Osprey on the move!

1 reported from Lincolnshire today and another in East Yorkshire at Hornsea Mere (thanks to Bird Guides) - watch out Calderdale!

Roils Head

From NCD - 1 Crossbill (bright red male) >N over the playing fields this afternoon - probably from the golf course pines. The bird returned a few minutes later to the pines but could not be relocated.

Fly Flats and Cold Edge

Fly Flats Res'r this afternoon. Yesterday it was 100% frozen over and today 90% clear of ice following a rapid overnight thaw. Bonus is there's a good edge now for waders if it stays dry for a week or two - lets hope it's for a month or two!

Not many birds about, though c50 Canada Geese also came in overnight and they've taken up residence around the sailing club-house
2 Golden Plover calling

Withens Head/Cold Edge Road - no Golden Plover found this afternoon
1 Little Owl

Cold Edge Dams
1 drake Goosander
5 Lapwings
2 Curlew
11 Canada Geese
4 Greylag Goose
1 Barnacle Goose

Rookeries

I'm looking to photograph some rooks while they are displaying, so does anyone know a rookery that's at about eye level? The one at Hartshead service station is near perfect because it is next to the bridge but the sun is behind the birds when they are displaying at the nest site meaning there's not much detail. Birds that sit on the other side of the bridge are illuminated but not displaying! Cheers.

Crimsworth Dean etc

We went looking for Wheatears but sadly none there as yet. The head of the dean used to be a very reliable spot for March Ring Ouzel as well - but sadly not in the last few years - and none today.
c20 Curlew
c15 Lapwings
Little Owls were absent from the usual spots so they look to have moved out or succumbed in the cold winter (?)
c80 Fieldfares in the dean
1 Sparrowhawk over
3 Goldcrests in the top of the plantation leading down into the crags

Fly Flats - all still frozen but 2 Canada Geese there on the ice
5 Herring Gulls >E over Oxenhope Moor
Cold Edge Road - only 3 Golden Plover found there today

Please see the Queensbury Birders blog for NK's photos of the Common Buzzard seen over Bradshaw Oats Royd this afternoon. This is possibly the bird NCD saw earlier over Mount Tabor a few minutes earlier heading off in the direction of Soil Hill.

They're here!

Had an after work trip up to Scammonden, aside from the wheatear, there were a few carrion crows and a pair of mistle thrush. This bird wasn't hanging around, saw him for a couple of minutes in which time he made his way across a couple of enclosures and was off.

Had a look at Ringstone, six Canada's, plenty of Golden Plover in the field, some with black bellies already.

Gaddings and Langfield

Following Dave's heads-up to watch out for Wheatear arrivals I walked over West Scout to Gaddings and Langfield Edge to check if any had arrived early. My earliest record over the last 10 years is 20 March 2005 for a Wheatear up here, so I wasn't really expecting any yet....but you never know. It was a nice clear morning, but very quiet.
8 Canada Geese on Longfield Dam
2 Goldeneye at Gaddings (1 male, 1 female)
3 Skylarks singing
1 Meadow Pipit
The highlight of the morning was coming across a load of common frogs (I counted 51 of them but there must have been more) writhing about and making a racket in the reeds and pools below Langfield Edge.
No Wheatears though.

Tuesday Commute

Mute Swan - In canal near Barge and Barrel, one of the few I have seen locally in recent years

Various sites

Male Stonechat at Fly Flats this afternoon

Fly Flats still frozen over - it was uncanny listening to the ice cracking! It should leave a muddy edge for some waders when it thaws - hopefully.

Shroggs Park

1 Nuthatch singing in the park this morning (3rd record of this species in the park in nearly 40 years)!!

Ringby Lane (Swales Moor)

c10 Skylark and 1 Pied Wagtail this morning

Fly Flats

1 Peregrine over towards Oxenhope

1 male Stonechat along the fence to the sailing club

Withens Head (opposite the wind farm car park)

24 Golden Plover

Cold Edge Road

25 Golden Plover in fields near the Calderdale Way footpath (view from the car if possible otherwise they are off) !

Also reported from Otley yesterday (Bird Guides)- 3 Wheatears so we should get some locally soon.

Walshaw Dean

Walk around sunny Walshaw this morning with SD.
Curlew - 11
Lapwing - 3
Oystercatcher - 8
Greylag Goose - 6
Several Red Grouse, a couple of Pheasant, a dozen or so Mallards and too many Canada Geese.

Dipper - Mytholmroyd

Glad to see a dipper in the Calder from the bridge at Mytholmroyd. Used to see one or two daily. Not seen any since the bad weather started - high raging river/snow/ice etc. It was chunnering on a stone at the water's edge.

