Northowram

15 Pied Wagtail
8 Bullfinch
7 meadow Pipit
2 skylark
2 GS woodpecker
1Sprhwk
3 Siskin
3 Cole Tit,8 Longt,tit

Boothtown Park & Ringstone Edge 13:00 - 16:45

Boothtown Park
3 x Peregrines over
M & F Brambling
M & F Bullfinch
M Sparrowhawk through
F Blackcap
also approx 6 Redwings,Mistle thrush,Blackbird,Blue/Great/Coal and Long tailed tit, Chaffinch,Goldfinch,Greenfinch,Wren,Robin,3 Pied Wagtails,Carrion Crow,Jackdaw,Magpie,Starling.

Krumlin
Female Kestrel,Goldfinch,Carrion Crow,Magpie.

Ringstone Edge including surrounding fields.
Little Owl
30 Golden Plover
27 Lapwing
3 Snipe
7 Meadow Pipit
1 Female Goosander
M & F Mallard
c30 B H Gulls
Female Reed Bunting,Chaffinch,15 Starling

Cold Edge 30th January

15 Greylag Geese, a pair of Goldeneye, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Red Grouse at Fly Flats. 1 Redpoll over Ovenden Wood, Pellon.

Fly Flatts

One Dipper, one Goldeneye and nothing else! Six Goosander at Withens Clough in the evening

28th January

13 Greylag Geese at Cold Edge + distant flock of geese seen going east over Halifax at 3.30PM.

Pellon - Mount Tabor 27th January

2 Coal Tits at the Golf Course, 2 Goldcrest at Roils Head. 8 Golden Plover at Highroad Well Moor, a Grey Heron and a Sparrowhawk at Ovenden Wood.
Male Stonechat at Heath Hill Road yesterday.

Lumbutts area

Longfield Dam, 11:30
1m Goldeneye
1f Wigeon
12 Lapwing
7 Canada Goose
c12 Mallard

While there, I saw a couple of flocks of gulls heading NE. First c40 Black-headed flying quite low over the Calder Valley, then a few minutes later I caught the end of a stream of mostly sub-adult gulls (Lesser Black-backed, Herring or both?), flying much higher, and numbering perhaps 200?

Lee Dam. 12:00
3m, 5f Goosander on main dam.
1 Grey Heron
Coal Tit present in trees.
Collared Dove heard calling in Lumbutts village.
House Sparrow colony at farm exceptionally noisy.

Roils Head 24th January

2 Reed Buntings and 5 Bullfinch feeding on Heather.

Gordon reported 18 Greylag and 1 Pink-fooed Goose at Cold Edge Dams on Saturday.

Shibden Valley and Holmfield 24th Jan

Upper end of Shibden valley today - a good number of Great, Long-tailed and Blue Tits and 1 Coal tit, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper and Little Owl, 20+ Redwings and 2 pairs of Bullfinch looking immaculate! Also Red Fox watched for half-hour catching several small rodents in a marshy field.

Beechwood Park in Holmfield also came up with Green and Great-spotted Woodpeckers, Kestrel, pair of Bullfinch and a Siskin over.

Whiteholme

60/70 Twite
1 Goldeneye
no other birds at all nothing

More pink feet

c.350 pink footed geese north over Jumble Hole at lunchtime

Lighthazzles

Just having a quick check on the Birdguides website and I came across a report of c.1430 Pink footed Geese west this morning over Lighthazzles, observer unknown. Also reported were 50+ Twite at the feeding station. I have spent the day in the Pilling area (west coast) looking for a reported flock of Twite which included colour ringed birds, talk about looking for a needle in a haystack! big area+ small birds = no success.

Afternoon walk 22nd January

Skylark at Roils Head, Stonechat at Norton Tower, 2 Little Owls, 1 Sparrowhawk and 75+ Lapwings at Heath Hill Road and a Bullfinch at Ovenden Wood.

Fieldfare

We watched a flock of approximately 60 fieldfare with 30 starlings in trees adjoining Keighley Road/Causeway Foot, Ogden and then in field at the junction of Syke Lane and Keighley Road, yesterday, Sat 21st. S E Drake.

Ringstone sat

1 jack Snipe
2 snipe
3 Goosander
1 cormorant
3 reed bunts
1 Meadow pipit
2 Teal
4 Mallard
1 Pied wag
1 Hare
1 Small Tortoishell (northowram)

Ovenden Wood 21st January

11 Redpoll west over Moor End Road this PM

Roils Head 20th January

2 Redpoll, 5 Bullfinch, 2 Reed Buntings, 1 Skylark, 75 Black-headed Gulls and 2 Common Gulls present this PM.

Roils Head 18th January

9 Redpoll present and 1 Meadow Pipit.
16th January, Peregrine south over Heath Hill Road and pair of Little Owls present.

Lower Gorple

Pretty poor today in strong winds. 2 pied wagtails, 2 canada geese, 1 reed bunting, 1 red grouse, 1 kestrel, 1 grey heron.

Lumbutts Area

Longfield Dam, 11:30
15 Lapwing
1 f Wigeon
6-8 Mallard
c50 Black-headed Gull
17 Canada Geese
1m Kestrel near Shepherds Rest

Lee Dam, 11:45
10 Goosander (2m 1f on top dam, 1m 6f on main)
1 Coot (on main dam)
1 Moorhen (also on main dam)
1 Jay
Flock of 150+ Starling
3 or 4 each of Fieldfare and Redwing with Starlings
Goldcrest heard
1m Kestrel - same one as above?

