Recent News

Lee Mount - the last Swifts -so far!! were 3 on the 16th August - still a chance of some late birds moving through, hopefully!

7  Black Terns were reported moving north through Elland Gravel Pits on Saturday 24th August morning around 11 am though we don't know who the observer was as we only picked up the report from the BirdGuides web site. Any further information would be appreciated for this excellent record.

From Roger R - 2 Greenshank at Green Withens Res'r on 25th August - the day previously BS reported other Greenshanks heading our way from the Oxenhope area!

From NCD on the 26th August at Roils Head there were at least 5 Spotted Flycatchers, 1 Redstart, 2 Whinchat, 1 Whitethroat and around 8 Willow Warblers - migrants were mainly in the north facing shelter belt near the playing fields.

A Little Egret yesterday (Tuesday 27th August) from GWH was a very good record too - see Cromwell Bottom blog for photo's and with thanks to Mike H for passing the information on.

Whiteholme area

Had a walk around the Blackstone Edge/Whiteholme area today, a few birds about including 2 Wigeon, 3 Teal, 4 Mallard, a Common Sandpiper, single Dunlin and an adult and young Ringed Plover (possibly two young but they were disturbed by a dog)plus a Wheatear.

Soil Hill

Went for a wander up to soil hill this afternoon to see what was about.

The bird department was limited, but found this female wheatear on the wall next to the road before you go to the hill.

Other Birds included:

Meadow pipits

Skylarks

3 Woodpigeon

1 Magpie

Starlings

3 Phesants

5 Carrion Crows

Clifton

A few bird records over on the Calderdale-wildlife blog mixed up with flowers etc I'm afraid, but last time I tried to copy and paste some over it didnt work at all well.

Lee Mount

A nice surprise first thing this morning with a Sand Martin > NW - the second fly through here this year.
Still just a few Swifts about today at various times - 1, 6, 4, 1.
1 Nuthatch and that was about it.

Jumble Hole

3 ravens were over the house this evening, cronking like mad.
The whitethroat pair are on to their 2nd (or possibly even 3rd?) brood.
And loads of butterflies about, including a speckled wood in the garden this afternoon.

Fly Flatts and Withens Head

Fly Flatts
1 fem (or juv) Merlin - which I disturbed on a wall and it saw me before I saw it and it was off - low across the moor, across the res'r and I lost it chasing off towards the Calder Valley
5+ Kestrels spaced out across the hills and including at least 2 juveniles on a wall along Cold Edge Road
2 Lapwings were the only waders
2 L B B Gulls >NE
2 Stock Doves
2 Swallows >NE
No Swifts
c80 Canada Geese

Withens Head
c350 Starlings mainly juveniles
30+ Meadow Pipits
2 Stock Doves
2 Kestrels

Wainstalls
2 House Martins ! a rarity up here this year

Ringstone

Late morning
1 Redshank
30+ Swifts feeding high over the western ridge
1 Peregrine over towards the M62
1 Sparrowhawk
1 Kestrel
20+ B H Gull with lots coming in as I left
1 L B B Gull
6 Common Gulls including 2 juvs
1 Willow Warbler
A few Swallows about as well
I also got a call to say an adult Yellow-legged Gull turned up soon after I left

Lee Mount

Swifts have really thinned out since a flock of  c30 last Friday over Lee Mount.
Since then 6 on 10th, 5 on 11th and 7 today (1,5,1)

Did anyone else see the 10 Red Arrows fly through low and fast at 5.10pm today >SE over Lee Mount towards Halifax? WOW!

Snake slough found at Ogden.

At this relatively quiet time for birds, birders might be interested in this. Picture over on the Calderdale Wildlife blog.

