Lee Mount

This afternoon - out in the garden - Redwing call heard and 3 flew over >W just over the trees of Shroggs Park

Pink-footed Geese on the move as well this morning including 3 small skeins over Ovenden towards Claremount with other skeins reported over Leeshaw and Oxenhope as well as the Gorple area. BS, TM, HC, AC

Ringstone

                                          Ringstone today

Merlin 1
Buzzard 1
Common Tern 3
Lapwing C300
Ruff 2
Golden Plover 9
Snipe 7
Canada Goose C400
Tufted Duck 2
Cormorant 2
Black-headed Gull 300+
Common Gull C20

Fly Flatts and Withens Head

Fly Flatts
4 Stonechats along the top road.
12 Tufted Duck
6 Teal
2 Mallard

Black Redstart still at Withens Head Farm - this afternoon favoured the red tractor and sheltered side of the farm. Also 1 Wheatear
3 Buzzard and 3 Grey Herons, all high >SW

Ringstone

2 Ruff still present in the big field by the reservoir till at least noon today.
Lots of B H Gulls and a few Common Gulls.
11+ Golden Plover
3+ Snipe
Lapwings and Starlings as well as mipits and alba wagtails.
1 Cormorant
1 Common Buzzard

Salterhebble

100+ Pink-footed Geese went over >E at 19:10 this evening.
We should be getting more in the next month or two !

Ruff

The Ruff left Ringstone heading towards Scammonden at 17:15 tonight.

Ringstone Edge

2 Ruff there this afternoon around 16:30 (JB and PD)

Cold Edge dams

2 Barnacle Geese still, with 80 + Canada's
A Whinchat with c6 Stonechats on the area of heather between the lower dam and the track.
1 Swallow
Lots of Meadow Pipits about and a large flock of c120 Goldfinch but strangely, no Linnets with them.
Distant Buzzard
2 Raven
1 Grey Heron

Around 30 B H Gulls on the dams but nothing else other than a few Mallard.

Count of the day was the field on the right just after Lumb Terrace - with 11 Moorhen together (just 2 juveniles).

Withens Head

Black Redstart still showing this morning on the farm roof (BS). I saw it briefly, same place then it disappeared. Checked Moorlands Farm as well but it failed to show there.
4 Wheatears at Withens Head
5 Mistle Thrush >W and a continuous move of Meadow Pipits, mostly high.
2 distant Buzzards put c30 Lapwings up on the moor
2 Kestrels

Yellow Wagtail

Thanks to Tom Balaam for these pictures of a Yellow Wagtail at Lower Gorple yesterday.

Pintails and Shoveler.

A few mega distant record shots of the three Pintails and one Shoveler identified by JB at Ringstone yesterday.

Black Redstart

Some nice pictures from John M from yesterday.

No further reports today as far as I know - but it will be there somewhere !

Black Redstart....

Some of my better shots - for the record only !

 Showing the white wing patch indicating a male

 Signs of moult on the breast and flanks pose the question is it a juvenile

 Undertail !

Breast and flanks with lots of moult ? Also is there still signs of a gape ??
Click on photo's to enlarge

Cold Edge and Withens Gap

Black Redstart present at Moorlands Farm this afternoon. Mostly brief views as it was always flitting about catching insects. This is probably the same bird seen at Withens Head Farm recently and is most likely flitting between the two sites. At Moorlands it is constantly harassed by a Robin which seems not to like its company, probably competing for the same food.
Seems like the bird had moved back to Withens Head around 4pm. (BS)
Nice to meet John M up there. We tried hard to get some decent photo's but I've not gone through mine yet ! I am looking forward to seeing shots of John's though !!

Not a lot else around the dams at Cold Edge but a Willow Warbler with 3 Coal Tits was nice to see.
2 Moorhen
2 Tufted Duck
44+ Goldfinch
1 Stonechat
1 Kestrel
Distant Buzzard

‘Pinks’

Several skeins of Pink- footed Geese over Warley Moor this morning >SE and >SW (BS). Counts will probably come later.

