Bright and breezy Ogden. p.m. Winter solstice.

                                        Blue Tits enjoying the feeders
 

                                        Coal Tit

                                        Single Canada goose grazing.

A very wet morning on a strong SW>6 gusting 7 so settled for a breezy walk over Foxhill then hit Ogden early afternoon where the wind had turned NW>5 gusting 6 but bright with some sunshine and cloud to the west at a mild 8 degrees.

    The extremely rough water held very few small gulls and even the Mallards were sheltering, scattered around the edges, whilst a single Canada goose was grazing by the valve tower.

    A Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail and Dipper were down in the sluice gate whilst Great, Blue and Coal Tits were on the feeders with Dunnock and Robin cleaning up below the feeders. A Gt Spotted Woodpecker flew over as well as a distant Buzzard.

  Limited time and a bit risking under the trees to check the Alders so just stuck to the promenade area.

    Another very windy day for tomorrow with a near gale westerly with some rain and possibly a dabble of snow. Next week's looking good so far. At least the shortest day is behind us now so a steady move to longer daylight.

BS

Leeshaw Reservoir

 

An icy cold wind at Leeshaw early morn with full cloud, mist on the tops and constant drizzle at 2 degrees.

    As expected, very little to show  with around 50 Black Headed gulls, 5 Common, 3 Herring and one LBB. A single Raven went over along with a small squadron of Starling >SW whilst 2 Stock Dove were in the goose field. The water just held Mallards, Canadas and Greylags, all on a small count, along with a single Cormorant and 6 Lapwing on the bank.

     A Dipper was down in the beck and an overwintering Meadow Pipit was present. Otherwise down to the usual species with no overhead movement.

    Not the best of forecasts for morning with rain and a near gale force sou'westerly.

BS

Harold Park/Park Dam

 

                                        Harold Park

                                    Plenty gulls to check through

                                        Several Blackbirds leaf digging

                                    Loads of Coots

PARK DAM                Moulting Cormorant    

                                Gt White Egret with Heron

                                    11 Goosanders present

                                    Kingfisher flying from wood beams

                                        Kingfisher on collision course with Heron

                                    Gt White Egret moving positions

A very bright and sunny morning at Harold Park with a moderate NW>4 at an icy cold 2 degrees.

       A good count of c 75 Black Headed gulls on the lake along with 8 Herring and 10 Common but still no Med gull mixed in with them. Two pair of Tufted had returned to the water but no Scaup whilst the Little Grebe was present along with a high count of Coot and Moorhen plus the usual Mallards, Greylags and Canadas. A tree full of yellow berries in the park held a single Mistle Thrush and 9 Magpies.

   Over the road at Park Dam 9 Tufted had returned to the water whilst 11 Goosander and 2 Gt Crested Grebe were present but no sign of the Pochard, but this could have been skulking under the banking at the far end where most of the Mallards were.

    The Great White Egret was on the banking at the side of a Heron before flying a circuit and landing in a spot nearby. A Kingfisher was sat on some wooden beams but flew along the waters edge, nearly colliding with a Heron, as I raised the camera. The Mute Swan family of  9 were still present and being fed by a lady from Swan Rescue.

    Lots of Great and Blue Tits in the waterside trees along with Woodpigeons and Collared Doves.

A dry but cloudy morning tomorrow on a moderate SW at 2 degrees with rain appearing before midday.

BS

    

A wet and windy Wibsey Park.

 

                                No shortage of Tufted here

                                    Sign of the times/  Moorhen

                                        2 of 4 Herring gull

A very wet and windy morn at Wibsey Park though the wind is not really an issue at a lower level.

Very heavy rain throughout on a SW>5 at 8 degrees and full dark cloud. Again, not a morning for the camera with more deletes than saves.

     The aim of the exercise this morning was to check the Tufted ducks to see if they had moved on like yesterdays Harold Park birds, and also to make sure the moving around Scaup had'nt arrived here.  

A good count of Tufted, both male and female, with a minimum of 37 with possibly more but hard to get an accurate count with them mulling around the island. Nothing in the way of Scaup but a single drake Goosander was present whilst the drake Shoveler, that usually winters at this site, remains absent

this year.  

