Whiteholme

 Juvenile Wheatear almost moulted into 1st winter, but still with a scaly head

Younger juvenile Wheatear: margins of flight feathers still quite orange

Hebden Bridge

 Dipper

Whiteholme

 Wheatear juvenile

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