A foggy start, Leeshaw Reservoir

 

                                    Pink Footed in with Greylags

                                    Big goose field

                                        Gulls on the gantry

                                        Herrings

                                    Two Cormorant present

                                    Herrings

                                    Gulls mobbing Red Necked Grebe

                                    Geese now pairing up

                                    Herrings

                               This Canada has'nt seen a Red Necked Grebe before.

Dense fog on the tops as promised but a gamble on Leeshaw paid off with a misty start then clearing to part cloud and even a bit of sun trying to get through. A very light W>1 at 4 degrees.

    Plenty to see but much lower numbers of geese and gulls than yesterday. The Red Necked Grebe was showing throughout the watch but keeping distant across on the water and spending most of its time sleeping. A steady trail of birders came through this morning to see the bird and all were rewarded with a sighting, though not showing at its best as it was yesterday. 

      The Pink Footed goose was in with the Greylags but geese were down to 63 Greylag and 78 Canada with the rest probably taken to the Upper Marsh fields.

      Around 200 Black Headed, 30 Common and 12 Herring were present so still awaiting GBB and Iceland. Just 2 Lapwing on the shore whilst Curlew and Oystercatcher are running late this year.

     Otherwise down to the usual species with Fieldfare and Redwing noticeable by their absence this year at this site.

    A cloudy morning tomorrow on a light southerly but not showing fog as yet.

BS

      

     

     

Leeshaw.. Its back, Red Necked Grebe.

 

                                    Returned to Leeshaw after a month.

Another glorious morning to be up on the tops with 100% blue sky and full sun on a cold W>3 at 0 degrees.

    An unbelievable number of birds at Leeshaw today making me wonder why so many birds here compared to the very few at Fly Flatts yesterday.

     The reason I couldn't  locate the Red Necked Grebe at Lower Laithe a couple of days ago was because it has returned to Leeshaw, near enough 1 month from its first arrival here.

    Another bonus this morning was a female Gadwall which nearly slipped through the net for a hybrid Mallard until I got the scope on it revealing its grey head, dark bill with orange stripes down the sides and a well mottled plumage with white inner wing feathers. I had a male at this site in Nov 2023 but a rare sighing for this area. 

     A male goosander was on the water with 3 Cormorant and several gulls whilst surrounding fields were inundated with geese and gulls.

   Wind from the east tomorrow means back to the cloud with a ton of mist and fog. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

LEESHAW

1 Red Necked Grebe

1 f Gadwall

1 m Goosander

3 Cormorant

1 PF Goose

c 300 Greylag

c 200 Canada

12 Mallard

14 Lapwing

c 300 BH gull

c 50 Common gull

28 Herring gull

1 LBB gull

plus usual sp.

BS

A sunny Fly Flatts

 

                                    A bright and clear Nab

                                    Geese returning.

                                    Single female Goldeneye.

                                

At last, a bright and clear sunny morning at Fly Flatts with blue skies and excellent visibility on a cold WNW>4 at 1 degree.

     A female Goldeneye was a nice find for this site, possibly the same bird that appeared for one day last year in March. Good for Fly Flatts to start sounding like spring this morning with noisy Canada geese returning to the water and already starting to pair up. All it needs now is Oystercatcher and Curlew calling but no arrivals as yet.

    A pair of Reed Bunting were in the compound area whilst 8 Mallard were on the water with a cronking Raven overhead. Nothing else of note other than the usuals its now starting to feel like I'm getting somewhere.

     A dog walk early afternoon over Foxhill produced a skein of 24 Pink Footed Geese heading >N, homeward bound up the Aire Valley.

     Another cracking day forecast for tomorrow showing full sun on a light WNW starting off at zero degree.

BS

   

Fighting with the fog. Leeshaw/Lower Laithe/Leeming.

 

LEEMING         Plenty water to go before the spring

                                        Gloom

                                    Not many hikers today

A real struggle this morning with dense fog on the tops and even Leeshaw and Leeming were in the clouds with heavy mist and fog banks moving through. Mainly dry but for a bit of drizzle on a light N>2 at 5 degrees.

     Lower Laithe was mainly clear apart from some mist hanging at the top end of the reservoir but a good scan round failed to find the Red Necked Grebe although that is not to say it was'nt there with visibility not at its best, and it does tend to hang around under the edges. Just 2 Goosanders on the water along with a low count of Black Headed, Common and Herring gull plus Canadas and Mallards.

       Leeshaw was very hit and miss with a mix of gloomy mist and thick fog. Around 100 Black Headed gull as well as 30 Common and 5 Herring were present but only Mallard, Canadas and Greylags on the water plus the usual Cormorant. Otherwise, just the usual expected species as well as the resident Dipper in the brook.

   Leeming had the worst of the visibility with viewing only half way across the water producing a low count of small gulls and only 2 Herring along with Cormorant, Mallard and Canada geese, whilst 2 Pied and a Grey Wagtail were in the overflow area.

    No Curlew or Oystercatchers at any of the 3 reservoirs but now imminent. A Starling was up on a wire singing and a report to me from Oakworth birder AK with a singing Mistle Thrush. We must be nearly on our way now.