Cold Edge and Withens Head

Cold Edge
Butterfly Survey today - what a day with hundreds and hundreds of Small Tortoiseshells - they were all over the place mainly on thistles and Willow Herb and roadside verges along Cold Edge Road.
Also a good number of Green-viened Whites and Small Whites. 1 Ringlet, c6 Small Heaths, 2 Meadow Browns and 2 Peacocks

Birds were a by-product !!
1 Little Owl near Wainstalls
1 Sparrowhawk
2 Little Grebe
1 Grey Heron
c40 B H Gulls - all checked in case of a med gull!
1 Common Gull
1 L B B Gull
4 Curlew (including 2 well fledged juvs)
c30 Lapwing
2 Teal
3 Goosander (on 5th)
1 Moorhen
20+ Linnet - now on thistle heads
20+ Goldfinch
Loads of mipits
40+ each Rooks and Jackdaws
2 Greylag Geese

Withens Head
2 Wheatear
1 Kestrel
1 Skylark
6 Linnet
Lots of Meadow Pipits
30 juv Carrion Crows in one field, with not a sign of an adult - and I had to check carefully they wern't juv Rooks ! Anyone else aware of post breeding juv Carrion Crow flocks?

Todmorden - at a site I would prefer to not mention on a public website - Peregrine falcon.   A first for me in Todmorden.

Juvenile Med Gull Mount Tabor

Checked my photos from yesterday and found these.

Med Gull at Mount Tabor

Found an adult Med Gull this evening at Mount Tabor in fields just beyound Roils Head. Same place as the one that wintered a few years back. Also thought I had a brief view of a juvenile but it flew off before I could get some pics. Will check my photos and see if I photographed it by mistake.

Whiteholme

After our success the other night with the Green Sandpiper Nick Carter and myself couldn't resist another opportunity to get out and check another site for waders moving through.

On arrival we were greeted with lots of small tortoiseshell and large white butterflies as well as several silver y moths all feeding on the thistles by the side of the path.

At the res a mountain biker flushed 3 Curlew from the far end and calling they carried on their journey south, as well as these we were also treated to:-

LRP x 1
Teal x 7
Merlin x 3
Mallard x  1

Not a great list but the Merlin were fantastic, hunting and giving great if brief views.

Several Damselflies and a Dragonfly sp. photos to follow if anyone can help with the id.

Fly Flatts etc

Fly Flatts
Pours down every time I go up there. Same again this morning!
Nothing moving and nothing on the res'r other than the usual 400+ Canadas and 10 Greylags - not even a L B B Gull or B H Gull
1 Wheatear
1 Reed Bunting still singing
The highlight though was a load of Swifts (100+) feeding over the eastern side marsh and whizzing past the car so they were great to watch, not for much longer now as the main exodus will be in another 2 weeks !

Withens Head
6 Curlew
Lots of mipits

Sedge Warbler at Cromwell Bottom

http://cromwellbottom.blogspot.co.uk/

Some great photos of this now scarce warbler in Calderdale....

Caspian's getting closer

3rd summer Caspian Gull at Fairburn yesterday. Gull watches in Calderdale should take a good look at any Yellow-legged Gulls reported, they are definatly getting closer.

Gaddings Dam and Langfield

Wandered up to Gaddings this morning while the rain was coming down (so there wouldn't be any sun-worshippers/tourists/been-there-got-the-tshirt types about) to see if there were any waders - just a single Ringed Plover and a Black-headed Gull.

Lots of Meadow Pipits zipping around at the moment, and 2 Skylarks. A pair of Reed Buntings just below Jail Hole, a Wheatear at Jail Hole, a male Kestrel at Langfield Edge and that was it basically.

Back home a couple of Ravens were over Stoodley Pike and the second brood of House Martins is almost ready to leave the two tone nest:

This nest was built after the existing nest fell down on 10 June and the eggs from the first brood were  smashed. They started rebuilding shortly afterwards using dark mud pellets from a nearby field as there hadn't been any rain to speak of, so their usual supply of clay mud pellets wasn't available. Rain fell while they were building so you can see the switch to the "normal" clay pellets from the Pennine Bridleway - and voila we have a two tone nest! Nest completed on 17 June.

Ringstone Yellow wagtail

Record shot of yellow wagtail in front of the hide, unfortunately unable to get pic of the Green sand.