Ogden

An amazing find by Denise today with the Yellow-browed Warbler still present and showing well till just before 6 pm in the lakeside willows along with a Chiff-chaff and Goldcrests, L T Tits etc. hopefully some photos from Denise and Brian later.

Yellow-browed Warbler at Ogden

A couple of shots: one from this morning at around 11:30 and one from this evening at around 6:45.

29th September Ogden

Zoomed up to Ogden with AZ to see the Yellow-browed Warbler but despite a 3 hours search it failed to show. Did have 1 Crossbill over, 2 Cormorants and a couple of Lesser Black Backs. White Crow still in the usual fields above Mixy.

Hartshead area

There were some large flocks in the newly ploughed fields around the church area today -

80+ Lapwings - presumably the same flock from Jay House Lane area.
200+ Woodpigeons
200+ Starlings
plus 2 Wheatears
and 3 Swallows

Elland G P and Ringststone

From Steve L - around 400 hirundines over the ski-lake area this morning (c300 Swallows and c100 House Martins)

and from yesterday at Ringstone - 3 Sand Martins and 1 G C Grebe

Ogden and Mixenden

I checked the reservoirs yesterday in the pouring rain thinking maybe 'seabird' time!
Not even a gull in sight on either reservoir.
2 f Goosander on Mixenden
1 Cormorant and 1 Wigeon on Ogden (3 there on Sunday) and that was it other than 2 Swallows near Syke Lane

Calder in spate at Copley Valley, Hollas Lane

 



The river is up to four courses of stone still showing of the old bridge whose demolition was summarily imposed upon us by the council, (far right.) On the left four mallards have found slack water with good feeding opportunities.

Three drakes and a duck. One of the drakes hasn't completely come out of eclipse plumage. He still has a brown head and no curl on his rump. Or is he a bird of the year just getting his first adult plumage? I'm sure somebody will know.

Jay House lane Monday

96   Lapwing
12 Mallard
55 swallows
8 BHGull

Birds on the boundary

Seen on today's annual Brighouse Boundary Walk

Dipper -at Wellholme Park
c25 Goldfinches at Rastrick
c20 House Martins at Rastrick
Heron over the M62- Rastrick
Kestrel by the M62- Rastrick
2 Buzzards over Kirklees Hall
c90 Starlings at Hartshead
c100 Lapwings over newly ploughed fields at Rastrick
c200 B H Gulls in "               "                          " + 6 Herring Gulls and 7/8 Common Gulls
c90 Starlings on wires at Clifton
c 25 H Martins with 6/7 Swallows at Clifton
2 sore feet after 14.3 miles......!

EGP

 20+ Siskin on the feeders this aft

Walshaw Dean 1:00pm

Fairly birdless to be honest, though pretty windy.

The highlight was a whinchat in a field close to the cattle grid by the bottom corner of the plantation.
Otherwise just 5 canada geese and 1 mallard on Lower Walshaw, around a dozen swallows moving through, 2 red grouse heard.

Nuthatches move in

One was calling constantly, in the fretful way they have, in the Albert Promenade area yesterday, and anothere in the wood here at Dudwell today.

Matt Bell noted them moving in to Jumble Hole Clough the other day.

Swales Moor - Ringby Lane

Just managed an hour up there this afternoon. Most of the birds were sheltering on the west side out of the easterly wind. 1 Green Woodpecker, c50 Goldfinch, 2 Mistle Thrush and 6 Linnets.
On the top - 1 Skylark, 3 Meadow Pipits and 9 Swallows with 8 L B B Gulls >SW

Todmorden

From Andy H - 16 Pink-footed Geese low over Todmorden centre at 18.53 heading towards Bacup/Rochdale this evening

Jumble Hole

2 willow warblers and 2 goldcrests were feeding in birch trees with a small tit flock this morning. A blackcap was around the day before. Nuthatch are now here daily, but few green woodpecker this year. 28 swallows of all ages gathered on the wires outside my bedroom window this morning.