     Looking good for tomorrow with some sunshine and good visibility on a light west turning north west at 3 degrees.

BS

      

     

Slogging away at Ogden.

 

                                    Queensbury, first light.

A mix of hazy sunshine and showers at Ogden with the sun never quite managing to break through A light S>2 at 2 degrees made it feel a little milder but a very dark morning around the waterside track so the camera stayed on my belt.

     A little livelier than my last visit but still no winter Tit flock and no sign of Treecreeper, Goldcrest, Siskin and Redpoll. A small group of 6 Gt Tits were at the beginning of the west bank along with a separate group of 2 Coal Tits and 3 Blue Tit.

   Whilst I was in the west bank trees I looked up just in time to see a Buzzard disappearing over the plantation whilst a Raven was cronking from the top of a distant pine tree. A Nuthatch was on the feeders surrounded by the usual Tits, Robins, Blackbird, Dunnocks etc whilst a pair of Bullfinch were along the east banking.

     The Kingfisher was down in the sluice gate but very few gulls on the water with just 15 Black Headed, 4 Common and 2 Herring gull.

   Fog, mist and rain given for tomorrow, typically on a light south easterly.

BS

    

Fly Flatts

 

                                    Fog creeping in over the Nab.

                                    Low cloud base

                                    Lights out

                                         Its back .. BH gull   leg ring VS20

Thought I'd got a Franklins gull   !                                               

                                Seen this gull every winter since 2012

A bright start at Fly Flatts with a clear blue sky and good visibility.  Thirty minutes after arrival the dreaded fog started rolling in over the Nab but keeping overhead leaving visibility over the water until 0930 hrs when it was lights out. Dense fog on a light SE>3 at zero degrees.

       As expected, a very quiet session but the aim this morning was to check for Oystercatcher, Curlew and Ringed Plover which, going by previous years, Oystercatcher is due any day now whilst Curlew is due by the end of the week and Ringed Plover due by the 7th Feb.

     Crow, Raven, Meadow Pipit, Grouse and Reed Bunting were present whilst just Mallard and a single Canada were on the water.

      On the way up there several gulls were on the Crossroads football pitch with Black Headed and Common. The Black Headed, photographed, stood out with a look of Franklins gull with half a dark mask and prominent white crescents around the eye, not that I've every seen a Franklins but had a near miss with M.P.s Thornton bird, some years ago.

       On a closer inspection it was sporting a white leg ring, VS20, which is a well known, to me, Black Headed which I have seen every winter since 2012, either at both this site and Ogden. It is always between October and March when it appears after spending the summer, presumably where it was rung in Neumuster, North Germany, then over-wintering here. 

Update on Red Necked Grebe.... Still on Lower Laithe today C.W.

    When I first recorded it in 2012 it was an adult so the bird must be at least  15 years old.

A deteriorating day tomorrow with early cloud then rain on a moderate SSW wind turning S and increasing throughout the day. Hopefully, with the east wind gone, so too will the fog.

BS

Ogden in the snow.

 

                                    A bright start at Ogden

                                    15 minutes later, clouding over

                                        Heavy snow showers

                                    Back to the snow again.

I hope the forecasters that gave today as dry, bright and full sun get a written warning for being completely wrong. A planned trip to Fly Flatts had to be abandoned when I woke up to snow covered icy roads and light snow flurries. I took the easy option to Ogden where it started off bright and sunny for the first 15 minutes before thick cloud and light snow took over. By 0930 hrs the snow was piling down so a dash towards the car park by which time the shower had gone over.

      In disbelief  of there being no birds along the west bank I did a second circuit , unfortunately just to confirm that there was not a bird to be found. It looks like Redpoll and Siskin are going to give Ogden a miss this year, although strangely there was no Tit flocks, Goldcrests or Treecreepers.

     The water held 14 Black Headed gull, 2 Common gull, the female Goosander and a single Cormorant, as well as the usual Mallards whilst a Kingfisher and Dipper were down in the sluice gate area. Two Mistle Thrush were in the Lodge House tree, the Lodge House still being empty due to an expensive septic tank problem so YW are unable to rent it out again for the foreseeable future, hence no feeders.

   Otherwise it was down to the expected species with Nuthatch, Tits, Robins etc.

I learnt from a YW official yesterday that its not good news for Redcar Tarn, Keighley as an angling club have now been given fishing rights for the water.

    The amazing image of the Red Necked Grebe on my header was kindly sent to me by local birder Mark Murray who took the photo at Lower Laithe, Sladen Valley who managed to see it near to the dam wall. This bird has now been in the area since the first of January moving around between Leeshaw, Ponden and Lower Laithe. The only problem being with the photo is, I wish I had taken it. Many thanks to Mark who's claim to fame was a Firecrest in his garden several years ago and at this moment has a male Blackcap taking sunflower seeds in his garden.

    Some overnight rain and snow tonight then a cloudy morning with a moderate SSE wind followed by a wet afternoon, that's if they have got it right this time.

BS