Langfield and Gaddings

I walked up to Langfield and Gaddings Dam this morning while the weather was reasonably warm. Not a great deal about as Spring is still lagging behind the calendar. The leaves on the trees are still not fully out, our blossom tree isn't fully in blossom yet and the daffodils are just about in full flower in the back garden. Hoping for the same haul of birds I saw this time last year was a little optimistic then, and it turned out that way too.

Linnet - 5
Reed Bunting - 3 singing males
Mipit - a fair number about but not really on a par with other years
Skylark - just 2 singing at Gaddings
Little Ringed Plover - 1 on the shore at Gaddings
Red Grouse - 1 calling

No Groppers yet (maybe the juncus being flattened by the snow is detering them?). Never mind there's still time for the year to catch up.

Raggalds Flood and Mixenden Res'r

2 Shelduck there this afternoon looking very settled but no waders. (AC and NK et al)

60+ Swifts on Mixenden Res'r this afternoon along with c 20 House Martins

Fly Flatts

This evening with NCD turned out good with 8 waders sp. ..
1 Ringed Plover
1 Dunlin
6 Redshank
6 Common Sandpipers
Golden Plover
1 Oystercatcher
6 Curlew north late on
1 Snipe
Also 1 Red-legged Partridge
1 Kestrel
Lots of Canada's plus a few Mallard
One or two Swifts over
c7 L B B Gulls >w
SEO

Withens Head
2 Wheatear
1 Curlew

Bird Pathology - "The Bird on the Bench"

There will be a talk at Halifax Scientific Society tomorrow at 7.15. All are welcome.

Dr John Mather of the YNU (Yorkshire Naturalists Union) is visiting from Knaresborough to give a talk with slides he calls "The Bird on the Bench". He's an enertaining speaker; I heard him at the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) conference last autumn in Leeds.

John has been a long term ringer, specialising in Starlings, and studying their ectoparasites.

He also wrote "The Birds of Yorkshire", and preserves birds as drawer specimens for plumage studies.
I passed on to him the male Common Scoter that Andy Cockroft found which he has offered to bring back in its preserved form, as well as a Waxwing.

Green Withens

Spent a good hour or so this afternoon watching a Hobby, grounded by the rain - as was everything else!

Birds on the res: Dunlin, Common Sand, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover (photo from earlier in the week).

Jumble Hole bits

A buzzard has been around this weekend. The woodcock is still roding on still evenings. The blackcaps have been here for some weeks, but still no garden warbler or whitethroat. Nuthatch, great spotted and green woodpecker have been very evident.

Whiteholme/Withens Clough

Whiteholme this morning
Redshanks 2, Common Sandpiper 2 Ringed Plover 1



Withens Clough this aft
Ringed Plover 1, Little ringed Plover 2,Dunlin 2,Common Sandpiper 2 Stonechat male/female,Whinchat 1.

Ringstone Res'r

I called early evening but the strong wind made it tricky!
1 G C Grebe
2 B H Gulls
c70 Swallows
4+ Sand Martins
No waders

Dr. John Mather

A reminder that on Tues May 14th Dr. John Mather will give a talk entitled "The Bird on the Bench." at the Halifax Scientific Society at 7:15 pm in the Hx Central Library. All welcome.

Some recent pics from round and about.

One of 3 Wheatear on lower slopes possibly driven off by the recent fires?

Nice to see this Common Toad on the moors close to one of the sites of the recent fires.

Do these things ever have a bad breeding season?

Shrew sp. at Elland recently, I've no idea of the species but think the colours make it look like one of the Wombles lol

Ringed Plover showing signs of nesting though no nest site has been chosen yet!

Only wish I could have shaken the rain off as easily.

Cragg Vale, Withens Clough

Nipped up in the rain this aft', in the folorn hope of finding a whinchat (I didn't and haven't up here for a few years now), however, I did have a female merlin over, heading towards Stoodley Pike and a bonny male stonechat on the wires. 
I was staggered to see the extent of the damage done by recent swaling events on the moors.  All Byron Edge is burnt to a crisp, as is Soyland Moor, to Great Manshed Hill and as far north as Mount Pleasant Cottages.  A large portion of the northern slopes of Rishworth Moor is black too.  I shudder to think of the damage to upland species this must have caused.

