Friday, February 12, 2021

Ogden

Off the beaten track a bit up there this afternoon thinking maybe Crossbills in the plantations but very few cones now on the spruce trees, so that idea failed .

I was surprised to find a group of 5 Goldcrests feeding on the ground in the snow underneath the spruce trees All feeding frantically for survival, obviously trying to pick out minute insects probably having been blown off the branches in the frozen and ongoing wintry conditions. For their sake I hope they survive to enjoy a bit of respite if/when the weather warms up a little for them.

I couldn't get all five together in the frame so this one will have to do

Wave after wave of gulls  passed over >SW late afternoon. I didn't start a count but maybe 1,000+++. They have been moving late afternoon in this direction for several weeks now being seen over Pellon, Highroad Well and West End. We don't appear to have a roosting reservoir in Calderdale so we're not sure where they are heading for - maybe to the Hollingworth Lake or Blackmoorfoot roosts ???
The majority are Common Gulls with a good number of  Black-headed Gulls, a few Herring Gulls and at least one adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.
Common Gull
Black-headed Gull
immature Herring Gull

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