17th September

An interesting day...

4 Pink- footed Geese with 200 + Canada's at Ringstone (PD)

Highlight was a passing Honey Buzzard, distant >S over Ringstone at 12:30. (JB PD)

Black Redstart still at Withens Head. (BS AT JM et al)
Wheatears still being seen including at Blackstone Edge (AH), Fly Flatts and Withens Head.

Redstart and Chiffchaff at Roils Head. (Ncd)

Osprey and Red Kite earlier in the week (AC)

Commic Tern >N over the Oxenhope watchpoint (just out of our area) this morning 18th (HC)

Plus a few other 'bits and pieces' this week.
Quite a week so far !! What next.

Withens Head

Black Redstart still present this morning at the usual site (BS)

Unusual Sparrowhawk Plumage?

Had this in my garden on Sunday morning and I was struck by all the white in it's upperparts - can anyone age/sex it for me?

It had it's back to me for ten minutes and then, just before it took off it turned around for a couple of seconds - fantastic stuff!

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Blackstone Edge

This Wheatear was quite grey - ? juvenile

Redstart

1 Redstart still at Roils Head today and a Spotted Flycatcher, probably the latest one I have had locally, have they had a good year?

Roils Head

3 Redstarts today in the northern shelter belt at Roils Head.

Swales Moor

Ringby Lane this afternoon. Not a lot doing other than 60+ Carrion Crows and 30+ L B b Gulls in freshly manure fields - what a stink !!
1 Common Gull
1 Sparrowhawk
12+ Swallows
5 Stock Doves
15 Goldfinch
1 Linnet
c12 Meadow Pipits
1 Skylark

Black Redstart at Withens Head - the latest report was from yesterday evening, no news yet today as far as I know. UPDATE - Reported on BirdGuides early afternoon today.

Luddenden Dean

Not a lot of birds to report from there this morning but it was a lovely day to be out.

Birds of the day were - 2 Spotted Flycatchers at the top of Dry Carr (Clough Lane) along with at least one Willow Warbler (singing)! and 3+ Chiffchaffs with them. Maybe up to 10 Bullfinch in the area and 2 Dunnocks hiding away with the warblers had us wondering, until we got good sight of them!

Elsewhere
1 Green Woodpecker
2 Nuthatch
20+ Swallows
2 House Martins
1 Kestrel
2 Sparrowhawks
40+ Jackdaws
A few Meadow Pipit flyovers

Also from BS and JJL - Black Redstart still present at Withens Head today

Blackstone Edge

6 Canada geese.
Also, Whiteholme:  1 Wheatear

Roils Head

Found a Redstart this afternoon in the northern shelter belt at Roils Head, also a Wheatear here and another one at Highroad Well Moor.

Jayhouse Lane

One of three Whinchats found by John Marsh today at Jayhouse Lane

Mixenden Reservoir and Ogden golf course

Mixenden Reservoir
37 Canada Geese and a few Black-headed Gulls

Carrs Beck area
1 Whitethroat
4 Stonechats
Common Buzzard >N
A few Swallows about as well

Withens Head

Black Redstart showing very briefly this afternoon. I was there around an hour and had a 1 minute slot when it showed. With the wind blowing hard I found it by scanning from the cattle grid bay. It appeared on the sheltered side of the building on the roof and on the window ledge. Perhaps do better on a more hospitable day !
4 Wheatears getting blown about in the field

Top Withens

 
   Yesterday I went back up to the wind farm to see if
    the Black Redstart was still there and it was showing well
    for about 10 mins on the outhouse roofs but too far away
    to take a decent photograph, still nice that its still around.
    2 Wheaterar and 4 Meadow Pipit, 1 Kestrel and a flock of
    Starling were up there too.
    Cold Edge Road had 4 Whinchat, 8 Stonechat, 1 Wheatear,
    10 Canada's and a few unidentified, 6 Pied Wagtail on way
    up to wind farm along with lots of Swallows.
   
   

Whiteholme

2 Pochard