Before and after

Picked up a pellet last week, almost certainly that of a Long-eared Owl, it contained the remains of 2 Field Voles.

Richard's Pipit a first for Halifax

Richards Pipit at Tower Hill - High Road Well Moor, near Mount Tabor. Above Photos by DF.Hope JB will post any he got.

Two fantastic days birding

Two fantastic finds at the same site, unbelievable good fortune. First I found Halifaxs second ever Woodlark at Tower Hill, Norton Tower yesterday afternoon (last one 1953)Then today I returned with DF but no sign of the Woodlark, instead we flushed a pipit. We both thought it to be a very large pipit and alarm bells began to ring in my head. I think its a Richards I said to Dave and we rang it in to BS to put out on the grapevine. After a while longer we relocated the bird and heard it calling, also Dave got some record shots. We both believed it to be a Richards Pipit and when JB arrived with his super scope we confirmed it. First Record for Calderdale, photos of the pipit to follow. WHATS NEXT IN STORE???

WOODLARK

Woodlark found this afternoon by the manure pile at Norton tower,Tower hill.NCD
SE 053 261 Photos to follow.

Seen tonight

Between 3-5 long eared owls were watched tonight at an undisclosed location.

Also, on the way back up the lane at Jumble Hole, a large sika deer blocked the car! My camera phone was refusing to work, but I managed a shot just as it stepped to the side. Are there sika deer known to be around in the area?

Pink-footed Geese

c100 'pinks' >WNW over Lee Mount yesterday at 13:10 and another lot >W over Brighouse about 16:25 (DF)

Other news today

7 Whooper Swans >SE over Ringstone this morning from Steve L

I 'dipped' on the Green Sandpiper early afternoon and just found a few Goldcrests and a Siskin in the alders at Cromwell Bottom. AW had some Pink-footed Geese over there late afternoon > towards Halifax.

Fly Flatts was hard work this afternoon - 5 Teal and  1 Tufted Duck and that was it other than Kestrels about with at least 5 there today.

Cromwell Bottom LNR

Record shots of the Green Sandpiper and Water Rail at Cromwell Bottom tonight.

Withens Clough

Very little about in very strong winds.
3 tufted duck
Kestrel
16 goldfinch
8 meadow pipit
Stoat by the car park 

Ryburn Res

                Five Mandarin Ducks on the Res this morning.

18th October

Birding at Walshaw Dean when we recieved news of a Green Sandpiper at EGP, so we made a mad dash to Elland at the end of the day just in time to find the bird feeding on the lagoon. A bonus was a Water Rail found at the edge of the reeds at dusk. This puts DF on 145 for the year, not much hope for the rest of us now???

Rishworth and Ringstone

Other things to do today but called at Rishworth to see if the Twite were there first thing - 12  was not bad for me but 50 + were there near the res'r this afternoon (JD)

Ringstone - just 1 Little Grebe this afternoon. couldn't find anything else though someone was discharging a shotgun somewhere beyond the embankment.

Fly Flatts

Late morning
The Common Scoter from yesterday had gone but the female Scaup is still there. It can be tricky to find in the middle of the res'r if the water is 'choppy' as it spends a lot of time feeding under water. At one time it joined 3 Tufted Duck on the east shore.
5 Teal
14 Lapwing soon moved off when a Peregrine went over high >SW
2 Kestrel
30 Starlings >W

Withens
The 4 Stonechats from yesterday had moved a little way down and were located on the fence line just below the former Withens pub.

Hunter Hill

Vis Mig from 07:45 till 10:45 made for and interesting morning with lots of birds moving through.
Highlights moving  >S and >W
841 Redwing
21 Blackbird
3 Mistle Thrush
88 Fieldfare
644 Woodpigeon
135 Starling
122 Chaffinch
22 Greenfinch
7 Goldfinch
2 Reed Bunting
5 Skylark
2 Sparrowhawk
6 Jay
+ a few others

1 f Merlin >N
1 Cormorant >N

Also around the watchpoint
1 Ring Ouzel
1 Barnacle Goose at Stodfold
19 Canada Geese
3 Kestrels
1 Green Woodpecker

Fly Flatts and Withens Head

This afternoon a few thrushes were still on the move with 25 and 85 Fieldfare and c20 Redwings >NW over in the direction of Castle Carr

Also on the res'r a drake Common Scoter and the Scaup which has reappeared after a few days absence. Both were diving and feeding out in the middle of the res'r and also close to the embankment. Its a scope job from the top road !
5 Teal
5 Red Admiral
1 Kestrel
2 B H Gulls

Withens Head
4 Stonechats together on the broken low wall by the farm opposite the wind-farm car park along with c40 Meadow Pipits but no sign of any Wheatears - though it is getting a bit late for them !
1 Snipe
1 Kestrel
1 male Sparrowhawk over >SW

Swales Moor

Redwings galore late morning with 1,220 between 11:00 and 12:40 and that was when the fog started to lift. Earlier on groups were heading >W over Lee Mount but I didn't stay out to do a count then!
Also through Swales with the Redwings (mainly through the gap by the ski-slope). 49 Blackbirds, 1 Song Thrush, 37 Fieldfare and 17 Mistle Thrush. A great morning seeing all these migrants heading through generally >WNW and getting higher as the fog lifted.
2 Raven and a Sparrowhawk also went >S
2 Red Admirals

Redwings

Following huge numbers of redwing being reported over Oxenhope yesterday and today, there has been odd groups of 15-40 moving west over Jumble Hole on and off all day. At dusk, over 200 steadily filled up the hawthorns behind the Pennine Way.

BTO videos

There are some quite good videos on the BTO website worth having a look at if you are just starting or if you have been birding a long time. There are some especially good ones comparing tricky species. The most recent video is on Scoters.

Find the BTO home page then on the Kingfisher photo click on 'Learn about birds' this should take you to a selection of workshop videos.
Give it a try !

Mixenden and Ogden

This afternoon had enough being inside so ventured out in the drizzle and hill fog. Thought about heading up to Fly Flatts but that would have been a waste of time looking at the fog over Hunter Hill!

Mixenden Res'r
13 Redwing flyovers with nothing on the res'r - (Goldeneye any time ! )

Ogden
2 Wigeon
1 Little Grebe
1 Great Crested Grebe
c50 Mallard
The usual mix of B H and Common Gulls gradually heading off towards Thornton Moor Res'r included c15 L B B Gulls

Plenty of small birds about (in DS's and BS's passerine alley)!! with 6 Goldfinch , c20 Chaffinch , 3 Blackbirds, 16+ Great Tits, 10+ Goldcrest, 12+ Coal Tits, 12+ Blue Tit, 8 Robins, 2 Wren, 2 Dunnock, 1 Nuthatch and a Treecreeper bathing in a small stream 5 meters away was nice but could I get a photo because of dead branch in the way !
1 Sparrowhawk over
5 Siskin flyovers
c35 Redwings  over the car park >NW

Ogden Garden

A flock of circa one hundred redwings landed in the garden this morning. Very diffficult to be precise as to numbers as they were very active.