Beacon Hill

Stock Dove.  No white, short tail, pink bill.

Lee Mount ...

Garden feeder very entertaining at times especially with up to 12 LTT's favouring the coconut feeder.

Photo through the window

Swales Moor on the top this morning - perishing up there and very little to show for the effort.

90+ Carrion Crows, 60+ Jackdaws, 10+ Magpies, 22 Starlings, 1 Pied Wagtail, 1 Wren, 1 x 3rd winter Herring Gull.

Ploughcroft - 14 Chaffinch, 12 Goldfinch, 10+ House Sparrows and 2 adult Herring Gulls feeding in the field.

Fly Flats and Withens Head

Birds very scarce..... 4 Carrion Crows and Red Grouse heard. 22 Canada's  at Fly Flats though there was no frozen water. Some good sunshine though it is a cold spot up there !!

Big frustration came when scanning from the top road, an interesting looking bird flitting around the the boats and always on vantage points then dashing down to the ground and back again. Immediately suspected a Black Redstart, it certainly wasn't a Stonechat. A greyish looking bird though mostly in silhouette with an obvious tail but around 100m away. Unable to get any more on the bird which was always on the move. Disaster..... grrrr no scope !!! Then I lost it.

I returned this afternoon, with the scope, stayed for over an hour along with checks at the stone pile at Slade and then Withens Head - both areas have attracted this species in the past - not a sign of anything other than a Kestrel and a single Meadow Pipit.

Maybe BS will clock it ......tried again Wednesday 18th bitterly cold wind, nothing doing - other than 1 Oystercatcher and 6 Canada Geese.

Soil Hill

   I've been working the Hill since the start of February with some pleasant birding between the fog, but this morning I had my first standout species since my return when this brute of a Great Black-backed Gull flew north. This is only my second record for Soil Hill, but with a few seemingly in the area this winter, I had high hopes for an encounter. 

  Jack Snipe has been an almost daily occurrence throughout February (when I have looked for them), although the higher totals of five individuals were only at the start of month, with only a solitary individual this morning. Common Snipe has been for more erratic with three this morning the highest count. In addition, up to four Golden Plovers have been frequenting the Soil Hill summit in the last week.

  The first Linnet of the month flew over this morning, as did the first Siskin. The flock of Fieldfare on Taylor Lane, which has been up to 40 birds strong at times, contained five Redwing this morning, which was a good return since I have not seen any for the most part this February. 

-Great Black-backed Gull

In total managed 37 species today, the full list here; https://ebird.org/checklist/S301657089

Cold Edge and Ovenden Moor

 BTO Winter Bird Survey today - been waiting for at least half-decent conditions given the fog and rain over most of February so far. Sunshine this morning, wall to wall, so made the effort despite the frozen snow covering up there.

Birds were certainly at a premium with most of the Canadas moved out as well as the corvids and most other birds ! Best of the day were 2 Curlew flyovers calling probably heading to some lower elevation to feed. Little else 2 Reed Bunting, several vocal Red Grouse, 1 each Kestrel ,Chaffinch and Blackbird. Even most of the corvids were missing. One hardy Magpie up at The Withens shows how dire it was for birds.

Cold Edge and Fly Flats

 Another check of the goose flock at Cold Edge this afternoon. The site lived up to its name !

102 Canada Geese,nothing new with them. Also 22 Lapwing, 50+ Jackdaws, 2 Kestrel, 2 Blackbirds , 1 Song Thrush and a Starling. Very few smaller gulls this afternoon, there are usually a good number.

It was worth a trip up to Fly Flats with 5 Oystercatchers, on the edge of the shore including a pair in copulation. 3 Mallard and 2 Carrion Crows were the only other hardy birds there apart from 4 pairs of Canadas hidden away in the tall grasses !

Blackstone Edge

Kestrel male

In flight in dull conditions I often find I cannot sex a Kestrel. Helpfully perching, this bird's grey head and prominent moustache are clear, although the grey is quite pale and might be difficult to see in flight. And the back has spots not bars. But books often say a male Kestrel's back is brick-red, and that's not the case here: it is the same brown as a female's back. Do colours darken as a bird ages?

