Fly Flats

Fly Flats with DJS this PM. 11 Wigeon flying about and landing on the reservoir, also 1 GBBG south. 130 Pinkies over Pellon earlier and a Chiffchaff calling at Pellon Reservoir.

Swales Moor

Vis Mig
Tuesday 9 October 2012
Counting period: 11:15 - 12:30
Count type: all species
Weather: wind NE1, cloud-cover 4/8, 8c degrees. Reasonably good visibility though a haze over distant hills. All movement S W or SW unless stated
Grey Heron 1
alba wagtail sp. 7
Chaffinch 2
Sparrowhawk 1 and 1 N
Blue Tit 5
Greenfinch 6
Common Buzzard 1
Great Tit 2
Goldfinch 4 E
Golden Plover 20 E
Jay 1 and 4 NE
Linnet 30 and 2 N
Meadow Pipit 6 and 3 NE
Jackdaw 2 E
Crossbill 4 N
Grey Wagtail 1 E
Rook 1 E

Totals: 104 individuals, 17 species, 1:15 hours

Present: Grey Partridge 4, Little Owl 1, Magpie 15, Carrion Crow 45, Linnet 17
Comments: An interesting hour or so with a nice mix of birds moving through

Hunter Hill

Female Merlin from last Sunday afternoon at Hunter Hill, this was the best I could do with the digiscope !

Swales Moor

Very misty up there this afternoon and no wind (just cool from NE)cosequently there was very little moving.
Resident birds included
1 Green Woodpecker on the western slope
2 Skylark
9 Meadow Pipits
2 Pied Wagtails
2 Grey Partridge calling
2 Sparrowhawks
2 Kestrels
c30 Goldfinch
1 Linnet
Just over 100 Carrion Crows on the top plus other corvids and 1 Jay over

Also (I'm not that up on moths)! but thought I had some Small T butterflys flying around but they turned out to be moths - almost certain they were Silver Y's - at least 3 feeding on Ragwort flowers but they would not stay still for photo's.

Kirklees Hall habitat under threat

The fields near Kirklees Hall contained over 50 Linnets today, with 3 Mistle Thrushes and a single Yellowhammer.
The roof of the old shelter at the field edge was being used as a perch by one of the Little Owls, which was harassed by 2 Magpies (successfully-it disappeared !)
In the bushes were 2 Redwings, and along the path 2 male Pheasants.
Nearby there were at least 12 Chaffinches, a Kestrel, a G S Woodpecker, and a Buzzard flew directly into the wood not far away.
A fairly typical hour in this area, but for how much longer ?
Kirklees Council has plans for a 42 acre business park which would destroy prime farmland, woodland and hedgerows in the Green Belt, and create untold disturbace to the neighbouring habitat. A large portion of this land is in our area.
How can 'the greenest government ever' allow this sort of environmental vandalism ??
Details of the plans are on Kirklees MDC's website. There is still time to object.

Black Stork Record

Ive just found out that the BBRC have NOT accepted the record of Black Stork seen over Mixenden last year. Its a shame but we will have to abide by their ruling.

Cottonstones, 7th October 2012

Still around nine swallows enjoying the autumn sunshine in the vicinity of the Alma Inn, at Cottonstones this aft'.

Regards, Chris

Dishfish reaches 5!

Congratulations to Dishfish on maintaining his highly entertaining birding blog for five years, check out the link to it from this blog and enjoy the experiences of a young local birder, wish there were more like him!

Swales Moor

Vis mig on the top this morning from 8.30 till 11.00 am. Reasonably good visibility though some surrounding tops (including Cold Edge) were still shrouded in mist. Wind SW F1 to F2. 2/8 cloud cover and 9c to 11c.

Wheatear there this morning
Moving birds
c45 Crossbill 'hugging the ground' on the top headed through >N at 08.45 in a direct line with Ogden!
194 Meadow Pipits >SW
11 Greenfinch >SW
11 unidentified finches >SW
35 Chaffinch >SW
2 Bullfinch >SW
13 L B B Gulls >W
9 Woodpigeons >W
3 Sparrowhawks 2 >S and 1 >E
2 House Martins >S
3 Swallows >S
1 Snipe >S
3 Skylark >W
10 alba wagtails >S
6 Linnet >W
1 Common Buzzard >S
5 Jays passing over high - 2 and 1 >W and 2 >N
2 Coal Tits >W (this was a surprise, I just got back to the car and they came through by the ski-slope and got higher and higher till out of sight.)

Also present around the top - 2 Kestrel, 5 Skylark, c30 Linnet, c40 Goldfinch plus the usual corvids in abundance.

SOIL HILL -OGDEN-FLY FLATS

SOIL HILL

SHORT-EARED OWL
MALLARD 2
RED HEAD GOOSANDER 1 FLYBY
SKYLARK
MEADOW PIPIT
GOLDFINCH


OGDEN

CORMORANT 6
B H GULL
GOLDCREST EVERYWHERE
COAL TIT
L T TIT
TREECREEPER
DIPPER
GREY WAGTAIL 2


FLY FLATS

GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER ON A POST BY THE OVERFLOW
THEN HEADED TO OGDEN.
WHEATEAR 1
MEADOW PIPT
TWITE 1.