'Hammers at Hartshead

Monday pm between Hartshead and Kirklees Hall:
4 male Yellowhammers calling from various hedgerows, right on the border of our area.
Merlin seen in the same spot last week.
Buzzard watched for 30 mins over the estate woodland, circling, calling and landing in trees near Robin Hood's Grave (allegedly !).
Kestrel hunting over farmland.
Pheasant calling.
And a huge hare just a fields' length away - first I've seen for a few years.

hardcastle craggs, yesterday

plenty of dippers on the river (though possibly the same two) notice that the top one was displaying, to keep a rival off his rock

a goldcrest, a few knocking about but still pretty scarce. lucky at least some survived the winter

also there were:

a heron

long tailed tit

tree creeper

a grey wagtail on the road

plus the usual

Gorple and Walshaw

a cracking sunny spring morning

Gorple area

Curlew 5
Oystercatcher 1
Lapwing 37 all in flock with GP's and 21 in breeding fields
Golden Plover 7
Canada Goose 26
Stonechat female
Skylark 9 all in flock
Meadow Pipit 3


Walshaw area

Curlew 16 all in flock
Oystercatcher 7
Mistle Thrush at least 3 pairs
female Stonechat
Canada Goose 33
Kestrel 3

nice to see some of the Stonchats have survived the cold winter - unless they are migrants

Gorple

Sunday evening four Oystercatchers were still in evidence moving below Lower Gorple. A flock of 20 Curlew came over the dam and eventually settled in the fields opposite the Pack Horse. Apart from Grouse and Canada Geese it was very quiet in the area.

Talk with birding content. "Aletsch Glacier and its Surrounding Wildlife"

I was lucky enough to get some great pics and even some video of wallcreeper in Switzerland in '08.
If any birders want to see them, along with nutcracker, alpine chough, and mammals, (great shots of a chamois family group), insects, plants, etc, you are all welcome to watch my images at the Halifax Scientific Society's (Halifax Field Naturalists) monthly indoor meeting.

It's this Tuesday, 9th March, Halifax Central Library, Northgate. Doors open 7pm, talk at 7.30 till 9pm. There is no charge, but there is a retiring collection towards the hire of the room.

We are always open to new members who can do their own thing and we will help them publish their records. We send bird records to Halifax Birdwatchers Club for the report.

Things are moving

Cold Edge Road - Yesterday I was filming 6 Golden Plovers in the fields along here. A Peregrine also went over later. This morning I went back for more Goldies. 2 flocks in 2 fields, 13 and 18 respectively, plus 13 Skylarks.
Gorple in the afternoon gave me the chance to film a posse of 4 Oystercatchers. Earlier, 2 Curlew went over, and later, Lapwing flocks of 32, 25 and 15 or thereabouts heading towards Walshaw. Sadly, they did not come down where I expected to be able to get some footage. I have no idea where they ended up. Another flock of around 20 Goldies were kicking around the pub area. Buzzard and kestrels were kicking about the area, as were Stock Doves and the usual suspects.
None of the local pools have turned up any frogs as yet, and I am on the lookout for boxing mad March hares.....only t'other lagomorph seen so far.
SC & ND

Rochdale Canal to ridge by Stoodley Pike

Minimum of 216 Jackdaws in the trees near Lobb Mill early this morning









Green Woodpecker and singing Nuthatch at Lumbutts Clough
3 Skylarks and a Meadow Pipit
2 Ravens

Castle Carr Road/Luddenden Dean

This afternoon -no Curlew/Lapwing /Skylark or Meadow Pipits at this site yet!
2 Goosander >E
1 Sparrowhawk
1 Nuthatch calling in the dean
1 Grey Heron

Great raptor day

I'm currently sat viewing 2 valley's and so far it's been a good day with displaying sparrowhawk, plus a min of another 2 which didn't display, 4 common buzzards, 2 ravens directly overhead, 1 kestrel also singing nuthatch and my first moorland curlew of the year. A distant flock of lapwings with a distant probable golden plover flock. Anyone wanting to join me feel free to text or ring me for exact location.

Baitings Res'r/Booth Wood Res'r

2 Oystercatchers at each location this morning plus 1 drake Tufted still at Baitings

Midgley Twite feeding station

Midgley feeding station back in operation as from today, lets hope we get some back! For anyone wanting to keep an eye on it I put Nyjer down in the farmers storage area at the end of Thorney Lane just past High House where Dry Carr Lane and Thorney Lane meet.

ogden this morning in the fog

the goldeneye pair were near the duck feeding area this morning so hthey were easier to take photos of

a black headed gull near the feeding area

not much happening this morning despite whats here there were only two long tailed tits on the far side of the reser

Cold Edge/Hunter Hill/Ogden

Above - part of a flock of 45 Golden Plover in the fields alongside Cold Edge Road this afternoon along with 2 Skylark
1 Raven over high >E
1 Greylag Goose >N


Mixenden plantation
1 Treecreeper and 1 Goldcrest

Ogden plantation
1 Goldcrest
2 Treecreepers
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker

Ogden - Back Lane
30 Lapwing
c180 Starling
2 Stock Doves
1 Grey Heron over Soil Hill

Ringby Lane (Swales Moor)

5 Meadow Pipit >N
c10 Skylark
1 Pied Wagtail
1 Twite
3 Lesser Black-backed Gull >N
3 Herring Gull >E

Ploughcroft
1 Little Owl
35 Woodpigeon

Cold Edge

Solid ice on the lower Leadbeater Dam

Some open water on Haigh Cote Dam

A good shore line on Haigh Cote Dam - lets hope it stays that way for some waders coming through! 13 Lapwing there this afternoon along with 3 Goosander and 1 Moorhen

Bradley Hall

1 male Yellowhammer this morning in the hedge by the farm (very brief song)
1 Common Buzzard over high mobbed by a Kestrel

Ringby Lane (Swales Moor)

12 Skylark this morning
1 Twite - headed off high >W
1 Meadow Pipit
1 Pied Wagtail

Swans and Geese

Lone pinkfooted goose in with the Canada geese in Shibden Park this morning. It might be the one that hung around with them a couple of years ago.