Lee Mount / Shroggs Park

Quite a morning after hearing some Pink-footed Geese over around 09:30 unseen in the mist sounding as if heading >W. At 09:50 more were heard, this time noisy and low coming right overhead  >W. Phone out and a decent video recording but failed to work out how to get it on here ! At least 450 is probably the largest count ever over this location.

Around the same time BS had skein of c50 'pinks' over Ogden >E but they were soon lost in the mist.

Later in the morning a Great Spotted Woodpecker was 'drumming' near the park lodge and a Nuthatch was also singing nearby. I was pretty suspicious what sounded just like a Chiffchaff singing, unlikely, so investigated further - it was a Great Tit. Also 16 Redwing on the park football pitch and a flock of c17 Goldfinch nearby and c16 Long-tailed Tits at one point as well as Song Thrush singing.

We don't seem to be able to escape cold rain and mist this last week or so. Maybe more of the same for the coming week.

Mixenden Res'r

 I gave it a go late morning - shouldn't have bothered !!! That east wind was raw at the gate watch-point. Very few gulls though the conditions don't seem to deter them. 6 adult Herring Gulls looking immaculate on the water with another 7 of mixed ages went straight through >W. On the water c 40 B h Gulls and 16 Common Gulls and apart from a 30+ flock of Jackdaws over that was about it !

Swales Moor

Ringby Lane - Almost 2 hrs on the top there from mid morning produced 23 species in a cold SE wind at 5c. It took a while to find anything but I was pleased to pick out my first Skylark for the year - it didn't drop in, a flyover >E. Coincidently JJL also managed a Skylark on Soil Hill this morning. Both sites, until recent years, have supported a few wintering birds. It's good to see a hopeful return !

Meadow Pipits with a final count of 16 were playing hard to get, dropping in to the long grass.

As usual the site always has a large contingency of corvids. Today was no exception with around 90 Carrion Crows and c50 Jackdaws.

The big surprise as I tracked back down the hill was a small flock of c20 Linnets on the edge of the quarry in a very weedy area. This is another bird that used to winter up here with regularity, as well as Soil Hill. Both sites occasionally attraction the odd Twite. 

Around and about !

Mixenden Res'r - single Shelduck still there looking pretty settled but I expected it would have moved on this morning with a clear sky. 

Cold Edge - Mainly to check the goose flock (still hoping Whitefront Geese)! 86 Canadas and a single Greylag was about as good as it got along with 3 Meadow Pipits, 1 Reed Bunting and a Kestrel and a few small gulls, woodpigeons and corvids.

Beacon Hill area this afternoon - c25 Goldfinch and 11 Redwings + corvids, woodpigeons and small gulls was as good as it got but it was good to be out in the dry !

Mixenden res'r

Adult Great Black-backed Gull and the Shelduck still there today.

Mixenden Reservoir

It's always worth a check at local reservoirs at any time of the year. Winter can be pretty grim at times but there is always a chance of something turning up especially in inclement weather. This morning was no exception with mist on the tops and a very cold damp south easterly.

I went to the usual watch-point. Plenty Black-headed Gulls 60+ with a few Common Gulls and 16+ Herring Gulls including noisy adults. Gulls staying to bathe and preen with plenty of coming and going.

Scanning the waters edge on the west side was a Shelduck then later preening on the embankment where it seemed to stay most of the day with updates from NK and JJL. An annual but reasonably scarce bird in Calderdale.

Great Black-backed Gulls occasionally pass through in the winter months. Today was no exception as an adult arrived, a brutish looking bird but always great to see. Best I could do with the camera was a distant shot across to the other side of the reservoir.

Size difference with an adult Herring Gull showing to its left

Mixenden Reservoir has been pretty poor in recent years but from 2010 when an adult Little Gull turned up on 9th November the site has always been worth a check. Some special birds have been seen there with, what seems a lull since 'lockdown'.!! Up to that time some of the 'specials' recorded there have included Iceland Gulls, Mediterranean Gull, Smew, Gadwall, Great Northern Diver, Common Scoter, Avocet, Dunlin, Osprey and Whooper Swans (those are the ones off the top of my head). oh and a Black Swan that probably escaped from captivity.

Cold Edge

Grey Heron 2 adults. Both birds have some grey at bill tip and base - more on the right bird.

Moorhen with Mallards

Rochdale Canal.

Took a walk along the canal from Luddenden Foot towards Brearley this afternoon.

