Queensbury Today

Another late finish at Shelf moor, what a lovely night for  painting emulsion.
Unfortunately, for me anyway, the dreaded heatwave predicted by birder Angela has arrived with 30 deg in the garage today so not a pleasing day to work.
Outside was hotter still with wall to wall blue skies and sunshine which is definitely not birder friendly although it should give us some more shoreline.
A few Common gulls came over Shelf tonight whilst a drive round Green Lane found hay making going on with the fresh mown fields full of corvids and a few Black Headed gulls.
No sign of the Little Owls round there now that their favourite area has a house built on it.
BS

Ogden, flying visit

                                Mallards going into eclipse now

                                         Ned Hill Kestrel

                                    Black Headeds creeping back

                                   A good season for House Sparrows

                                          A calm Ogden

                          This flock had me going

                                  Waders or Terns

  Panic over, Racing Pigeons.

A quick check on the water last thing on the way home from Shelf Moor  in the hope of Scoters, Terns or Waders found just the usual 12 Canadas along with 5 BH gulls and a single Common gull over >W.
The highlight was a Common Sandpiper which called and flew across the north end landing on the muddy shoreline at the NW corner but no time to go round there.
The above flock of birds very high and circling gave me a start thinking Waders or Terns only to get Racing Pigeons in the bins.
BS

Leeshaw, Fly Flatts, Mixenden. am

                         Leeshaw         A mish mash of birds

                                   BH gulls coming back

                          Leeshaw Ringed Plover

            Leeshaw   Little Ringed Plover left,  Ringed  Plover right

                                    LRP                           RP

                                                     RP

              Up to 5 Golden Plover   Hunter Hill

                 Tons of shoreline at Leeshaw

                                It dont get better than this

With Fly Flatts lost in a howling SW>5 with heavy drizzle and low cloud is was a quick check and on to Leeshaw.
Leeshaw is already underway with waders on the move and going by the amount of shoreline this is the place its going to happen. Up to 4 LRPs and 1 RP were present as well as the other waders listed.
Viewing is distant , especially with the water so low , so a scope is recommended. Note that viewing is from the track only as all the reservoir grounds are strictly private. I applied for a permit to YWA but was turned down through the usual health and safety job.

Leeshaw
1 Ringed Plover
4 Little Ringed Plover
2 Redshank
3 Curlew
7 Oystercatcher
15 Lapwing
1 Common Sandpiper
1 Little Owl
1 Heron
Sev Greylag with young
4 Canadas
6 BH Gull
2 LBB gull
Pied Wagtail
Sev House and Sand Martin over the water as well as Swallow and Swift

Fly Flatts
1 Common Sandpiper
2 Curlew
2 Oystercatcher
+ usual Canadas etc

Mixenden
3 LBB gull
2 BH gull
1 Gt Crested Grebe
2 Moorhen
1m Tufted
Sev Swallows
White Crow nearby.

Hunter Hill
5 Golden Plover
BS

LEO search

     Why is there always a branch in the way ?

Did,nt get free until 1800 hrs tonight so it was off to check the local Long Eared Owl situation in calm sticky conditions.
The owls are much quieter now with no hunger calls tonight from the young and the adult birds much more relaxed and laid back, perhaps the young are looking after themselves more now.
Had to make do with some through the trees shots tonight with little movement going on.
Otherwise, several BH gulls over >N and 3 very high Curlews calling and heading >W.
BS

Green Lane / Corporal Hill

             A good season for Woodpigeons

A dinnertime then evening dash around Corporal Hill and Green Lane found BH gulls slowly returning to the fields with 3 seen on the deck and 5 flyovers as well as 2 LBBs and 1 Herring >W.
Woodpigeons with their young were showing in good numbers along with 5 Collared Doves, the latter not being a common bird in that area.
Good flocks of Goldfinch and Linnets were feeding in the horse field with around 20 Greenfinch very mobile at the bottom of Corporal Hill.
Plenty Swallows and Swifts overhead whilst 8 House Martins were at the bottom of Deanstones.
Hope you all have an enjoyable weekend.
BS

Swifts Galore

                                          Swifts, bird of the day

Swifts were piling over the garage at Queensbury between 1300- 1500 hrs all >SW with around the 200 mark. Too early for any movement yet so probably just a feeding party skirting around the black skies but spectacular to see. Several over the trees around Foxhill this evening making the best of the still muggy skies.
A nice surprise today for HC when a Red Kite flew 40 ft above his head at Fly Flatts, wow!
BS

Shelf Moor

Just home from working at Shelf Moor this evening so very little time for birding yet again.
6 Lapwings were near the pond down there along with 9 Canadas which came into the field to roost as I headed home.
A flock of around 30 Linnets and 20 Goldfinch were very mobile on thistles whilst a steady flow of LBBs headed >N overhead.
Apologies for mega boring blog lately but until this bungalow job is sorted in the next few weeks birding has to take a bit of a back seat but I,ll keep going the best I can, at least its June and the quietest month.
BS