12 whooper swans flew over the park at 8:30 - heading west. Possibly the ones that stopped over at Ringstone later on.

50ish Pinkfoot heading over the town centre at 8:45 - heading NW towards Fly Flatts. Seems to be a lot moving today.

Also in the park, at least 3 drumming GSW and a couple of Jays.

Yorkshire Birding Link

I've added a link to the Yorkshire Birding Blogg,keeps you up to date with rare birds and topics from around Yorkshire...Thanks Nick D.

Cragg Vale/Stoodley Pike/Withens Clough

From top:

View from the top of Broadhead Clough looking east

Towards Todmorden from Stoodley Pike

Stoodley Pike looking east

Withens Clough Res'r
Wonderful day to be on the tops!

Very few birds about
4 singing Skylarks

1 Sparrowhawk

1 Redpoll over the plantaion near Sunderland Pasture

3 Stock Dove

1 Raven

1 Great - spotted Woodpecker

1 Green Woodpecker

Lee Dam, Gaddings and Langfield Edge

Mistle Thrush - Lumbutts
Teal - 4 (2 male, 2 female) at Lee Dam
Goosander - 4 (3 female, 1 male) at Lee Dam
Grey Heron at Lee Dam
Meadow Pipit - 2 near Gaddings
Goldeneye - 5 (2 male, 3 female) at Gaddings
Skylark - 3 singing between Gaddings and Langfield Edge
Song Thrush - Woodhouse Road

Smashing day today with Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Dunnocks, Wrens, Robins, Blackbirds and the Mistle Thrush all singing away.

Ringby Lane (Swales Moor)

1 Twite still there this morning and giving lots of 'twangy' song from the bush
12 Skylark still around (along with song flights)
2 Grey Partridge
1 Pied Wagtail
1 Meadow Pipit over Ploughcroft >NE
2 Goosander >N

Fly Flats

Following the Twite at Swales Moor over the weekend we headed up to Fly Flats to put Nyger seed down at the feeding station. No sign of any Twite there but maybe in the next week or two!

c55 Pink-feet >NW (see below)

1 Greylag Goose >N

1 Red Grouse heard and not another bird seen - don't blame them!

Ringby Lane (Swales Moor)

Pied Wagtail and male Twite - yes in a bush!

1 Pied Wagtail and 1 Twite still at the site this morning - feeding along the fence line.
The Twite is a male - lovely pink rump and singing quite a lot (sounding as if there were half a dozen there - but only one!) No rings.
1 Curlew >NE
12 Skylark on the ground + 4 >NE
1 female Linnet feeding on the manure heap then with the Skylarks
2 Grey Partridge
1 Sparrowhawk
1 L B B Gull >N
3 Common Gulls >S
usual corvids

Pink-footed Geese

Pinkies in the distance from Fly Flats this afternoon

Several reports today of a movement W or NW over North Halifax/West Bradford

33 >W over Bradshaw at 09.30 (BH)

Another skein (no count)>W over Ovenden at 10.20

58 >NW over Pellon at 10.50 (MH)

Several hundred (6 Skeins) from Bradford reports this am (via BS)

c55 >NW over Oxenhope Moor from Fly Flats at 14.05

New sighting for our garden

Had a nice surprise this morning with a great sighting of a female brambling in the garden on the feeders, stayed for a good 5 mins before disapearing - never returned once I got my 'proper' bins out but the 'standby' bins were good enough for a clear ID. Usual crowd of GS woodpeckers, bullfinch, greenfinch, tits etc but always good to see something new visiting. Still getting infrequent visits from Nuthatch and also had a first sighting of a green woodpecker in the trees at the bottom of the garden during the worst of the snow. Looking forward to seeing what spring brings
:-)

BTO Atlas Withens Clough East SD92W

Just managed to get this last visit in before the deadline. Square includes east part of the res up to Sunderland Pasture and down to the Hinchcliffe:

No Meadow Pipits or Skylarks yet on the walk over past Stoodley Pike.

Goldeneye - 2 (male and female)
Greylag Goose - 2
Canada Goose - 3
Mallard - 4
Pheasant - 4
Mistle Thrush
Robin - 5
Wren -2
Blue Tit - 12
Great Tit - 12
Coal Tit
Nuthatch (singing)
Stonechat (female)
Greenfinch - 7
Chaffinch - 7
Crow - 5
Magpie - 3
Reed Bunting - 3












On the walk back home-
Dipper on the stream under Dauber Bridge, Cragg Vale
Dipper singing on River Calder by the old Walkleys Clogs
Grey Heron
Pied Wagtail - 15 at Eastwood Sewage Works
Grey Wagtail - 2 at Eastwood Sewage Works
BH Gull - 53 at Eastwood Sewage Works
Jackdaw - c. 35 at Eastwood Sewage Works
Long Tailed Tit - 7 at Callis Bridge
lots of Mallards and Canada Geese 0n Rochdale Canal.

