Lee Mount - 23rd July

Heard a commotion from Lesser Black-backed Gulls this afternoon. Looked up, high a Red Kite also being mobbed by a Sparrowhawk was a very nice surprise. It headed off towards Dean Clough / Halifax.

Ringstone Edge

Coot 1

Great Crested Grebe 2

Ringstone Edge

 Tufted Duck 2m 1f

2 juvenile Grey Herons

Whiteholme

 Teal female

Close-up of the orchid first posted on 24 June

Beacon Hill

 Meadow Pipit carrying food

Whiteholme

 Tufted Duck

Orchid. I photographed this as a Common Spotted Orchid, and it does have a lip divided into 3 with the middle lobe a little longer than the side ones (ruling out Heath Spotted). However, the cuts between the middle and side lobes are quite shallow, and there are a lot of spots and not many lines on the lips - so it could be a hybrid of Common Spotted and Southern Marsh - which is common here. (Apologies - but the birding is quiet!)

Beacon Hill

 16 Linnets, including this female

Also, a Skylark singing

Around and about...

Luddenden - came across 2 juvenile Dippers along the stream-side this afternoon. They seemed to be feeding themselves, perhaps still relying on the adult birds though we didn't see any.

A Grey Heron was also lurking along the stream side so let's hope the Dipper chicks are not predated .

Earlier this week there were 3 Wheatears in the fields at Withens Head, a stunning male and two females. Time is going on for further migration so maybe they will stay for the summer /? We'll see.

Elland Gravel Pits

 2 of 3 juvenile Little Grebes

Moorhen: 1 of a pair of adults with 1 of 4 tiny young

Whiteholme

 Wheatear

Some of 23 adult Greylags (including 1 albino), + 2 Canadas

Southern Marsh Orchid

Also 140 Swifts west, and a probable juvenile Peregrine west - low over the water

Beacon Hill

 Little Owl adult

Whiteholme

 Common Sandpiper 2

Greylag family

Lighthazzles

 Common Cottongrass

Beacon Hill

 Female Bullfinch gathering food

Whiteholme Reservoir

 Absolutely no shoreline on show at the moment, but the island in the middle of the reservoir has reappeared from somewhere, so that's something to keep migrants down at least. 

 A smart drake Common Scoter was the only bird of note this morning, although always keeping its distance. Otherwise birds were limited to two migrant Curlews on the centre island which flew off NE, and then the usual species.

-Common Scoter

In total managed 19 species this afternoon, the full list here; https://ebird.org/checklist/S178324778

Beacon Hill

 Female Wheatear

Beacon Hill

 A clearer photo of the same Whitethroat

Beacon Hill

 Whitethroat

Also 5 Stock Dove

Bank Top

 Stock Dove

Cold Edge

 Willow Warbler

Tufted Duck pair

Swift: 4 north

Cold Edge

 Singing Greenfinch

Cold Edge

 Redshank

Also, a Cuckoo singing

Cold Edge

 2 of 7 Linnet

Cold Edge

 1 of 2 Common Sandpiper

Also, a female Pied Flycatcher: flew between fence post and wall, then flew north

Cold Edge

Female Wheatear

Soil Hill

  A very pleasant morning up the Hill today, with a nice surprise in the form of the returning Sedge Warbler singing, although generally elusive. Since the species only appeared for one day in the spring last year, I feared that it might not return this year, but very happy to have been proven wrong.

  Additional migrants included a new Chiffchaff on Ned Hill Track, plus seven Willow Warblers, four Whitethroat and two Wheatear. 

-Sedge Warbler

Cold Edge

Redshank

Cromwell Bottom, Whiteholme Reservoir & Hardcastle Craggs

Cromwell Bottom

  A warbler fest this morning with singles of Garden Warbler and Reed Warbler singing, plus seven Blackcap, 10 Chiffchaff and 2 Willow Warbler.

  Over the Ski lake there were my first Swift of the year, with two blogging high up. Additionally there were good numbers of Hirundines present. 

  Perhaps the biggest surprise was a female Brambling that flew past calling, giving excellent views of the birds white rump.

Garden Warbler

In total managed 41 species this morning, the full list here; https://ebird.org/checklist/S171258354

                                                       

Whiteholme Reservoir

   A late morning visit to the reservoir, in the hope of finding a Dunlin or Ringed Plover, but the only wading birds present were two Common Sandpiper. 

  Whilst watching I heard the distinctive three-note call of a Greenshank over the moor towards Warland. Despite scanning desperately I could not pick the bird up. It called around 6/7 times in total, eventually getting fainter as it appeared to move north. I tried to record the sound using the Merlin App and despite the windy conditions, you can make out the sound of the bird on a few occasions. The audio is included in the eBird list. 

  Additionally, the sites Grasshopper Warbler has returned and was reeling from the tree below the dam wall. 

Grasshopper Warbler

In total managed 18 species this morning, the full list here; https://ebird.org/checklist/S171270555

                                                       

Hardcastle Craggs

A very pleasant afternoon in the Craggs for a couple of hours produced seven Pied Flycatchers; six males and a single female. Otherwise just common woodland species.

Pied Flycatcher

In total managed 29 species this afternoon, the full list here; https://ebird.org/checklist/S171303858

Soil Hill

 A pleasant morning up the Hill with a smart male Whinchat to show for it, jumping along the walls and fences at the bottom of the North Slope. Also 14 Wheatear together in the fields there, as well as an additional two on Taylor Lane. 

-Whinchat

In total managed 39 species this morning, the full list here; https://ebird.org/checklist/S171081282

Shibden Park

Young Coots

Soil Hill

  A pleasant couple of days on Soil Hill. Migrants have continued to be slow on arrival, but a couple of standout birds; 

  Todays highlight was an Osprey that flew north up the valley between Ned Hill Track and Ogden at 06:55. 

  Additionally, two Whitethroat were singing this morning, both new arrivals and my first since the first individual of the spring on the 17th. There were seven Wheatear on The Shay this morning, and a Lesser Redpoll flew over heading north. 

-Osprey

In total managed 37 species this morning, the full list here; https://ebird.org/checklist/S170315804

  Yesterday I found my first sitting Jack Snipe without the assistance of the thermal camera, nearly jumped out of my skin when I looked down to see these stripes sitting motionless next to my boot. This is my joint latest spring individual at this site. 

  Otherwise interest was limited to two adult Common Gull that flew north

-Jack Snipe

In total managed 37 species this afternoon, the full list here; https://ebird.org/checklist/S170234967