Another Ogden evening check

               Black Headeds will soon be starting to lose the hoods

                                           Funky Heron

                         Adult above,  juv below.

                                  Well its a start.

                                   Herons moving positions

                                          13 BH gulls present tonight.

With a report of another 2 Blackwits, or the same 2, around Calderdale I thought I may get to see June out in style and come across them at Ogden but it ended up with June going out in its usual fashion, quiet.
13 Black Headed gulls were present along with just 1 LBB and no fly overs.
The water held the usual adult and juv Herons , 15 Canada geese and the usual Mallards.
No Cuckoo calls this evening.
Well, June,s out of the way now so lets see what July has to offer.
BS

An amazing hour amongst the big gulls. Oxenhope, Members Only.

                                             Choppy Water

                                   Plenty to sift through

                                                 White Horses

               LBB over rough water

                                Swifts piling through

                     Herring coming in to land

                               Larger, dark mantled Herring, ( argentatus)
                            correct me if I,m wrong Mick C.

                                                      Pink legs unfortunately.

                                                                   LBB

          Pr Tufted, drake entering eclipse

                                                    1 Oystercatcher present.

Oxenhope res.   1630- 1745 hrs. Rain then brightening up to blue sky and sunshine
                                                              Strong WNW 6 gusting 7. Visibility Drax.

A pleasing hours watch which felt more like sea watching with the strong wind and white horses across the waves.
The gulls seemed to enjoy it coming and going throughout and stretching nearly half way along the reservoir standing on the exposed islands all facing head to the wind.
The pair of Common Sandpipers were still tending their chick which must be a difficult task living alongside around 500 Lesser Black Backed gulls.
A Dunlin appeared in the SW corner and an Oystercatcher came in on the NW shore.
A pair of Tufted was unusual with the drake partially in eclipse so possibly a non flyer.
6 Curlew flew NW over the bumps whilst 3 Black Headed gulls headed >N.
Swifts were heading into the wind and Swallows were feeding down by the wood.

c500 LBB gull
9 Herring
3 BH gull
1pr Tufted
1pr common Sandpiper + 1 chick
6 Curlew.................>NW
1 Dunlin
1 Oystercatcher
Sev Swallows and Swifts
+ usual sp.
BS

Eaten alive at Ogden

What was meant to be a quiet, casual stroll around Ogden late evening became far from pleasant being harassed with swarms of Midges in the calm damp conditions.
This had its good point with skies full of Swifts very high making use of the good food supply.
Otherwise the area was mega quiet with nothing passing through and only 1 BH gull,12 Canadas and the usual sp present. Most of the Mallards are now going into eclipse.
                          Good to get the Cuckoo calling again from the Pines high above the west shore but keeping out of sight. A poor run for Ogden through the month which can be expected and its hard to believe that I have built up a species list of 110 over the last few years for this area.
                                                   Anyway, a couple of days now and June, like the England football squad, is gone and we can start getting to grips with some movement starting with dispersion and then moving on to visible migration.
BS

Ogden evening visit

              This juv Heron was keeping near to the noisy adult.

A late evening combined dog walk and check of Ogden did,nt turn up the goods but pleasingly quiet from the public which was probably due to the football.
I thought the NE shoreline was worth a check after this mornings grapevine message of 2 Black Tailed Godwits over the Calderdale area but not to be.
An adult Heron with a juv was standing guard near the passerine alley watch point whilst Black Headed and Lesser Black Backed filtered through >N with 4 of each present on the water.
                                                   Interestingly 3 short billed Curlew headed >W very high and direct but a call defined any problem of i.d. putting then to young birds.
A bit late in the evening for passerines with just a couple of singing Willow Warblers, a very vocal Song Thrush and the usual Wrens, Robins etc.
BS

Gulls Galore, Oxenhope. Members Only.

                                  Skies alive with big gulls

                                                             LBB

             You,re just forced to love gulls

 Hope these pics don,t upset you Mick Cunningham, he says he,s
                missing the Oxenhope gulls at Huddersfield.

            Breeding proven with 1 pr Common Sandpiper with
                         very young chick.

Oxenhope  1600-1730 hrs.  Very cloudy, NW>5 then heavy rain. Visibility, Drax.

As always,nearly anyway, another interesting visit to Oxenhope where the gulls were wall to wall with c 700 LBBs, 21 Herring and 2 Black Headed. The birds were very fidgety and easily flushed, once with Carrion crows and once with a helicopter, which was annoying when I,d got half way through scoping them and the whole shebang took off  so I,d to start again once they had settled.
Nothing amongst the Herrings that made me suspect a Yellow Legged although most had their legs submerged but you can usually tell by the head, but I always like to see the legs to confirm it.
The Curlew roost seems to have disbanded and moved on now as only 3 were present unless it was down to the wet conditions and they were keeping their heads down.
                                           2 Oystercatchers were present and a pair of Common Sandpipers were warning me off  having a very young chick which disappeared very quickly into the undergrowth which I did the same so as not to cause any disturbance.
A fitting end to a decent days birding.
I saw from the log that CK had been up a.m. and got more or less the same gull count as me.
BS

Leeshaw Reservoir

                                   Just 3 Curlew left in the area now

                                                         Swifts in migration mode

                                            Oystercatchers on the move

                   21 Oyks in 1 hour high and >NW

                         Nasty skies coming from the west

         Last 3 Curlews hanging on

Leeshaw Reservoir   0730 hrs - 0930 hrs. Bright sunny start then W>4 increasing
                                                                   as dark clouds and drizzle came over by 0830 hrs.

A very lively morning with the first signs of visible migration as Swifts piled through throughout the watch.
Unusual to see Oystercatchers moving with 8 present on site and a count of 21 over >NW within one hour all high and distant.
LBB gulls were also trickling through heading >NW.
Nearly all the Lapwings have left the field now, apart from a few late breeders, and are flocking on the edge of the moor. 2 Snipe were chipping away but could,nt get a sighting on them.
A check of Fly Flatts on the way back just produced Swifts through >NE, 1 Curlew and several LBB gulls over the water.
Nothing on the water other than the usual Canadas. Very low cloud base and heavy drizzle up there.

Leeshaw
39 Lapwing
1 Kestrel
2 Snipe
3 Curlew
2 Heron
6 House Martins
sev Swallows
Plenty Linnets and Mipits

Vis Mig Leeshaw
21 Oystercatchers...........................NW
8 Oystercatchers............................Blogging
200 + Swifts..................................>E and >NE
c 50 LBB gulls.............................>NW
BS