In search of Denise,s Redstart

                                           Shoals of Starlings

 This is what I though was the bird in question till I got back with the photos.

                                    Plenty Common gulls in the fields.

A phone call from NK as I was walking home from work reporting Denise S. finding a Redstart down Old Guy Rd was worth a quick tea and off for a look although by now the rain was bouncing down.
Once in the area I soon located the 2 Wheatears she had seen alongside the Redstart but nothing else. A scan round revealed a small bird acting oddly on the wall flitting down into the reeds in the boggy field and back onto the wall again.
The bird was 3 fields away and in pouring rain but I thought this must be the Redstart so I took some snaps,although it was well out of the range of the camera ,and away home. When I got the photos on the computer fully cropped and blow up Id been watching a juv Meadow Pipit!!!
Well done to Denise for finding a now rare bird and one that is extinct in Queensbury.
Denises report and pic will be on Nigels blog when he sorts out his temporary blip.
BS

More Swallows on the move

Another day of Swallows and House Martins on the move from mid morning when the rain had cleared till just after midday.
The House Martins were very high all >S in a brisk NE>4 coming over in waves of 5 or 6 but these were greatly outnumbered by Swallows , not quite as high but coming over fast in real migration mode.
Two very high Sparrowhawks headed over >W mid morning being obvious movers as well as 3 Skylarks in the same direction.
Foxhill park at midday held 3 Common gull and a group of Feral pigeons enjoying the seeded goal mouth, not a common bird to this area.
BS

Queensbury today

After heavy rain this morning the day developed into blue skies and sunshine with a bright clear moon which will be a full bombers moon on Friday.
After the rain, late morning, plenty Swallows appeared with some movers but most birds blogging in the sunshine and taking the chance to feed.
Twelve Linnets came over the park at midday all >W and obviously moving along with 3 Pied Wagtail in the same direction.
Well done to DJS for predicting a Skua as HC gone an Arctic from the Oxenhope watchpoint.
BS

Swallows on the move

Nuthatch, photo courtesy Tracy C.

                                 Juv Dipper, photo courtesy Ken J.

Thanks to Tracy for the Nuthatch pictures taken over the weekend at St Ives, Bingley and to Ken  for the juv Dipper snapped at Ogden proving breeding there by the resident pair.

Yesterday evening there were hundreds of Swallows held up with the drizzle around Shelf Moor both over the fields and on the wires and this morning the move was on.
From first thing Swallows were piling over Queensbury in good numbers all >S and this continued till just after midday although by mid morning the numbers had decreased.
Meadow Pipits were also moving over >W but this had dried up by 0830hrs when the sky turned blue.
BS

Green Lane/ Ogden

                                   Influx of Tufted at Ogden

                                    Drakes still in partial eclipse

                  Few Common gulls in fields but outnumbered with BHGs

                                    Plenty small gulls around Green Lane

A visit to Green Lane at 1645hrs to check the conditions for movers over Ringby found Ringby Top shrouded in cloud and heavy drizzle pushed on by a SW>5 which was rapidly getting worst the 15 minutes I was there .
The only sp. likely to move on a night like this was Terns and gulls so off to Ogden to try my luck.
As I got to Ogden the drizzle had turned to rain getting heavier by the minute but its back to work tomorrow so a final dousing would,nt hurt.
There were more small gulls on the water than usual (c 70 ), some flying round feeding, but peering hard through the rain I couldnt make any of them into Terns.
Unusual for here there were 8 Tufteds scattered around the reservoir but little else other than the Mallards which are well down in numbers now but will soon be increasing for the autumn.
At least my birding gear has till the weekend to dry out now.
BS

Fly Flatts

                                   Distant Snipe on the move

                          Several skeins of canadas

Fly Flatts  0700-1000hrs
A good morning condition wise after a rocky start with banks of heavy drizzle coming over the moor but by 0830 these had passed leaving a good grey sky and a SW>5.
Meadow Pipits were moving early along with 2 Tree Pipits but this dried up by 0800hrs.
The first moving Snipe were heading west at a distance and a Peregrine followed by a Sparrowhawk was a bonus. Two Curlew came over whilst Swallows were pouring through as the morning went on, these were also seen on my way home and over Queensbury.

21 LBB gulls..................................>N
28 Meadow Pipit...........................>W
2 Tree Pipit...................................>W
2 Curlew.......................................>W
1 Peregrine....................................>W
1 Sparrowhawk.............................>W
126 Canadas................................>NW
150+ Swallows............................>S
7 Snipe........................................>W

No Wheatear to be seen
Looking like Twite have given up on Fly Flatts

Thanks for letting me out of the top of New Park Rd Tracy, that was me with the sofa sticking out of the back doing shifting for the daughter at Shelf Moor. Bet you thought I was taking it to Green Lane for the birders.
Hope to get there at tea again weather permitting for another Buzzard?
BS

Green Lane Owl family

                                                Bird 1

                                                              Young one.