Ogden, Scoter and Wader watch

A quick after work check on Ogden with Scoters and Waders in mind but not to be.
The water held the usual Canadas with a count of 11 which is promising as birds attract birds so hopefully they.ll invite something down.
1 BH Gull was present along with the Mallards whilst the long staying Tufted has finally got fed up of Warburtons bread and moved on.
Calm clear blue skies looked raptorish had it not been June whilst a few LBB gulls headed for Oxenhope.
Did,nt have time to do the circuit as it was back down to Shelf Moor for more bungalow renovations where 9 Canadas came over and 2 very high Herring gulls >W.

An excellent report this morning from HC with a Cuckoo half way down the Dailie fields, nice one Compo.
BS

Shelf Moor

Working down at Shelf Moor tonight so had a quick check around the fields.
Lapwing have bred successfully near the old abattoir with 2 pair + 2 flying young whilst plenty Meadow Pipits and Linnets are around the area.
Most of the fields, including the trailer park field are unviewable due to Buttercups which seem to have taken over this year as well as Rape flowers.
A good find by DJS today with a Ringed Plover at Fly Flatts, well spotted Dave, see Calderbirds blog, looks like wader movement is under starters orders.
BS

The Birding day that was,nt meant to be.

It started at 0600 hrs and off to Fly Flatts where on arrival the YWA were working on the gate so on to the north end only to find it heaving with cars, campers and motorbikes with every Druid and Hippy from miles around heading for the sacrifice stones to do a bit of sun worshipping on the longest day, if they found the sun they did better than me.
Next plan was to move on to Leeshaw but just over the ridge from Fly Flatts the single track road was blocked solid with cars from both directions in a stand off with plenty fisticuffs and one car with no windows left.
They did,nt appear to be birder friendly so rather that blow the horn and shout, " get out of the way" it was reverse for 100 yds so I could turn around and head for Cold Edge Dams which was plan C.
On arrival at Cold Edge dams the W>6 drove heavy rain showers over the moor along with low cloud cutting visibility periodically.
After a check of both dams and a walk up the track to the small dam I came away with , 1 Little Grebe, 1 m Tufted going into eclipse and the usual Reed Buntings, Meadow Pipits and Canadas.
By 0830 hrs I was back home getting on with my jobs.

A mountain of jobs at the moment both at home and Shelf Moor which I hope to get as much as possible done during June into July, the quietest months so tea time was a quick check on Soil Hill, once again in a strong W>5 and showers.
Plenty signs of breeding Skylarks and Meadow Pipits but that was about it other than good numbers of LBB gulls over heading for the water at Oxenhope.

   Plenty LBB gulls over in the dark skies

                                        Troubled skies over Cold Edge

                                 Withins from Soil Hill under stormy clouds.

BS

Ogden early evening

              Plenty Coal Tits in the Pines

   Canada flock up to 12 now.

                                           1 of 2 Herons

                                          1 of 3 Ned Hill Kestrels

Did,nt break free until 1830 hrs tonight with work, shopping and a pile of jobs to do so just time to harness up the dogs for a lap of Ogden.
A bright sunny evening with good numbers of Coal Tits in the Pine trees along with a few Willow Warblers still singing hidden by the greenery but otherwise most of the passerines had gone down.
Some good shoreline showing ready for next months wader movement starting but tonight the water was quiet with just Mallards and the resident Canada goose flock which has now increased to 12.
Two Heron were on the edges with several Carrion Crows.
All quiet in the skies but this can be expected in June.
BS

More signs of Dispersion, Greenfinch

    A rarity for Foxhill, flock of 11 Greenfinch

            Attracted down for the dandelion clocks

 How am I suppose to know when lunch time is over
now with the dandelion clock eaten.
We still use primitive methods in Queensbury.

A real surprise at lunch time whilst dog walking up Foxhill park when I spied a small group of 11 passerines on the football pitch. Alarm bells started to ring and on closer investigation found them to be Greenfinch, a rare bird for this area and another sign of birds starting to disperse.
They stayed all the time I was up there taking the seeds from the Dandelion clocks.

A quick dash to Ogden after work in a NNW>5 and darkening clouds only to find the water very choppy and holding the usual Mallards, and Canadas. I have,nt seen the resident Tufted in the last 3 visits there.
Did,nt walk the circuit as limited time and nobody had told me it was national scumbag evening with a hoard of undesirables around the water having a who could shout the loudest competition, unfortunately I,d left my missile launcher at home.
On the bright side I met the lovely birding couple Angela and Gary on a birding walk about .
Good to talk to JL in the garage this morning who usually calls in when he risks going to the local Sweeney Todd barber, you,re a braver man than me Gunga Din.
Hope the weekend is kind to us all.
BS