Other news today

From Martynbirder - 'a large flock of Alba wagtails near Gorple today (60ish) contained at least seven White's that I could see well'. Well worth a look in the next few days if anyone is up there.

Also in the last few days lots of reports coming in of Pink-footed Geese on the move into the country - the first report from our area was from Andy of 10 over Northowran this morning struggling up the valley in the strong wind.
Also reasonably good moves op Meadow Pipits and Swallows reported today.

Swales Moor

I spent a blustery hour or so on the top late morning. There was a little bit of movement with birds mainly SW including 30 Swallows, 25 Meadow Pipits, 1 House Martin and 7 juv/sub adult L B B Gulls.
1 Wheatear probably Greenland race was feeding around the quarry along with Linnets and Goldfinch.
A Goldcrest in a solitary bush was a surprise at that elevation on such a windy day

Stop The Badger Cull!

I know its not bird related but this is something I feel very strongly about. The government has now issued licenses for the culling of badgers, despite scientific evidence given to them that culling would not stop the spread of TB but would in-fact increase it.

Please sign this petition and share wherever you think you can. We need 100,000 signatures to try get this decision reversed and we are a third of the way there.

http://justdosomething.org.uk/badgersmatter

‘I think the most interesting observation was made to me by a senior politician who said, “fine John we accept your science, but we have to offer the farmers a carrot. And the only carrot we can possibly give them is culling badgers”.’
Professor John Bourne
(Chair of the Independent Scientific Group (ISG) on bTB)http://www.justdosomething.org.uk/badgersmatter

Ringstone (Black-tailed Godwit)

I have just received this information from Sean Gray today on one of the 7 godwits that turned up at Ringstone on the evening of 21st July - one flew on west while the others came in to feed in the fields. Nick D got some shots and realised one of the birds was colour ringed - well done Nick. Sean picked up the information and made investigations, with thanks to his contacts Jose and Vigfus for the info below.

VWO-WRflag (the code by which the bird is known)was ringed as a pullus in N Iceland
on 13th July 2007.

Below are the subsequent sightings of this bird

WO-WRflag 13.07.07 Modruvellir, NW of Akureyri (road 82), N Iceland
WO-WRflag 02.11.07 Inch Island Lake, Speenoge, Co. Donegal, N Ireland
WO-WRflag 24.08.08 Slatty´s Bridge, Glounthaune station, Cork, S Ireland
WO-WRflag 04.11.08 River Shannon Callows, Shannon Harbour, Co. Offaly,
WO-WRflag 16.02.09 Bullock Island, Shannon Harbour, Co. Offaly, C Ireland
WO-WRflag 22.07.09 Lough Beg, Cork harbour, S Ireland
WO-WRflag 30.08.09 Barnawee, Dungarvan Harbour, Co. Waterford, S Ireland
WO-WRflag 12.07.11 Broadmeadow, Swords Estuary, Co. Dublin, E Ireland
WO-WRflag 28.08.11 Dungarvan Harbour, Co. Waterford, S Ireland
WO-WRflag 04.10.11 Dungarvan Harbour, Co. Waterford, S Ireland
WO-WRflag 21.07.12 Ringstone edge reservoir above Halifax, West Yorkshire, E England

Interesting that the first sighting on the mainland was at Ringstone !

Ogden and Mixenden /Stodfold

We had a couple of hours in the valley this afternoon and went to look at the wagtail fields to see if we could re-find NK's White wag from earlier today. No luck but the usual flock was well down to 6 so it had probably moved on.
Elsewhere 2 Dippers were together in the stream by Stodfold Barn with 1 Gt Spotted Woodpecker nearby and 1 Goldcrest.
In the valley a good number of Swallows (c50) and 2 House Martins. Also c50 blogging Meadow Pipits and 2 sightings of a female Sparrowhawk and 1 Kestrel. Also nearby - 2 foxes looking immaculate.