Ring-billed Gull Video

Okay, I uploaded the Mirfield Ring-billed Gull Video overnight and can be seen here -

http://thebaldibis.blogspot.com/

Enjoy.

Todays reports

From SG - Redshank and Oystercatcher this morning at Ringstone Res'r

The Ring-billed Gull is still at Mirfield (just outside our recording area!) - Sand Lane Gravel Pits

23 Skylark at Swales Moor (Ringby Lane) and a possible Snow Bunting earlier but not re-found to confirm the possible sighting by IG

Some Lapwings are also back on territory - displaying this morning near Pike End - Rishworth

Pink feet

Distant shot of the 4 pink footed geese in the field next to Longfield Dam, Todmorden. One briefly entered the water, but got back out quickly.

Thebaldibis Blog

Just a quickie to let you that I've set up the Baldibis blog at http://thebaldibis.blogspot.com/. The blog will deal with more general natural history and conservation topics and will feature video clips that I would not normally put on the You Tube channel (such as short clips of local birds). It's early days, but if you add it to your list of "Blogs I Follow", I'm sure you'll like what you see. Cheers, Steve.

Elland GP

We called in for a look at Elland GP this afternoon with Nick D following a mid afternoon search at Mirfield - Sand Lane GP where a 3rd year Ring-billed Gull has been over at least the last 3 days. We missed out, though we hear it did turn up 20 mins after we left the site! This is only about 2 miles from our recording area so there is a chance of a new bird for Calderdale if it drifts up the valley towards Brighouse/Elland!

Elland GP
3 Goldeneye (1 drake)
1 Tufted Duck
c15 Goosander
c10 Cormorant
1 L B B Gull
1 Herring Gull

Clifton,Brighouse & Hove Edge

Fields N of Jay House Lane:
150+ Golden Plover
100+ Lapwing
80 Common Gulls
30 Crows/Rooks/Jackdaws in a mixed flock
In the nearby wood:
G S Woodpecker, Kestrel and 10 Goldcrests

Canal in Brighouse: 82 Mallard - down from 120+ last week

Coach Road:
Lone Heron in middle of the field, along with 12 Magpies
6 Goosanders flew in to the small lake on the golf course (the lake is one of few features left of Titus Salts estate before he moved on to bigger things at Saltaire !)
2 Jays
Nuthatch calling
Usual Wrens, Tits and Chaffinches

Mill Bank

A pair of Dippers on the stream at Mill Bank bridge yesterday evening. First sighting this year. Last year they fledged two young then moved off, presumably back down to the Ryburn valley.

school

i was just in the libary at 11.00 when suddenly a gull flew by. i have seen many gulls around here, infact there is a large flock which roost on the roof. however this gulls head was compleatly black, not in winter plumage, and its bill was bold red. it has since followed me round all day. having not had any kit on me i can nopt say for sure what it was but, i do think that it could be a med gull. if anyone wants to check it out my school is the north halifax grammar school. i have read up on med gulls and bh gulls so know what i'm looking for tomorrow, if it sticks around, which it will being grounded by the snow, but feel free to have a look.

New Heronry ?

New to me, anyway.
Three nests, two with sitting herons this afternoon at Triangle.
Opposite bus shelter no.450 on Oldham Rd., look over the wall. The trees are down by the stream. The bus shelter is just out of the 40mph zone, going to Ripponden from Sowerby Bridge.
There is a possibility of views and photos into the nests, though there is a screen of twigs in front of them.

Woodpecker's tongue - Jumble Hole today

Not a great quality shot, but you can see this GS woodpecker 'licking its lips' after it fed on the fat balls. Click on the photo for a large image.

Calder Valley

We had a walk along the canal betwen Hebden Bridge and Salterhebble today.
Surprised not to find any Redwings/Fieldfares/Siskin or Redpoll ! To make up for it a female Sparrowhawk was hunting along the canal and flushed 2 Blackbirds and a big female Peregrine went high over Luddenden towards Sowerby
2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers around Mytholmroyd
1 Dipper at Luddenden
32 Teal, 2 Coot, 2 Grey Herons and 1 Snipe at High Royd
c250 Mallard along the length of the canal

Waxwings Nill, Goosander Four

A quick sortie around the retail parks and other Waxwing hotspots with Nick D this afternoon produced a big fat zero. There are so few berries left on any of the trees and shrubs that any Waxwings that do turn up are likely to pass through very quickly.

Elland turned up Nuthatch calling on the far side of the fishing pool, 3 Great crested grebes on the ski lake, 6 siskins along the canal, 2 pairs of Goosander which I managed to film displaying, an aberrant Tufted Duck, a female Bullfinch by the car park where there were loads of robins, tits, dunnocks and chaffinch, a few cormorants, mallard, moorhen.

Cool Gadgets

Maplin are currently selling off Binatone Latitude 100 2-way radios at £12/pair. I bought a pair during the week and tried them out with Nick D this weekend at Ogden and at Elland. Very useful in allowing folk to keep in touch when doing systematic searches of an area. Range is up to 3kms.

Thanks Sean!