Migrants??

Possibly brought down by the constant showers today, 2 Willow Warblers were at Duke St today, the first around 10:30 was joined part way through the day by a second following another shower.

A large tit flock is forming and seems to be doing a big circuit, in amongst them are at least 3 Goldcrest, 1 Nuthatch and a Treecreeper.

Swales Moor

Some Vis Mig this morning from Ringby Lane was a bit of a struggle in the blustery wind and showers but was very productive. 9.15 till 11.50. SW F4 to F5/6 on the top. 10c bright with showers and reasonable visibility throughout.
The highlight was 8 male Crossbills >W at 11.45 just as I was about to leave
83 Meadow Pipits >SW
11 Chaffinch >W (but I think I missed a lot going over high)
1 Pied Wagtail >SW
3 Greenfinch >W
1 Linnet >W
1 Coal Tit >W
1 Sparrowhawk >E
1 L B B Gull >NW
3 B H Gulls >NW

Also present on the top were 7 Skylark, 2 Kestrel, 1 Sparrowhawk, 6 Goldfinch and c100 Linnets around the quarry area. Nearly forgot - loads of Carrion Crows as usual !! maybe about 60 plus a few other corvids.

I just missed out on c220 P F Geese heading east towards Shelf Moor just after 9.0 am (they were seen by HC at the Oxenhope watchpoint who alerted us through BS)

Later on in the day we checked Pepper Hill and Claremount hillside tops but the wind was keeping everything down. One flock of c100 Goldfinch, c50 Starlings, a few corvids, 1 Common Gull, a Sparrowhawk and Kestrel and that was about it.

Red Kite Copley

For the 2nd time this year a Kite very low over Copley School at 15:30.  Was getting attention from the corvids.

Cold Edge

Fairly quiet this afternoon but some fantastic clouds.
1 Wheatear along Cold Edge Road
c3 Kestrels
c30 Meadow Pipits
1 Little Owl
1 Little Grebe
2 Ravens high heading over towards Soil Hill

No Swallows or House Martins today but I gather Nigel had one Swallow over Soil Hill this morning and also a Yellow Wagtail through which is always a special bird locally nowadays.

Ogden

I met up with Nigel this morning to check the Yellow-browed Warbler locations without success. It's probably gone now but who knows!
1 Chiff-chaff singing
4 Cormorant
1 female Wigeon
2 Grey Wagtails
1 Dipper feeding in the overflow
Very few small birds about and Goldcrests had thinned out from earlier this week

Mixenden and Stodfold

Not a lot about this afternoon but interesting all the same.

Stodfold - 1 alba Wagtail >SW, 1 Grey Heron

Mixenden Res'r - 2 LBB Gulls, and a Nuthatch in the plantation

Ogden golf course - 1 male Stonechat and a Little Owl - also a few mipits and L T Tits about with other tits and a few Goldcrests

Negative reports today from Ogden - nothing on the Y B Warbler!

Migration!

I know this is not a Calderdale report but I find this information amazing about migrating Blue Tits over the last 2 days at Nabben, Falsterbo, Sweden.
21,660 on 30th September and 87,400 on 1st October

I can't say I ever thought Blue Tits were 'big movers' but this proves otherwise !!
If you start seeing a lot of Blue Tits on your garden feeders in the next few weeks, who knows where they might have come from?

Jumble Hole

Clinging on to the last of summer....
4 swallows flew West
A chiffchaff was calling from scrub on Underbank

Ogden

The Yellow Browed Warbler was seen this morning (NK and MM) around 11.20 near the top end of the reservoir but despite intensive efforts from 10+ local birders this afternoon we produced no sighting - until last light when Ady picked up 2 calls as the L T Tit flock came through and went to roost in the rhododendrons.

Several of us noted that we had not had a sign of L T Tit flock all afternoon until they turned up last light so it's worth checking the L T Tit flock for the YBW tomorrow if anyone can find the LTT's !

Also present
20+ Goldcrests
1 Treecreeper
1 female Blackcap
2+ Chiff-chaffs
1 Siskin
Coal, Blue and Great Tits...
Juvenile Grey Heron
1 Peregrine over briefly
1 Sparrowhawk >E

Swales Moor

Some Vis Mig this morning between 10.15 and 11.45
Westerly F4 on the top. 11c cloudy with intermittent drizzle
360 Meadow Pipits on the move >SW
2 Skylark >W
2 alba wagtails >SW
2 Siskin >W
3 Chaffinch >W
1 Greenfinch >W
6 Linnets >W
1 adult Herring Gull and 24 L B B Gulls >W
1 Sparrowhawk >SW
1 Kestrel >SW
22 Canada Geese >SE
Lots of resident corvids around the site