Chris

Common Tern

Arrived at Elland Gravel Pits at 14.40hrs to find a Common Tern hawking for insects over the ski-lake, however it very soon departed high to the west shortly after at 14:50hrs. I am afraid that my photos are not of the same quality as Fran 44's Arctic Tern amazing efforts but they are arguably better than nothing at all I suppose.

 

 It is a real shame that the access and viewpoints of this body of water are so limited nowadays.

 

A very quick dash around the 'reserve' north of the river revealed a few other notable sightings, namely 27 adult & 14 juvenile Canada Goose (2 broods), 8 adult & 3 juvenile Mallard (something amiss here), 1 Common Swift, 4 Sand Martin, 1 singing Sedge Warbler & 3 singing Common Whitethroat.

Ogden

This afternoon we checked the plantations etc in the hope of locating Tree Pipit - but not a 'sniff' unfortunately!
We did have a bonus though in the form of c20 Lesser Redpolls with a few Siskin and closely followed by 2 Crossbills high up in the Scots Pines. They flew off nearby and we were treated to a male Crossbill right in the top of a Silver Birch and drinking from a nearby pool.
Several Willow Warblers also present and 2 Goldcrests and that was about it with nothing unusual on the water other than a solitary L B B Gull.

Other news today

Cuckoo's reported today from Ogden (BH), Walshaw Dean (MH), Blackshaw Head (MB) and 1 in Luddenden Dean yesterday (DJS)

Sedge Warbler and Grasshopper Warbler on Soil Hill north slope just out of our recording area I think (NK)

Dunlin and Yellow Wagtail briefly on Raggalds Flood above Bradshaw late morning (NK) - again not sure if this is in our recording area but of interest all the same.

Tree Pipit singing in the small plantation near Lower Gorple reservoir keepers cottage. Also a few migrant waders being reported from upland reservoirs now the levels are dropping - long may we have some shoreline for a few more waders!

Lee Mount

Out in the garden today!
This is the first day we have seen Swifts over - with a maximum of 5 at any one time we had around 20+ throughout the day. Always good to see them return. Lets hope there will be plenty around this summer as we don't wish to see any further decline as in recent years! Also a few Swallows moving through today and 1 Willow Warbler mid afternoon.

Also a big surprise this afternoon - 2 Ravens were heard cronking away and heading up and across Wheatley Valley >N around 15.30. Only the second record of these fantastic birds from this location.

Lee Mount

Garden feeder birds

 A pair of Blackcaps on the fat-ball feeder

 Female Blackcap

Dunnock

 

 

I thought these shots might be of interest!

Blackcaps - this pair have been here on and off for over a week now on the fat-balls, less so today with it being much warmer but maybe the cool weather and lack of insects until today led them to supplement their diet (?) We have never had them before on the feeders though we have occasionally had wintering Blackcaps feeding on apples on the lawn.

 

We also find it interesting that Dunnocks regular come to the feeders. In former years we only saw Dunnocks on the ground so maybe they have been changing their habits over the years.(?)

Mytholmroyd

Two oystercatchers heading up the valley at 9.30 pm last night.
Raven over at 10.00am heading towards Midgley.
Three curlews in the fields above the crag at 10.45 am this morning.
Two gs woodpeckers Hathershelf wood 12.05pm.

Speckled wood, small tortoiseshell and  peacock butterflies also.

Soil Hill

From yesterday early morning, a Whimbrel over Soil Hill from Bruce.
Interesting  from Birdguides -  a count of 971 from 6 sites in Lancashire yesterday. We might expect more records from our area but they are few and far between for Calderdale, unfortunately !

Neighbouring birds

Saw on the Bradford blog that at Strid Woods yesterday there was 11 pied flycatcher and 5 redstart. Interestingly, they had no singing wood warbler, so we are not alone.
The Crags or Colden Clough might be worth a look this weekend?

Lee Mount

A Garden Warbler singing this morning at 7.0 am - competing with a Blackcap and chasing each other round. I tried to get a photo but too flighty!

A pair of Blackcaps still on the garden feeder but guess there may be a few more insects about for them in the next few days, hopefully.

Not had a Swift over here yet ( I know there are some about at Cromwell Bottom) - hopefully today!