WEST YORKSHIRE BIRDING

BRIAN SUMNER.
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KEEPING BIRDING LOCAL.

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NOTE !!
No sightings of Roe Deer, Fox, Hare or Badger will be mentioned on this blog throughout the year and links will be removed from other blogs giving the whereabouts of these mammals due to the rising influx of poaching, long dogging and lamping by sick individuals.
BS




Saturday, February 13, 2021

For the love of gulls and reservoirs.

 

OGDEN                             re yesterdays blog, Black Headed with full hood
                                         BHG  full winter plumage showing ear spot
                                   Some show bars over the crown and neck.
                                         Partially acquiring breeding plumage

     Kingfisher still in same place, could be froze to the pipe!!
MIXENDEN                             11 Black Headeds had full or near hoods.

                                            Chocolate brown hood
                    This was an extremely black shade.
                                          

                   Common gull also in breeding plumage with head streaks gone.



                                      Wintry scenes at Mixenden

Back to reservoir watching at an ideal time just now with several waters frozen over and wildfowl moving around looking for new sites. Just had a text from MC saying that Estonia is well frozen so Smew are on the move. Micks getting them down in Oxon, see link on right.
                         First check was Ogden at -5 degrees, a winter record , before it got up to -3 but feeling real brass monkeys with the added wind chill.
                        Re yesterdays blog, 3 Black Headed gulls had full breeding plumage hoods as well as 2 Common gulls out of around 100 small gulls but an absence of big gulls. The reservoir is around 50% frozen but a thaw looks likely to start late in the day tomorrow.
                    Nothing else of not other than 6 Stock Dove over >W and the usual Tits, Kingfisher etc.
                           Stood on the east bank at Mixenden was like Siberia, not that I,ve ever been to Siberia,
with the SE>5 blasting across the water though strangely there is no ice on the water but plenty ice and snow around the banking.
                       A count of  11 Black Headed gulls here with full breeding plumage hood, some of which were jet black, something I havent noticed before but maybe I,m just taking more notice this winter with nothing else to watch. MC , as well as KM, also remarked that they are getting breeding plumage earlier
both having noticed them showing in December but as Mick said, several song birds are singing earlier than they used to also.
                      Just one adult Herring on the water and that was it but at least there,s plenty room for the wildfowl when they drop in. I,m also expecting winter plumage Dunlin at Mixenden when the banking thaws. The last 3 here that DJS found was the first week of March 2018. Ever the optimist.
BS