Friday, December 30, 2011

Mixenden, Soil Hill and Swales Moor

1 juv drake Goldeneye on Mixenden this morning.
7 Snow Bunts on the top at Soil Hill but flighty. Also 8 Skylark and 1 Reed Bunting with 1 passing Herring Gull SW.
All I could find at Swales was 1 Skylark and 1 Grey Partridge on the top with 1 second winter Herring Gull through SW
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5 comments:

Muxy said...

The Buntings were still very flighty in the afternoon, I thought they were off at one point. Also flushed a Snipe that to me looked small but I am not good enough to say for sure. 2 Cormorants on Ogden and plenty of Goldcrest.

3:18 pm
Brian Sumner . said...

Don,t mention Herring gull to Nigel, its a sore point, especially over Soil Hill.

7:49 pm
David Sutcliffe said...

Hi Muxy - if you have a Collins Guide it has some really good points on the different shape, flight pattern and differences when flushed. Often difficult as they both zoom off pretty fast. Snipe usually call and zig-zag off usually gaining height whereas Jacks lift without a call and usually drop back into vegetation after 50 meters or so. These are not diagnostic but are good pointers to identification.

10:05 pm
Andrew Huyton said...

Muxy good jizz tips from Dave but one other good point is that Common Snipe tend to flush easily often from tens of yards away where as Jack Snipe well you need to stand on them (well almost - and I mean that quite literally). Again not definitive but coupled with Dave's tips if you almost stand on a snipe and it takes off and then lands not far away without making a sound it's worth walking over the area it went down in (chances are no matter how slowly you walk and hawk like your eyesight you'll flush it again).

11:34 am
Muxy said...

Thanks. Everything you said and I have subsequently read points to Jack snipe but i can't be sure. Would have been 2nd first in a week for me.

3:04 pm

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