Cold Edge

Pair of Whinchat feeding at least one recently fledged young near Cold Edge this afternoon and a pair of Little Owls also feeding young.

Also lots of young Linnets and young Swallows about, which is encouraging.

Has anyone found any Stonechats locally? There were plenty about during the winter but they seem to have moved out - of north Halifax sites at least!

leo

also curlew chick around

taken tonight at 8.30 definitely 2 young calling
watched for about 45 min and saw two lots of food go in

Whinchat

Whinchat breeding at two sites, one pair have at least two fledged young.

Nice evening for owls too.

Barry James

I appreciate this is probably not relevant to a lot of the current Calderdale birders but those who covered the Walshaw Dean area in the "old days" will be as saddened as I am to hear that Barry died earlier today. Barry was one of those priceless people who after spending even only a few minutes with you felt so cheered and positive (and that takes some doing on a dull day at Walshaw!), a great sense of humour and a real pleasure to have known. RIP Barry.

Warblers in my garden...

...as opposed to garden warblers

Still got blackcap, chiffchaff and willow warbler singing, and the willow warb's have just fledged their first brood (c.3?). Pic is of juv. willow warbler.

Also, 9 herring gulls passed slowly and noisily east yesterday afternoon.

And another (?) buzzard

Chris S reported a buzzard being mobbed by a couple of crows and a kestrel near Sunnyvale at midday today. headed off in Halifax direction.

curlew chick

sorry about the poor photo, was a long way away

Undisclosed location

Big catch at tea time last night

Ogden Garden

We have a large number of young birds coming to the feeders including blue tits great tits greefinches goldfinches blackbirds and two young great spotted woodpeckers. The siskins have also now returned. An unexpected visitor yesterday was a redpoll tucking in to the sun flower hearts.

Sand Martins breeding in Weep Holes

Hi Jeff,
Very interesting! It seems to be happening here in Bradford as well. This colony has been active at one of our reservoirs just over the hill, to your north for c15 years. Here is one of a series of snaps I took a few weeks ago.



Dave

PS


Here is the nest hole with five chicks in! they look to be nearly falling out!... just a bit further away so not as clear.

Dave

Chiff-chaff singing today in Shroggs Rd. Halifax, opposite B & Q.
Great that we now have breeding Sand Martins in Calderdale, were they considered sensitive, Nick? They have been persuaded to nest in sand-filled oil drums with round holes cut in the sides, but where to put them out of the reach of louts?
A swallow was droll today preening on a wire. Nothing unusual about that, but this was straight above the rush-hour at the Stainland Rd./Saddleworth Rd. crossroad lights at West Vale. I guess it must have a winter territory around some congested part of Johannesburg!

Two pairs of House Martins nesting this year at Bowers Mill. Barkisland, where there has recently been only one per year. But Colin Duke says there used to be c.6, when he worked there.

This link highlights a raptor protection problem in the Pyrenees. (Lammergier) http://ariege.com/wildlife-report/2002/oct02.html

Sand Martins at Walshaw Dean

While walking around Walshaw Dean yesterday I saw Sand Martins entering and leaving the outlet pipes in a concrete wall - I assume they are nesting there. I hadn't seen this before so checked with Nick C and apparently they have been at the same place for several years now. However, it was new to me so I enjoyed a good close view for a while before moving on.
Also saw 84 Canada Geese (some with goslings); 8 Mallards, one female had 8 ducklings; 4 Oystercatchers; 9 lapwings; 11 Meadow Pipits; Willow Warbler (carrying food); Stonechat; 2 Reed Buntings; 7 Common Sandpipers; adult and 3 young Song Thrushes; Gray Wagtail and an adult Pied Wagtail with 2 young.

Another buzzard

Driving home at 5.15pm last night (Thursday) saw buzzard (presumably common - disappeared before I got my bins on it). 3 miles north of Heb Br on the Keighley Rd at SE004316 (marked Clattering Edge on OS South Pennines) heading east ie Midgley Moor direction. Sometimes I like commuting!

Hugh

Elland GP 24/06/

Alerted by the noise I looked up to see thro a gap in the trees a Carrion Crow was mobbing a bird of prey. Managed to get one shot of what appears to be a Buzzard?.Last seen flying towards Hove Edge/Hipperholme direction at 0815. Also seen Whitethroat with 4 young, Blackcap 4 young, Reed Bunting 3 young, Robin 3 young, Coot 2 young, 4 Grey Heron, 2 Kingfisher, but no sign since Sunday of the Goosanders. Garden Warbler singing near Avocet Works.

Ogden Garden

A juvenile green woodpecker visited this afternoon

Jumble Hole

3 garden warbler
3 blackcap
5 willow warbler
2 chiffchaff
green woodpecker
Report of a whitethroat singing between here and the Colden Valley

Chiffchiff still singing in the garden at 10:35pm!

swifts

i have noticed a pair of swifts flying up to a crack in the roof off my school. i am quite certain there is a nest up there but they arent going in so it is either that the chicks are quite well grown so that they dont need to go in or that they are scouting for future sites. i'll keep you informed anyway

Welsh Update

Hi all
Just a brief update on the feeding station here in North Wales. The feeding station is an absolute hive of activity from dawn till dusk and after now. There are now dozens of young Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Robin, Blue & Great Tit, and Great Spotted Woodpecker around the feeders all day. In the evening we have two young hedgehogs which come to feed on the dried cat food I scatter under the feeders for them. Then later at night the Tawny owls pay the occasional visit to the tree over the feeding station to prey on the voles and mice that feed there when darkness falls. The Buzzards are still arriving to be fed in the field behind the caravan. Some of the locals now know I am grateful for any mammal carcases such as road kill rabbit for the Buzzards and leave a message for me to pick them up from them. Just up the field from where I throw the carcases is a low bare tree which the Buzzards often sit and sunbath after feeding. One of the young Blackbirds has a particular fondness for sunbathing on the shed roof behind the feeders and spends hours spread out sunning itself most days we have sunshine. You can see a clip of the sun loving blackie on my blog at http://wildllyn.blogspot.com/ We also have a couple of feral cats that feed under the feeders on cat food most nights but as can be seen below they seem to pose no threat to the other evening feeders

The short video clip shows one of the hedgehogs (Snouty) feeding happily away alongside a feral cat that calls in for some of the dried cat food. The hogs and the cat totally ignore each other and usually feed side by side together. The hogs obviously feel safe from the cat and the cat has obviously learned that hedgehogs are not on the menu.

TO PLAY : Move cursor over the arrow button and click

Breeding Whitethroat Oats Royd

We had a pair of whitethroat with three well grown young at Oats Royd NR today plus usual finches and warblers.

Mink!

I was just walking back through Todmorden town centre when I overheard a father pointing out to his daughter something in the river behind the bus station. Sure enough, there was what I can only assume was a Mink, which swam over the stream and under the vegetation overhanging the concrete channel.
I know there was a mink farm up at Swalesmoor some years back (I can still remember the stench of the wagons used to transport the carcasses to the maggot farm at Sharneyford!) but I don't think I have ever been aware of escaped ones still in our area - perhaps I am missing something?