    Around 50 Black Headed gulls, as well as 4 Herrings, along with 2 Mute swan and the usual Canadas, Greylags, Mallards, Coots and Moorhens were present whilst a flock of 18 Redwing flew overhead. Nothing in the trees other than Woodpigeon and Collared Dove'

    Looking good for morning with some sunshine, dry, and a moderate NW and then a pile of rain, snow and gales to take us up to Christmas. Just 3 days to the shortest day then a steady rise in daylight, I hate these late start mornings waiting until after 0800hrs for some form of daylight.

BS

      

Where have all the Tufteds gone, Harold Park/ Park Dam

 

                                Queensbury sunrise  0745hrs

                                            0755hrs

                                        0800hrs

                                Harold park    0820hrs

                                        0830hrs

                                        Herring and LBB

                                        Plenty Black Headed

A light SW>3 at Harold Park this morning with full cloud after an early, short lived sunrise, at 7 degrees. Near dark on arrival and no photographic light until packing up time at 1000hrs. Way too dark for any photos at Park Dam at 0900hrs.

     With thoughts of a Scaup at Harold Park, which was reported there yesterday from Birdguides, via NK, and then later on E Birds, I expected scanning through the Tufteds to find it. Amazingly there had been a massive overnight clear out of  wildfowl with over 40 Tufteds, from a previous visit, down to one pair on the dam and none on the lake, taking the Scaup with them.

    The Gt White Egret was also absent  but turned up later in the day, reported on E Bird.

The dam held the usual Pochard as well as 9 Goosander, 2 Gt Crested Grebe, 1 pair of Tufted and the usual Mute Swans etc.

   The park lake had several BH gulls as well as 12 Herring and 2 LBB, along with 1 Little Grebe and the usual Mallards, Coots and Moorhens.

    Not brilliant for morning with heavy rain and a gale force sou'westerly blowing.

BS

Hard work at Ogden

 

                                As near as it got to sunshine

                                    Few Common and Black Headed gulls 

A windy wet start to the morning with a moderate WNW>5 at 7 degrees with early drizzle but good visibility.

         A planned visit to Harold Park was abandoned due to the wind as Park Dam is very exposed to the elements so headed for the shelter of Ogden on a very low expectancy visit so as not to be disappointed.

    Apart from a good dog walk it was near void of birds with a single Gt Spotted Woodpecker flyover along with 3 Bullfinch and the usual Tits etc. The water held just a handful of Black Headed and Common gulls plus the resident Mallards which are showing a low count this winter compared to large numbers that have built up for winter on previous years.

    Looking back at last December Ogden was about as quiet as this month apart from a flock of 14 Bullfinch in the west bank Alders along with Siskin and Redpoll. Trans Pennine Pink Footed Geese were on the move near the end of the month whilst 11 birding days last December were abandoned due to either fog or gale force winds.

    Another cloudy morning tomorrow on a light sou'westerly.

BS

    

A breezy Ogden.

 

 Fog on the tops                                                                        

                                    A brief break in the sky

                                        Wild water

                                        East bank

                                Mallard on the high seas

A wild morning at Ogden with a strong to near gale force W>6 gusting 7 and increasing. Light horizontal drizzle with occasional mist banks moving quickly over the water at a mild 7 degrees. The weather deteriorated by 0930 hrs with heavy drizzle and fog moving in.

      A good start to the morning with a Barn Owl over the carpark as I arrived but after that it was as expected, in the conditions, remaining very quiet. Several small gulls battling into the wind but all keeping going and none on the water at all.

   A small group of 6 Mistle Thrush were in the lodge house garden but otherwise down to the usual common species.

   Too risky to walk the wind battered west bank for fear of falling branches but the east bank was more settled though remaining bird-less. The feeding area was busy with Nuthatch, Blue and Great Tit all struggling to hang on to the swinging feeders.

    Looking a little better for tomorrow with some chance of cloudy sunshine but still a moderate to strong WSW.

BS