As many of you will know we are shortly to lose Sean Gray from our area, I didn't want his leaving to pass without thanking him publicly for all he has done for birds, birding and indeed birders over the time he has been in Calderdale. He has contributed in many ways not least with his ringing work which has included a large input to the Twite recovery project, operating regular ringing sites at Ringstone and Cooper Bridge and of course ringing Tree Sparrows at Jay House Lane. On top of this I think our local photographers will agree his skills and quality of work are outstanding and he has freely made this available to the CBCG for use in fund raising, calendars etc as well as in the local bird report. As well as losing both a ringer and photographer we are also losing a great personality who has helped build bridges with several local landowners enabling projects such as those at Ringstone and Jay House Lane to take place. Birding needs more characters and we are certainly losing one locally in Sean.

Thanks for all you have done Sean and best wishes to you, Nikki and family in your new life in the Isle of Man, keep in touch!

Heads Up For Smew 'n' Stuff

Just outside our area, there have been several reports of Smew kicking about, and a few Ring-necked Ducks, Red-necked Grebes and Red-breasted Mergansers, so keep an eye on your waters. That is, if it ain't all iced up.

Waxwings Stuck (?) in Finland

Latest reports from EBN are that Waxwings are completely absent from Romania this winter, and there have only been a few scattered sightings in Moscow so far. Finland has around 8000 repoerts.
However, 20 were at Midhope on 14th, 2 in Leeds on 15th, 1 in Shipley on 19th (Friday) and 2 near the A629 river bridge at Cross Hills roundabout, Keighley mid-afternoon before flying north yesterday. This local news comes courtesy of Bird Guides.

"Garden tick!"

OK we don't really have a garden so its more a feeder tick but got our first Brambling in over twenty years of living here this morning.

2009 Report

Nick Dawtery has received several reports of Hobby in 2009. If you can send in a description to Nick for these birds seen that would be a big help. Thank you.

Just a reminder too if you have any Calderdale bird photos taken in 2009 then please send in to Nick to consider which ones to include in the report.

Cyprus campaign

As a few folk are looking at heading to Cyprus for some Mediterranean birding this spring, I thought the article below was somewhat pertinent. All such campaigns need our help, please support them. http://migration.wordpress.com/about/against-ambelopoulia/ I've also just embedded a CABS video on thebaldibis chanel, showing their activities on Cyprus last spring. http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBaldIbis#p/c/BBBC987E413B4A5C/13/Y_zdDBAp6cI

Ringby Lane (Swales Moor) and Ogden

Still 17 Skylark at Swales this morning along with 1 Sparrowhawk high >W and 2 Grey Partridge.

Another single Skylark high >N over Ploughcroft

Couldn't find much at Ogden - 60%+ of the res'r frozen again.
The feral type Barnacle Goose and and it's frendly Canada Goose are at Mixenden Res'r.

Mankinholes and Lumbutts

104 Fieldfares in field at Middle Stoodley
Great Spotted Woodpecker at Strait Hey
Pheasant by the Pennine Way at London Road
c. 65 Starlings at Broad Carr
Greylag Goose at Lee Dam (first I've seen here), also 5 Goosander and a Moorhen
18 Wood Pigeons at Mankinholes Tops
There seemed to be Great Tits singing everywhere this morning.

Bradley Hall Farm

Does anyone know the address of the landowner at BHF? Dave Tattersley has offered to take over the Yellowhammer feeding "duties" from Sean J but has requested we obtain written permission first.

Busy feeders, Jumble Hole

The feeders are busy at the moment. Long tailed tits are in the foreground here, with GS woodpecker in the background. Haven't had any siskins at all this year though.

Ringby Lane (Swales Moor)

18 Skylarks there this morning
100+ Carrion Crows

Excel recording spreadsheet

Now available from me at midgleybirder@yahoo.co.uk

Ringby Lane (Swales Moor)

14 Skylarks on the manure field at Swales Moor this morning
Also 1 Skylark over Ploughcroft high >NE
4 Herring Gull >W
2 Sparrowhawks and 1 Kestrel over

Ringby Lane (Swales Moor) and Ogden

Ringby Lane
Nothing moving, although it was quite misty up there this morning
5 Skylark and 1 male Reed Bunting on the top.

2 Little Owls and 3 Stock Dove at Ploughcroft

Ogden
Syke Lane;
c230 Pink-footed Geese >NW (c110 at 11.50 and c120 at 12.00)
12 Lapwings >S at 11.45
c80 Fieldfare
c120 Starling

Stodfold;
1 Green Woodpecker
1 Stock Dove
White Carrion Crow near the top of Field Head Lane (1st sighting for around 2 years)!
c90 Starling
Herring Gull 1 >W

BTO Atlas

Withens Clough (West) SD92R
I always set off with high hopes when visiting Withens Clough Res, only to have them cruelly dashed when not much turns up - so no change this morning. A couple of Chaffinches, a Robin, a Crow and a Pheasant were all I had until I flushed a Red Grouse while walking over Red Dykes Flat. Nice sunny day though.

More exciting stuff in the afternoon when I was working in the garden - first a male Sparrowhawk landed on the garden wall and seemed to be eyeing up the feeders in next door's garden and took off in that direction about 10 seconds later. Then a Raven flew over the field going NE, and I heard one about an hour later in the direction of Stoodley Pike - probably the same bird.

