Wheatley Valley

It's certainly been a quite challenging winter period with the 'lockdown' and the wet/cold/snowy and icy weather. Certainly tough for wildlife too with short daylight hours for feeding and foraging coupled with long dark cold nights for roosting. 

Despite this we have had quite a few reports over Calderdale of active Barn Owls during the daytime along with a few Little Owl and a couple of Short-eared Owls.

I've not ventured much further than the local patch, within walking distance - Wheatley Valley. Quite built up in some areas but there is the former landfill site along Shroggs Road, presently a very wet and boggy grassland and a slightly drier woodland. Some walks took us towards and beyond the former Webster's Brewery at Ovenden Wood and the Hebble Brook area. Shame about such a lot of discarded rubbish in places !

Best bird for me in this New Year was a Woodcock, flushed from grassland but it was away at pace - as they do. Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers and  a few Nuthatches as well but hardly any finches other than Goldfinch and Bullfinch both of which do not appear to be in short supply. A reasonable number of Blue/Great/Coal and  a few Long-tailed Tits in the landfill woodland and the valley areas as well as garden feeders.

A Grey Heron in the stream at the bottom of Brackenbed this morning was a bit of a surprise. Also a Mistle Thrush singing and a single Raven high overhead 'croncking'. Not many thrush species about around here other than Blackbirds. I was watching a Redwing this morning - it only just evaded capture by a Magpie at the last gasp ! 3 Fieldfare were also in Shroggs Park last week along with a few more Redwings. 

Just one skein of Pink-footed Geese recently with 65 >W (BS) on Saturday. Also a Water Rail today (GS) - an elusive bird at the best of times and certainly a scarce bird nowadays in Calderdale. 

22 very noisy Herring Gulls were flying around North Bridge for 10 mins or so at first light this morning. I'm not sure - but I did wonder if they had roosted on the roof of the Leisure Centre ! Always something to enjoy (and often puzzle about) when you're out and about. I just try not to miss whatever happens  !!