                                                Bird 2
BS

Green Lane/ Ringby Top

                                      Green Lane Buzzard

     Unfortunately the bird was between the sun and me.

                                           Disappearing over Ringby Top

          Controversy, Curlew / Whimbrel mix ?

 This mad crow had a go at mobbing me

                     Its wing hit the lens at one point.

Green Lane, 1700-1730hrs,  Ringby 1740-1830hrs.
It all started quiet photographing the 3 Little Owls which were all showing followed by a bit of gull watching until a Buzzard came over from the east heading slowly SW over the top of Ringby Quarry. Once over the top of Ringby it began circling and even hovered briefly before being mobbed by corvids.
A quick car dash to Ringby and up onto the top to get a 360 deg view but no sign of the bird although the corvids were still creating and very fidgety .
I had alerted DJS who failed to see it so it must have changed direction over Shibden but as I was scanning to the west I got the 7 note Whimbrel call and saw 4 birds to the SW of me and by this time distant. Another quick call to DJS who alerted NCD at Mt Tabor who picked up the birds the same as Id seen them, 3 together and one seperate but he got a possible short Curlew/ Whimbrel type call so possibly a mixed group? will have to study the photo.
To finish off with a suicide crow started mobbing me and at one point hit its wing on the lens then got fed up and flew off, probably hyped up from the Buzzard.  Quite an evening.
BS

Fly Flatts/ Cold Edge.

            Plenty Swallows on the move

                 LBBs heading through

              BHGs at Cold Edge

     No just as impressive as Tracys gulls on the rocks shot

  Thought this juv LBB was the Skua DJS promised me.

A good start weather wise at Fly Flatts 0700hrs with a light ENE>2 and grey skies but by 0800hrs thick fog and heavy drizzle had piled in from the east forcing me to abandon and drop below the cloud base to Cold Edge Dams where there was more visibility but very few birds.
Swallows were the bird of the day with c 150 >E and >NE into the wind along with 4 House Martins.
LBBs were going through in the same direction but the water at both venues was deserted other than small numbers of Canadas, Mallards and a few BHGs.

Fly Flatts
5 Wheatear
1 juv LBB  >E
Few Swallow  >E

Cold Edge Dams
c150 Swallow....................>E and >NE
c90 LBB gulls....................>E and >NE
21 BHGs ..........................>NE
Several Linnets, Meadow Pipits and Goldfinch.
BS

A taste of how it should be.

    If  only Fly Flatts was like this. Scarborough, courtesy Tracy C.

                                           Redshank,  photos, T.C

                                               Hovering Kestrel, photo, T. C.

               You dont get better shots than this, courtesy Tracy C.

These photos are fresh today from Scarborough taken by Tracy Collier.
The swallow nest was inside the Sea Life centre and the shot from Marine Drive contains
Herring Gull, Common Gull, LBB Gull, Kittiwake and Cormorant.
Thanks for those Tracy, at least now, on this misty wet night, we can look out to sea and count the gulls.
Just had an update from Tracy saying the Swallow photos are down to her husband as he,s taller than her.
BS

Ogden in the Rain, p.m. visit

                                          A grey wet Ogden

                                                Rain coming over the Withens

                                A cloudy Mixenden reservoir.

A late afternoon visit to Ogden in a hope that the torrential showers would have dropped something in but instead it caused an adverse effect with the area deserted of bird life.
The golf course was waterlogged with no birds in sight other than Swallows feeding and a few Woodpigeons over.
The reservoir held 1 Black Headed gull and 1 LBB gull but these soon left leaving about 2 dozen Mallard and several feeding Swallows. With no sign of the Spotted Flycatchers and the rain beating down it was time to up stumps and head back to the ranch.
A drive around Corporal Hill / Green Lane on the way back found just a few small gulls in the fields.
Hope that dreaded fog keeps away from Fly Flatts in the morning.
BS

Gardening 1 Birding 0 .

Hoped for Ogden tonight but with a big privet hedge to cut that had to take preference whilst the weather held although it was raining steadily whilst I was doing it. A quick drive round Green Lane first found several hundred small gulls in the fields ready for moving to roost, 90 % of these being BHGs although no time the scope through them.
Swarms of Black Fly were around the trees in the park and 15 Swallows were taking advantage of their presence.
Otherwise today , the grey skies and showers looked good but things seemed reluctant to move, or over Queensbury at least.
Just the morning to work then a long weekend, hopefully something good will show on Sunday.
BS.

Green Lane Little Owl

                       Three photos all courtesy of Tracy C.

Three cracking photos of the Green Lane Little Owl kindly sent by Tracy catching the bird in an unusual exposed position. Thanks for saving the blog from a photoless night Tracy.