Northowram 14th & 15th jan

50 common Gulls,Small movment of GBB Gull and Herring Gull moving west,1 snipe, 1 skylark,15 meadow pipit ,1 redpoll ,12 siskin,30 Magpie,1 GSwoodpecker and a small influx of Blackbirds 12 in back garden.also first displaying Greenfinch.

Gorple

Two Pintail and a Raven today (per Pete Grice).

Possible Little Egret

Message received this morning that Les Midgley (Brighouse birder) had brief views of what he thinks may well have been a Little Egret near to where the two were seen in 2003. The bird was seen to fly off in the direction of Brighouse, local birders are on the case!

Error Walshaw Dean!

Sorry I got the date wrong - it should read 12th January not the 10th!

Fly Flats - 12th Jan

One female Goldeneye on the res'r and still a pair of Stonechats braving the elements near the access gate to the sailing club.

Walshaw Dean 10th Jan

Three skeins of Pink-footed Geese (370) flew over going west between 11 am and 12 noon; 70 + 180 + 120.

Drake Goldeneye on top walshaw res'r, 1 Kestrel and c50 Red Grouse over the moor. 1 f Goosander and 3 Siskin over Blake Dean.

1f Sparrowhawk over Crimsworth Dean and 30+ redwings in the crags woodland up the track towards Walshaw from Gibson Mill. 28 Goldcrests counted along the track from Gibson Mill to crags car park would seem to indicate a good number wintering in the crags.

Calderdale Birds

Ogden Res - 10th Jan
Went looking for Crossbills again this afternoon. No luck this time as the weather was very poor - wet and windy although there were some sheltered spots in the woods with c20 Goldcrests in different areas. 1 Dipper on the top pond, 80 Mallard + a few duck allsorts, 1 Canada Goose, 2 Moorhen, 30+ Common Gulls and 80+ Black Headed Gulls passing through towards Thornton Moor Res.

Well done Andy with 123 for Calderdale last year - can't get near that with 106!

Todmorden 9th Jan

Green Woodpecker heard on hillside behind Tod railway station at 08:20 - a good start for a very pleasant day at Leighton Moss.

8th January

3 Water Rails reported at High Royd, 2 seen + another heard.

2 Peregrines again on Dean Clough Tower AM. Female seen to take a Pigeon.

Roils Head 7th January

8 Bullfinch and 1 Reed Bunting present.

13 Waxwings reported near the Allan Fold, King Cross.

5th January

Phil Cunningham reported a strange dark duck on Fly Flats Res, seen from a distance without bins. Myself and Gorden went for a look but only a single Goldeneye present.1 Tufted Duck at Cold Edge Dams, a Stonechat at Roils Head and a fox nearby.

Whos Won ?

Whats this !.Yes its that time of year again when some lucky person will win the Hx Birdwatchers annual species Championship.John Beaumont is the proud owner at the moment and it will take some getting off his mantlepiece i can tell you.My score this year is 123 anyone who can beat this should let Gordon Denison know asap.
Yes they are Bald Eagles. 

Lumbutts area

Lee Dam, 10:45-11:15
11 Goosander (7M,4F) on main dam on my arrival. Some flew off later, leaving 3M and 3F which moved onto the smaller upper dam.
Not much else about, but Wren, Blackbird, Coal, Great and Blue Tits in the trees, and House Sparrows at the farm to the SW.

Longfield Dam 11:30ish
Carrion Crows much in evidence, but no winter thrushes this time!
1M Goldeneye
40 Canada Geese (+1 white "domestic" type)
4 Lapwing
6 Mallard
!

Ogden

The open area leading up to the stone circle produced 18 crossbills this afternoon at 2.40 pm. Quite flighty but very vocal and unfortunately unable to re-locate once they flew off into the lower woods.

Ogden 4th January

Dipped on Crossbills, missed them by 10 minutes.Distant Short-eared Owl, 2 Sparrowhawks, Red Grouse, Great Spotted Woodpecker and several Goldcrests present.DJS had Dipper but we missed that also. Fox at Mount Tabor on way home.

Recorder program

As we are at the start of a new year this is a good time for me to remind everyone that we have a computer program available to us (courtesy of the Bradford Ornithological group) for recording, storing and submitting your local sightings. The program includes a fully searchable database and is very simple to use. The Bird Club records are kept on this system which means you can submit your year end records to Nick Dawtrey with only a few clicks of the mouse! the records are then in a form that enables Nick to very easily add them to the "master database". If anyone wants a copy of the program (which is completely free) just E mail me on midgleybirder@yahoo.co.uk and I'll put a disc and instructions in the post.

Crossbills 3rd January

Iain Greenwood reports at least 11 Crossbills at Ogden at 3.00pm. Also Dipper here.

Peregrine reported on Dean Clough tower plucking a Pigeon this pm.

Stonechat at Heath Hill Road yesterday and dead Badger found here on 1st January was said to be a road kill.

Warland Reservoir

2 goldeneye
2 mallard
40 twite on the 'beach' at the north end. Couldn't get any colour rings from them.
Nothing on Lighthazzles or Whiteholme.