A single Brambling, 3 Redpolls, 11 Goldfinches, 5 Greenfinches and 3 Chaffinches gave the garden a bit of life before the Sparrowhawk arrived and only Goldfinches came back after that.

A brief glimpse of a badger in the back garden this evening rounded off a good day.

Ogden

4 Crossbills reported there this morning (BS) flew in the direction of 'Giants Tooth'

Soyland

5 Herring Gulls and 2 L B B Gulls >W mid afternoon heading over towards Blackstone Edge
Red Grouse calling on the moor and 1 Brown Hare
2 Stock Doves at Flints plantation

Ringstone Edge Res'r

1 Shelduck still there late afternoon along with 6 Goosander.
c50 lapwings and 35 Golden Plover in the field

Heads Up fo Waxwings

Waxwings are moving outside the area, so keep an eye out for them at the usual hot spots.......Hopefully, the fieldfares and redwings haven't scoffed all the berries.

Descriptions Wanted

Nick D. has asked me to put a request out for descriptions needed for 2009. They are for Honey Buzzard seen in Northowram in September, Marsh Tit at Ogden in September and for Med Gull at Soil Hill in January. Would the parties concerned please pass them on to Nick at halifaxbirders(at)connectfree(dot)co(dot)uk.
Also, Nick currently has no records at all for Yellow Wagtail in 2009. If anyone has Yellow Wag sitings for 2009 could they pass them on.

Warley Road Park, Wainstalls, Cold Edge

A brief soiree around Warley Road park this afternoon failed to unearth any Brambling. Several chaffinches kicking about, (mainly males), blue tits, collared doves, robin, wren, carrion crows...usual suspects. Plenty of snowdrops for the botanists amongst you.
Next met up with ND and headed to Cold Edge via Wainststalls. 6 chaffinch and a Greenfinch at Wainstalls (no Bramblings at this historic site).
Cold Edge turned up a Greylag, a Grey Heron, 2 Common Gulls, a Goosander and 30 Fieldfares.

S.......No Bunting

Following the text message of an earlier sighting by IG of a Snow Bunting on Bradford Old Road, south of the ski slope, I got tooled up and headed on up there. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to relocate the bird, but did get some nice footage of a Green Woodpecker foraging on waste ground just round the corner on Claremont Road. A Little Owl was also present near the ski slope. Other than that, just the odd House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Woodpidgeon, Magpie and Starling......and a Kestrel.

BTO Atlas

Town Centre tetrad (SE02X)
2 hour count - highlights!
1 Dipper, 3 Grey Wagtails, 2 Grey Herons all in Dean Clough/North Bridge area around the Hebble Brook
250 Feral Pigeons
89 Mallard in Peoples Park
10 House Sparrows and 13 Starlings (and that was a struggle)!

Ringby Lane (Swales Moor)

6 Skylark
1 male Reed Bunting
7 Stock Doves
80 Carrion Crows

2009 Report

Final call for any outstanding Calderdale records for 2009 to Nick Dawtrey as urgent please. Please send them in to Nick by post (rather than email, which is not working) on paper or disk.

Also if anyone has photos taken in 2009 - to include in the next report please also send them on a disk for consideration for inclusion.

Your records are important!

Thank you too to everyone who has already submitted their records for the report which is now in the process of collating.

Bird food

The recently set up Tree Sparrow project based at Jay House Lane will be purchasing some seed in the near future, we intend to use our negotiated discount with CJ Wildbird foods, now would be a good time for anyone wanting seed to add their requirements to the order. I will be checking the stocks of Yellowhammer feeding station seed with Sean J this weekend and will probably also purchase Nyger for the spring twite feeding stations. Please let me know if you have any orders. The relevant section of the CJ website is at http://www.birdfood.co.uk/products.php?area_id=2&nav_id=22&CJWSESSID=6e8f5956816bbcefe057b6d02fc80352

Hybrid Tufted Duck x ?

This individual has been on the canal at EGP for a week at least, I would think it is probably an escape or either a descendant of one, as it is associating with Mallard and doesn't seem all that concerned with passers-by.



One half of its genetic make-up has obviously been provided by a Tufted Duck and the other half is open to conjecture, green iridescent head and fine vermiculations on the body are obvious even on this digiscoped image, Scaup maybe?

Very little else of note around for the past week really, so I have attached a few record shots (as they say) of a few species which very rarely appear on this blog.

8 Stock Dove which I think are underrated and most likely under recorded were present today nearby late afternoon.



Little Owl trying its best to merge into its surroundings also close by.



Adult Herring Gull which I have seen on and off at EGP since 21 January. In addition at least 4 different LBB Gull have been spending a fair bit of time around here



And finally a photo of a male Yellowhammer looking a little lonely, taken this morning at Bradley Hall Farm (my first sighting of this species this year here) just before a snow shower came through.

Hopefully regular distribution of seed (if it can be arranged) might encourage a build up in numbers at this site.

RSPB Petition

The RSPB are currently petitioning Dr Lawrence Gonzi, Prime Minister of Malta to resist pressure coming from the hunting lobby to defy EU legislation and open a Spring hunting season in Malta. Spring hunting is illegal throughout the EU and Malta should abide by EU legislation. Please follow to the link below and sign the petition.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/illegalkilling/index.asp

Westborough Drive

A Brambling on our garden fence this morning - the first we have seen here. It flew off into Warley Road park - which we adjoin. There were some Chaffinches around so may have been in a mixed party.
There was also a small (10-15) party of Redwings (which we get often) in the park. As we watched a large flock of geese flew over (c.100 perhaps - not much good at estimating numbers), going roughly westwards in more or less a V formation. I presume they were Pink-footed geese.

