of Rooks touching bills

The 1941 Witherby handbook says that the male presenting food to the female is a common feature of Rook display. Also, fondling of bills is often observed in mated birds.

New Year

Going into 2026, I still think some of the most satisfying birding comes from marking out a patch on a map, and then trying to build a lengthy patch life list.

The patch needs to be not too far from home if you're not a regular driver, and it needs to be big enough to have a few different habitats. Water is a must, (unless you're an early riser who can catch early morning flyovers!).

Advantages of inland birding are that most patch lifers will not be scarce nationally, and most will not be too difficult to identify.

Year after year Nick comments that he does not receive enough records of common birds: for example in 2023 he had just 10 of Blackbird, 7 of Magpie, and 22 of Chaffinch. A regular patch watcher is more likely to record common birds, as well as scarcer ones.

Undisclosed location

Chinese Geese

Wainstalls

2cy (1st winter) Common Gull