14 Siskin were feeding high up in canal-side alders along with a Buzzard over. Not a lot else other than 2 Dippers close together from the bridge over the Calder at Luddenden Foot.

One red-head Goosander, 2 Cormorants and plenty of Mallard about along the canal and on the lagoon at Brearley.

86 Canada Geese and a single, very noisy, unringed Barnacle Goose in the fields.

Cold Edge

Stonechat male

3 of 4 Stock Doves

Pair of Rooks touching bills

The 1941 Witherby handbook says that the male presenting food to the female is a common feature of Rook display. Also, fondling of bills is often observed in mated birds.

New Year

Going into 2026, I still think some of the most satisfying birding comes from marking out a patch on a map, and then trying to build a lengthy patch life list.

The patch needs to be not too far from home if you're not a regular driver, and it needs to be big enough to have a few different habitats. Water is a must, (unless you're an early riser who can catch early morning flyovers!).

Advantages of inland birding are that most patch lifers will not be scarce nationally, and most will not be too difficult to identify.

Year after year Nick comments that he does not receive enough records of common birds: for example in 2023 he had just 10 of Blackbird, 7 of Magpie, and 22 of Chaffinch. A regular patch watcher is more likely to record common birds, as well as scarcer ones.

Undisclosed location

Chinese Geese

Wainstalls

2cy (1st winter) Common Gull

Ryburn - 9 January

2cy Cormorant. I was a bit thrown by the whiteness of the underparts, (and by the difficulty seeing the pale bill in this long shot). But the Collins Bird Guide says "1st year birds can look very white beneath".

Ogden etc

This morning around the res'r at Ogden was more about watching the floor rather than the sky ! The ice was still well in evidence around the perimeter footpath and suspected I was on the earlier trail of BS !. 

Best of the small birds was at least 2 very confiding flocks of Long-tailed Tits, maybe around 25 in total.

A Raven went over high,  'cronkin' and a Kingfisher was down in the sluice below the embankment.

10 Tufted Duck were on the water with  a few Black-headed and Common Gulls along with 1 juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull

Headed off to Booth Wood res'r early afternoon. After a short while searching with JB and BK the Black Redstart showed well feeding along the fissure cracks in the quarry face. A pretty special bird for this time of year. No camera with me. Also 4 Lapwing flyovers and on my way home a single Buzzard went high over the dam wall.

Shibden Valley

Redwing

Mistle Thrush

Shroggs Park - 6th Jan

 Didn't venture far today but I did manage a check of the woodland in Shroggs Park this afternoon.

3 Lesser Redpoll feeding high up in birch and a single Goldcrest skulking around in a  large privet bush were the best of, not  a lot other than a Nuthatch, 5 Redwings, a few Blackbirds and Magpies and c50 Woodpigeons feeding in the oak woodland.

Also a flock of c70 P-f Geese over Halifax / Calder Valley >W around 11:20 (D Br and PD)

7th and 8th January - a Black Redstart, photographed supplied, near Booth Wood  Res'r from (RJ) was a big surprise though there are other January records in Calderdale (must check). 

Still showing well today - 9th January.

Shroggs Park - 3rd Jan

 Birch and Oak hillside opposite B & Q and Shroggs landfill site in the sunshine late morning.

7 Lesser Redpoll feeding in the top of tall birch was a welcome surprise. Elsewhere in the woodland 

5 Siskin, Goldcrest, Treecreeper and a Nuthatch along with 4 sp of 'Tit'. Just the 1 each Mistle Thrush and Redwing along with several Blackbirds.

Nuthatch

Cold Edge - 2nd January

Single Pink-footed Goose still with the geese - 72 Geylags and 70 Canadas this afternoon.

2 Kestrel and 2 very distant Buzzards, 1 x 3rd w Herring Gull and 2 adults but little else of note other than corvids, c20 Starlings, 2 Stock Doves, 1 Collared Dove and a few B h Gulls and Common Gulls. 

Castle Carr Road - 1st January

Bitterly cold wind along the road this afternoon. A pair of Stonechats running the fence line adjacent to the patch of heathland was a welcome sight but one wonders how they manage to survive, and find food in those conditions.

Not  a lot else, but around 15 Meadow Pipits feeding in a patch of long grasses and 2 adult Herring Gulls over >W