Friday, January 29, 2010

Upper Calder Valley Reservoirs and Dams

A good bright, dry and sunny (but chilly) day for a walk so...

Lee Dam
14 Goosanders - the most I've seen here. 6 male and 8 female.
Grey Heron
2 Mallards
Moorhen
2 Canada Geese
I bet none of these are here on Sunday when the postponed New Year Swim takes place!
Flock of about 60 Starlings with 9 Fieldfares keeping them company in the field above the Dam.
Gaddings Dam
Now 90% free of ice and a pair of Goldeneye there this morning, 1 male and 1 female
Warland Res
About 90% iced over and no birds visible
Light Hazzles Res
100% ice and no birds about
White Holme Res
80-90% ice and no birds to be seen
Blackstone Edge Res
Looked to be almost fully iced over still but didn't walk over to the NE corner to check - too cold.
Not even a Mipit to get excited about.
Higher Chelburn Res
4 Goosanders (1 male and 3 female) but outside our recording area.

47 mallards, a Grey Heron and 31 Canada Geese on the Rochdale Canal
Longfield Dam
2 Goldeneye, 1 male and 1 female. Probably the same pair I saw 5 hours earlier at Gaddings.
3 Lapwings
2 Mallards
16 Canada Geese in the field
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4 comments:

David Sutcliffe said...

You got about a bit today Jeff, shame nothing at the res'rs after all that effort. It only needs one bird! Bet you were ready for a butty after all that fresh air.

8:58 pm
Phil Wood said...

Full marks for effort - it's a few years since I've done the full thing (I never went to Chelburn, or was that a long-range observation?). I was amazed last Friday how much ice was left on Hollingworth Lake when I passed, let alone the higher reservoirs.
I'm sure I can't beat that Lee Dam Goosander number, and I'm sure I found they were beginning to thin out by late January when I used to watch regularly a few years ago.

12:17 pm
Jeff Cox said...

Thanks Phil - 10/10 for effort (16 miles in all) but 1/10 for birding results. Route back was on Pennine Bridleway which goes past Chelburn and comes out at Summit.
Hollingworth Lake looked free of ice through the bins from Blackstone Edge, but it could have been the sun glinting on the ice rather the water!

5:35 pm
Phil Wood said...

I confess I never got anywhere near 16 miles, as I used to do the outward (and uphill!) section by bus. I either caught the 528 from Littleborough up to the White House, or the 900 from Hebden Bridge to the top of Cragg Road, so it was along the flat of the Pennine Way then downhil at the end to Longfield or Lumbutts as the mood took me.

1:43 pm

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