Elland GP

Redpoll - 1 of 8 birds near the canalside car park this afternoon along with 18 Siskin and 2 Goldfinch.
20+ Siskin also near Brookfoot end along with 1 Nuthatch singing

Ski Lake;
20 Goosander
3 Goldeneye (1 drake)
2 drake Pochard
2 pairs of Tufted Duck
1 G C Grebe
11 Cormorant
1 Sparrowhawk
2 Mute Swans on the fishing pond

Copley

An excellent garden tick for Gordon today with a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker trying to open oak apples.

Luddenden Dean

Wade Wood

This afternoon;

2 Grey Heron

1 Nuthatch - Jerusalem Farm feeders

1 Little Owl calling in the dean

103 Fieldfare heading towards Cold Edge

Halifax Town Centre

c40 big Gulls >NNW in front of Beacon Hill at 9.0 am heading over towards Swales Moor
1 Sparrowhawk hunting over Sainsbury's

Ogden

Drake Pintail found today by NK. A very good find as the last record at Ogden was 30/08/01.

Ringstone wind turbine plans blow up again

Following the original (rejected) planning application to build a 15m wind turbine in a field adjacent to Ringstone (appl ref. 09/00786/FUL) the applicant has now amended his plans and resubmitted (appl ref. 09/01765/FUL). If anyone wishes to view and comment on these please do so via the Council's website at http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/environment/planning/search-applications/planapps.jsp?app=09%2F01765%2FFUL&Search=Search

Cormorant id (Not that easy!)

Not wishing to dispute anything that has already been said regarding this subject on the blog but to try and clarify a number of points I have copied the following article by Julian Hughes which I feel is probably as good as it gets when trying to id which Cormorant species you are looking at in the local area:

Reliable characteristics

Accurately differentiating the subspecies is extremely difficult, and there is some confusion about reliable characteristics. Several of the criteria that we have employed in recent years are no longer as dependable as they were.


Size

P.c.sinensis is, on average, smaller than P.c.carbo, but there is much overlap and significant differences between male and female in each subspecies. In the field, dimensions are usually irrelevant.


Plumage colour

Some older field guides suggest that the plumage of P.c.sinensis has a green gloss and P.c.carbo is blue/purple, but this has now been largely discounted. The colour appears to be dependent on the stage of the reproductive cycle: the green on P.c.sinensis becomes bluish once birds start to incubate.


White head

White feathering (filoplumes) on the head has been suggested as an identification criteria, but this too is unreliable. Both subspecies acquire white heads prior to breeding, with some evidence that older birds have whiter heads. As an illustration, in a colony in coastal France comprised entirely of P.c.carbo, 92% of early breeders had white head feathers, while none of the later breeders showed this feature. The white head fades from egg-laying onwards, so while P.c.sinensis may average more white filoplumes at its peak than P.c.carbo, this is not a reliable character since it is dependent on the stage of breeding. Perhaps one reason why it has been tempting to record white-headed birds at inland sites as P.c.sinensis is because only a proportion of birds in any breeding colony show the characteristic. However, we now know that in the UK, inland colonies have a longer breeding season than coastal colonies, with the first eggs laid in February. Thus, breeding inland is much less synchronous than on the coast, so proportionally fewer birds have white heads at any point in the season. Inland, birds that start the breeding season with white feathering have either lost it or left the area by early April.


Gular pouch

The yellow-orange area of skin at the base of the lower mandible (the gular pouch) dissipates heat from the cormorant’s body. More than a decade ago, Per Alström suggested that the gular pouch is a different shape on the two subspecies, but only recently has this has been critically assessed. Using skins of known subspecies, Stuart Newson has shown that the angle of the gular pouch is a reliable character for assigning the majority of birds to subspecies.






Measured as per the illustration, reproduced from Newson (2000), Great Cormorants with a gular pouch angle of less than 65 degrees are P.c.carbo (A), while those greater than 76 degrees are P.c.sinensis (B). Individuals with a gular pouch angle of 66-75 degrees (which account for around 10% of birds studied in the hand) cannot be reliably identified, perhaps because they are hybrids. It appears that the gular pouch angle is smallest (c.45 degrees) in P.c.carbo birds at the northern edge of the range, in Greenland, and greatest (c.110 degrees) in P.c.sinensis at the eastern end of the range, in China. British birders, at the southern end of P.c.carbo and the western end of P.c.sinensis, thus have a unique identification challenge!

Field identification
Of course, field conditions are very different to measuring the gular pouch in the laboratory (on dead birds!), so even observers with considerable experience of this feature find it difficult to determine the subspecies of every individual. Great Cormorants spend a great deal of time perched, so there are plenty of opportunities to assess the gular pouch, but it usually takes a while before an individual bird holds its head at 90 degrees to its body and in good profile to the observer. Having spent many hours watching Great Cormorants through a telescope inland in the UK, where both subspecies are known to occur regularly, I would suggest that, unless supported by colour-ring data, records of P.c.sinensis in Britain are unreliable on the basis of field sighting alone unless the gular pouch is at the ‘extreme’ end of the range (i.e. 90 degrees or greater).



