Ogden/Mixenden

 

OGDEN                    Female Gt Spotted Woodpecker

                                    1 of 2 Treecreepers

MIXENDEN            Several Goldcrest present

                                   Windy at the edge of the wood

                                    c 100 small gulls

                                    1 Cormorant present

                                    Just the one Herring gull

A wild morning with a strong NW>5 gusting 6 and a mix of sunshine and showers at 5 degrees with some very dark silhouetting clouds.

                        To find some shelter from the wind I headed for Ogden first light which was wafting across the promenade but sheltered on the west bank.

                      A disappointment on the water with just 16 Black Headed gull to start off with and only building to around 60 small gulls by the end of the watch and not a Goldeneye in sight.

                     The west bank was very lively with the usual Goldcrests and Tits along with 2 Treecreepers and a single female Gt Spotted Woodpecker. The Kingfisher was working the west bank area moving along overhanging branches.

                 Mid afternoon and a check of Mixenden reservoir was about the same as Ogden with a count of around 100 small gulls and a single Herring gull which made me stop in my tracks with the first view, looking into the sun, I thought I had an Iceland, dream on. A Cormorant was also on the water.

             Plenty activity here on the west bank with several Goldcrest plus Blue and Great Tit whilst the Siskin flock was present but very mobile in the wind blown Alders, moving continuously between the Alders and Conifers at the edge of the wood.

              The north long hedge produced 8 Goldfinch plus Blackbirds, Tits, Dunnock and Robin.

Not looking good for tomorrow with rain and a gale force westerly but at least its February, the month when things start to happen.

BS

Roll on February. Fly Flatts/Soil Hill.

 

FLY FLATTS            Stormy clouds first light.

                                    Rough water below the Nab

                                Dark clouds to the East

                                    Canadas slowly returning, over in the NW corner

                                    1 of 2 Kestrels

A very windy wet start to the morning at Fly Flatts with a strong W>5 and horizontal drizzle blowing off the moor. Full cloud then broken with patches of sunshine at 4 degrees.

              A terribly quiet morning with 18 Canadas and a few Mallard on the water whilst around 40 Herring gulls headed >NE high over the water. Nothing on the deck other than a few Red Grouse, a real quiet do today but I,m getting the smell of birds up there now and expecting the first Curlew, Oystercatcher and Ringed Plover in a good weeks time.

             Another slog at Soil Hill mid afternoon for the sake of somewhere near at hand to go with a check on the Jack Snipe and Woodcock areas of years gone by, as well as the mounds that once held Snow Buntings.

            The mounds are now well overgrown as well as 90% of the original habitat with just a few decent boggy areas left. The best bet I could find for Snow Bunting or wader species are the trenches churned up by the quad bikes that go up there. It could do with some trial bikes using the mounds for a period to bring back the rough ground that the Snow Bunts liked.

         Anyway, after an hour up there I came away with a Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and single Meadow Pipit. Hopefully they,ll get some machines working up on the top this year and restore it to its former glory. Nigel and myself were promised a scrape up there several years ago but that never happened.

BS

Leeshaw/Thornton Fields/Soil Hill.

THORNTON FIELDS                Several Lapwing present

                                                Around 200 small gulls

LEESHAW                           Rough water

                                            Battling the waves

                                            Around 100 small gulls present

                                            Just 4 Herring gull

                                            Plenty Fieldfare and Starling

                                            Water dropped to below overflow level now.

                                             First light at Leeshaw.

A moderate W>4 was blowing at Leeshaw early morn which increased to near gale W>6 by 0930 hrs making it unworkable. Good visibility with full cloud at 4 degrees.

               Much of the same today with around 100 small gulls and only 4 Herring which soon moved through. Just 3 Canada and 4 Greylags on the very choppy water whilst around 100 Fieldfare were moving around the fields as well as a large flock of Starling. A single Kestrel ans 2 Mistle Thrush concluded the mornings sightings along with the usual species.

             With the early finish I checked the Thornton fields on the way home with just one field producing around 200 small gulls, a single Herring and 16 Lapwing. A scope through failed to produce anything special.

            Mid afternoon and a quick check on Soil Hill in a very strong westerly with horizontal drizzle and fog fast approaching only produced a few Fieldfare and Mistle Thrush along with 3 Meadow Pipit and a Skylark over-wintering.

          Looking like a windy week ahead.

BS

 

Fly Flatts/ Cold Edge Dams

 

                                    A promising start to the day.

FLY FLATTS            A bright and calm start to the morning.

                                Still water

                                    South Bank

                                    2 Raven present

                                    Scope on standby

                                    Several Red Grouse on the moor

A bright sunny and calm start to the morning on a W>2 at 3 degrees then clouding over mid watch and wind increased to W>3.

                               Good skies this morning but nothing on the move with just 2 Raven and 2 Buzzards in the air and not a gull in sight. Geese are slowly returning to the water now with 11 Canadas and a single Greylag along with 17 Mallard. 

That was it apart from around 50 Fieldfare in the Nolstar field as well as a large flock of Starling.

                       As I looked down on Cold Edge dams on the way home there was a field full of gulls so mid afternoon I went up there to check them out. Of course when I got there the field was empty along with everywhere else. All 4 dams were completely void of bird life with the only birds seen were in the goose field with 83 Canada and 37 Greylag along with half a dozen small gulls and a single Meadow Pipit. Strangely the Barnacle goose was missing.

                      Years ago I used to vis mig from here every Sunday and have regular meetings with the original owner who used to tell me what he had seen during the week. The place now is very hostile with having to park a mile away and everything is being done to keep the public away with a mass of warning signs and barb wire. I was told by a walker that they are wanting to have the public footpath taken off and make the dams private other than the boat club. Not a nice place to visit anymore.

BS

Leeshaw/Ogden.

LEESHAW                2m 1f Goosander

                                    Just a single Herring gull

                                    Lapwings starting to arrive

                                Mallards moving around the fields
 

OGDEN                    Nuthatch on the feeders.

                                    Single LBB gull on the water

                                    1 Buzzard over.

                                    Several Goldcrests

                                    as well as Treecreepers

                                    Kingfisher on the overhanging trees

                                    BH gull going into summer plumage.

More fog on the hilltops this morning so arrived at Leeshaw to find it below the cloud base with just light drizzle on a calm N>1 at 3 degrees. By 0930 hrs it clouded over bringing rain.

              Around 100 small gulls to scope through, one of these days I,m sure to find a Med, but again poor for big gulls with just a single Herring which soon moved on.

The usual 2 male and 1 female Goosanders were on the water as well as a Cormorant and a few Mallard whilst a Heron flew >S.

               A small group of Lapwings were present along with 8 Stock Dove and the unusual sighting of a Great Tit, rarely seen at this site.

              Just an hour at Ogden mid afternoon with ,yet again, a poor show of gulls with around 50 small and a single LBB, otherwise just Mallard on the water.

               The feeders were busy with the usual Tits etc along with a Nuthatch and a very timid Gt Spotted Woodpecker whilst a Buzzard flew overhead.

                The west bank was active with several Goldcrest and at least 4 Treecreeper plus the usual Tits whilst the Kingfisher was again working the west bank stretch.

BS