Remembering the summer

                                    Plenty Willow Warblers about

                                  Stonechats bred well

                                        Whitethroat

                                       Juv Wheatear

                                   Juv Common Sandpiper

                                Breeding success for Whitethroat

             Unusually a Willow Warbler was at Fly Flatts

                                     Linnet on the Hill

                    Passing Soil Hill waders   Dunlin

                                         Ringed Plover

                                       An elusive Whinchat

                                      A good year for Stonechat.

Just summat to look at on a cold wet and windy Halloween.

Only thing of interest today was a report from a local customer saying one of the Tawny Owls from the summer has returned to his garden. Will try for a pic or two at the weekend.
BS

Some to remember

                                  A cracking sunrise but short lived.

A bright red sunrise this morning but rapidly deteriorating leaving a day of rain and drizzle.
Nothing reportable but good news from Soil Hill where the weekends Twite sightings of 3 birds has now increased to 10. KM. ( BOG.)

Pics below taken by me are just a few of the better birds seen locally over the last 10 months.

                          JAN  Snow Bunting, Soil Hill

                      FEB       Goldeneye   Ogden

              MARCH     Crossbill  Back Lane, Ogden

                    APRIL    Twite, Fly Flatts

                     MAY  Wheatear, Tracys Field     TC

                                 JUNE  Golden Plover,  Fly Flatts

                JULY Shoveler,  Ogden  NK

                  AUG   Common Tern,  Ogden

         SEPT   Yellow Browed Warbler Ogden  DS

                    OCT   Twite  Soil Hill

Theres been plenty more but these are just a few of the monthly highlights.
BS

Queensbury Today

                                   Sun rising above the garage

                                            Early light, Victoria Hall

                                              Starlings on the move
Photos from work Saturday morning.

A foggy start today but soon clearing leaving good cloudy skies but outbreaks of drizzle and rain.
On the way to work this morning Redwings were coming over low in the fog but these were not new arrivals but post roosting birds.
Foxhill midday was void of small gulls but a steady flow of LBBs was taking place overhead >W whilst 2 Fieldfare came from the trees and headed off >NW.
Nothing else of interest  but there is an increased number of feeding Starlings around the village.
BS

Fly Flatts washout

                                      Winter Thrushes >NW

                                         Mainly Fieldfare

                                   Fog over the Nab

                                   Fog creeping over the moor

The extra hour of daylight was wasted this morning with dense fog and heavy rain to start with followed by heavy horizontal drizzle blown across the moor with a WNW>6. The fog kept lifting slightly only to be followed by another bank and by 0900hrs it was back to heavy rain and thick fog so time to abandon.
The morning would have been lively with several flocks of Fieldfare and Redwing over >NW along with squadrons of moving Starlings also >NW , some keeping low under the cloud base.
The water was empty apart from 1 Canada goose and again no Twite were present.
The Chaffinch flock by the Delvers is increasing so hopefully Bramblings will appear if we can get them out of Denises garden.
Busy day so the light may be fading before I get chance for a teatime session.
BS

Altwite on the night. Qby, north and south.

                 Twite, a welcome visitor to Soil Hill

                                         

              Theres always a blade of grass or a twig.

                              Small number of Goldfinch there.

                                   100+ Lapwing flock, Brighouse Rd

                                   Lappies and Starlings

                                    Green Lane Jackdaw

                              Little Owl hiding on the deck.

1530 hours and down to Tracys Wheatear field where there was 100+ Lapwings and c200 Starling but no Goldies or Fieldfare in any of the fields. Took plenty snaps then headed on to Corporal Hill where I discovered Id knocked the camera setting so back to the Lapwings to take them all again, what a dipstick.
Green Lane was quiet apart from 1 Little Owl which I nearly overlooked as it was near the ground, otherwise a few small gulls and the usual corvids.
On to Soil Hill where the skies were quiet apart from passing small gulls  and a zig zag trek along the north slope for Jack Snipe proved fruitless although I did flush a cock Pheasant which flew from nearly under my boot scaring the life out of me.
After snapping Goldfinches on the seed tops I saw 4 LBJs which quickly disappeared into the vegetation but spooked me as they acted strange, if they had been Linnets or Mipits they would have flown off.
My first thought was Snow Buntings but after 30 mins search I re located them and found 1 to be a juv Goldfinch and the other 3 Twite which is a good bird for the hill but Id rather have had Snow Bunts.
Clocks back tonight which means an extra hour in bed for normal folk but an extra hour daylight in the morning for early birders.
BS