In my opinion even the photo I took a few days ago just shows how difficult it is to state with any certainty which species you are observing in the field, I would say there is a good argument for two P.c.sinensis amongst the four shown, one definite P. c.carbo and one that I am unsure of.

I think the likelihood is that P.c.sinensis are much more common around here than most people realise.




Finally another adult Cormorant (not the same bird as before) in fantastic breeding plumage and just for the record an unbelievable count of 19 were present on 31 January!

Lee Mount

1 Cormorant >SE late morning
1 L B B Gull over and calling loudly

Luddenden Dean

This afternoon
8 Herring Gull (3 adults) >SE
c80 Chaffinch heading to roost at Castle Carr (no Brambling)
c60 Fieldfare
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
1 Treecreeper
2 Raven over high >SW
2 Kestrel
3 Stock Dove

Brookfoot/Ski Lake

Thans all for ID on duck and today at 1400 no problem as she was alongside a male, also on the lake were 10 Tufted, 1 Pochard, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 5 Goosander, 3 Grey Herons,c120 B/H/Gulls. 8 Common Gulls, 8 Mallard, 4 Coot and 11 Cormorant of which 2 were of the sinensis race thanks to martynbirder but too many people around now that the towpath has been tarmacadamed.photo of garden visitor last thursday morning.

High Royd

3.30pm, partly frozen

2 coot
Pair mallard
Grey Heron
30+ mixed blue tit/great tit
180 carrion crows
No teal

Ludd Foot/ Brearley

Grey Wagtail
7 Grey Heron in tree roost
13 Canada Geese

Wonderful Wild World of Widdop

Following the style of the Calderdale Spring Segue and Winter Thrushes, here's a meddley of material gathered over the last year in the Widdop, Walshaw area. http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBaldIbis#p/c/28C2E00156683969/0/pZYgb_M6fS0 Music is "Lark in the Morning" but sadly, no Larks in the video.
Enjoy

Elland GP

Any ideas on ID this duck on Ski Lake at 1200 today. Very dark and misty and this is the best I could do.Very white front,dark head and pronouced white feathers on wing,it was too dark to pick out any more colours with bins.

Common Buzzard

Took this pic in very bad light on 3rd Feb, the bird came up from the warley area and headed up the Luddenden Valley persued by crows.

Testing Testing

After some 6 months of lap top problems I seems to be back on line (fingers crossed). May I just say to every one I will never by anything by HP again and would steer them away from the HP Pavillion dv 6000.

BIRD REPORT 2007 - 2008.

Todmorden Tourist Info have 4 copies left.
Woodlesford News Agents at Pellon have 1 copy left.
I have 3 copies left.

Extension of the hunting season in Italy

Plans are afoot to extend the Italian hunting season, and increase the number of huntable species. If these proposals become law, it becomes easier to make similar changes to French and Spannish hunting legislation, and of course, Maltese legislation.
Please visit the CABS website and say NO to extension of the hunting season in Italy.
http://www.komitee.de/en/index.php?italyprotest2010. One day, you might even get to see a Turtle Dove or a Quail in Calderdale.......

Hudds BWC website

Our friends in the Huddersfield Birdwatchers Club have recently relaunched their website, the new version (highly recommended) can be accessed via the link on this webpage.

HSS Film Show

Live and Direct - The Bald Ibis will be giving a presentation of the documentary "Birds, Bins and Bullets" to the Halifax Scientific Society at Halifax Central Library on Tuesday 9th February 2010. Doors open 7.00 p.m. Intro, Film and Q & A session. Come and find out how you can help bird conservation in Malta. And please.....visit Birdlife Malta website to sign the Stop Spring Hunting Petition.

Sowerby Bridge & Norland

A 2 hour walk in the snow this afternoon

Stirk Bridge - wren, magpie (Dipper there on Monday)

Town Centre & Wharf (mostly frozen) - 30 ish mallard, 26 BHGull, chaffinch, 3 Goldfinch,, 2 Blue Tit, 2 Great Tit, Blackbird, moorhen, 2m 1f goosander

Milner Royd - another 2m 1f goosander, 3 mallard, 2 Blue Tit, 4 Gt Tit, Grey Heron, 2 Carrion Crow, 4 magpie, wren, blackbird, 3 wood pigeon

Pickwood Scar - 2 Gt tit, 10 Blue Tit, 30 LT tit, robin, 2 redwing, 3 c.crow, 30-40 jackdaw

Norland Moor - not much; 1 mipit or reed bunting, 1 ? dove >N, BHGs heading to Ringstone/Scammonden

BOG recorder program

If anyone has been having problems with the BOG recorder program we have now received a template for an Excel spreadsheet that can be used for record submission instead, this template has been provided by BOG and will enable records submitted on it to be merged into the "master" database held by Nick D. I have e mailed a copy out to most local birders but if I have missed anyone and you would like a copy please get in touch. Thanks are once again expressed to the Bradford Ornithological Group (who developed this program and spreadsheet) for their willingness to share it with our area.