An improvement in the weather late afternoon at Fly Flatts with an icy cold WNW>5 with 50 % cloud cover and some sunshine briefly. As I was leaving at 1600 hrs a heavy rain cloud had come over.
Very little doing today although the sky looked ideal for Pink Footed geese on the move but only what I believe to be 4 way over towards Stoodley Pike heading >NW. Impossible to say for certain at that distance but they had the jizz of Pinkies.
The SEO made a brief appearance as well as a single Buzzard over the moor whilst the water held 6 Mallard and 2 Teal in the NE corner.
A good forecast for tomorrow with clear skies and a NW>4 which Pinkies like to fly into so we may have a move on before the wind turns to the south then east for the weekend.
History Lesson time..... After putting my blog out yesterday for Slaughter Gap I got several e mails and text messages asking if I knew if there had been some gruesome happening in the area due to the name of Slaughter Gap so I promised that I,d put it on tonights blog briefly without boring anyone.
January 4th 1644 during the civil war Parliamentarian Captain Farrer and his cavalry became separated from his regiment after chasing and capturing several Royalists. Unable to get back through Kings Cross and Sowerby Bridge to his regiment because of Royalist strongholds , and probably traffic jams, no one can get through Sowerby Bridge at tea time, he decided to lead his men across Ovenden Wood aiming to cross Luddenden Dean and cross the moors to Heptonstall.
They were stopped part way up Hunter Hill by Royalists and force into a battle where Captain Farrer and his 9 remaining men surrendered.
The steep part of Hunter Hill leading up to Slaughter Gap is also known as Bloody Field or Bloody Hill, which is still called by this name today every time DJS and me have to walk up it after looking for Ring Ouzel.
The area was thought to go back to Roman days but an organized dig in 1951 found prehistoric pottery taking it back to the iron age.
So there you have it, Slaughter Gap, just one of many local places named from battles during the civil war. Here at Queensbury we have Scarlet Heights because the fields were said to have turned scarlet with the blood spilt during a battle there.
Sleep well, dont have nightmares!!
BS
WEST YORKSHIRE BIRDING. BRIAN SUMNER. I am based at Queensbury and bird a patch within a 10 mile range of home incorporating 16 stretches of water, several plantations, a belt of woodland, stretches of river and canal and good areas of moorland. I specialize in upland birds, reservoir and sky watching. My local patch is Fly Flatts reservoir. Any reports can be sent by text or call to 07771 705024 or see profile for e mail address. All images on this blog are copyright.(2024).