Dinner time dash down the Dailies

The old Queensbury railway station

This pathway used to have tracks down and a cart was winched
up from the railway to the village carrying goods.

The old red bricked chimney with Black Hill to the right.

Not easy to fit,calling at the paper shop, walking home, having dinner, walking the dogs up the park then a quick birding session down the Dailies on the way back to work all in a dinner hour but it is possible.
A bright blue sky and talk of Pinkies on the move gave me the urge to get down there and see what was about. The vantage point east from the top of the Dailie fields is amazing but unfortunately no geese were in the skies. Several LBBs were heading >NW and 4 Herring Gulls went over >WNW along with a party of 5 Mistle Thrush >N.
Down in the Hawthorns a small number of Fieldfare and Redwings were flitting about and a Green Woodpecker was calling but not observed.
Linnets were still present with 3 very lively birds moving around the gorse bushes.
After that it was time to scale back up the hill, stop to regain proper breathing at the top, and back to work.
BS

Thrushes on the move

More Common gull

House Sparrows on Nyger, taken through window.

A clear cold day with heavy frost this morning. Daylight noticeable lenghtening now.

A good thrush movement around midday today with 3 flocks of Fieldfare c40 c20 c80 high over the Dailie fields >N with a few smaller birds in with them, presumably Redwing , whilst 3 Mistle Thrush flew low over Foxhill park briefly stopping in trees then off also >N.
Also a customer rang in today to say he ,d had large flocks of Fieldfare and Redwing in his garden for the last couple of days which he says is unusual. He also told me of finding a dead Badger, road casualty victim, in the Harden area. There,s supposed to be a few Badgers at undisclosed sites in the Queensbury area but thats an animal Ive yet to see in the wild.
BS

The gulls are back

Common Gulls returning to Foxhill after the freeze

A bright ,dry but cooler day with clear blue skies, typical after a weekend of rain.
53 Common Gulls were back in Foxhill park at midday along with 7 Black Headed and a single Pied Wagtail. I seem to be struggling getting a Grey Wag on the list this year so far but hopefully the breeding pair near the garage will return shortly.
Very little overhead other than 4 LBBs >NW and 6 Mallard heading towards Station Rd pond. The garden has been heaving with House Sparrows feeding on the Nyjer but still no Tree Sparrow amongst them, still, Ive waited at this house 26 years so a bit longer wont matter. Ive tried several methods of feeding Nyger seed in the garden, some being a complete failure and some doing ok but the method that pleases them most and fetches them in droves is just to throw it on the ground,simple.
Just had it confirmed from DCB , after my visit to Oxenhope yesterday, that the gull roost has broken up since the big freeze and will more than likely remain that way for the rest of the winter.
BS

Oxenhope private reservoir.

The hide and the long walk back to Windy Corner

Too windy to open a window today.

From the northern shore looking >SE

The famous Windy Corner

Back to my roots this pm and the reservoir where most of my birding was done in the past and the place made famous by DCB/HC for visible migration. It was just like going home.
The weather was atrocious at the start with a W>6 dropping to W>4 with driving rain then drizzle which eventually cleared slightly even showing a bit of blue sky although this was short lived.
The water was very choppy making it difficult to pick anything out in the waves but I eventually had a good score of Goldeneye and a few Goosander. Two Cormorant called in briefly but didnt stay, soon flying off >W.
Stayed up till near last light but there was no sign of a gull roost building. A few LBBs came in and small groups of Common gull but these all moved off >E after a quick dip and a preen.

1 Pheasant
1 Snipe
9 Goldeneye 7f 2m
12 Goosander 9f 3m
4 BH gull
23 Common gull
5 LBBs
2 Cormorant

Please note that this site is strictly private owned by Yorkshire Water and access is available to key holding Bradford Ornithological Group members only. Anyone wishing to join the group see the BOG website for application form etc.
BS

Record Dip at Ogden

Plenty water, no birds

A grey scene

Ogden 0815-0930hrs Strong W>5 Heavy rain followed by horizontal drizzle.

The planned visit to Fly Flatts was fogged off this morning so headed below the cloud base to Ogden which turned out to be a washout.
The ice has gone now but so had the birds, apart from a very few resident Mallards and one Blackbird no other bird of any description was seen, oops I tell a lie, there were a few Corvids about. No passerines in the trees or hedges and not a single gull to be seen. Think they must have all stopped in bed this morning, even the feeders were deserted.
It seems to be this heavy blowing drizzle that puts them to ground but why no gulls I dont know.
All I got this morning for my efforts were a reet good soaking and 3 soggy dogs but never mind, thats birding, and every dip brings you nearer to that mega sighting.
On the plus side, 53 Common gulls were back in Foxhill park first light so it was obviously the frozen ground that moved them on.
BS

Shelf Moor

As forecast the strong winds and heavy rain hit us today with WSW>6 gusting 7 with a day of continuous horizontal rain.  A last light visit to Shelf Moor tonight threw up a suprise with 2 Skylarks back in the gorse bush field, first Linnets and now Skylarks in the meadows, looks light spring is starting early.
Only a small flock of Lapwing was found but there were plenty Fieldfare, Redwing and Mistle Thrushes in the Hawthorns.
Shelf  Moor pond was void of bird life.
Was planning my first trip to Fly Flatts this year in the morning but if this weather continues through the night it,ll be think again time.
BS

Dailie Fields, Queensbury

1 of 2 Green Woodpeckers

Entrance to the Dailies

Snipe country

Gorse bush area used by breeding Linnet


A mixture of sunshine and showers today with a strong wind but remaining mild.
A quick 15 minute dash down the Dailies on my way back to work paid off finding the habitat looking good and plenty of birds.
A suprise to see Linnet hanging around their regular breeding sight and a bit of a shock when I nearly stood on a Snipe. Green Woodpeckers were in full call and winter thrushes were in the Hawthorns. The recently planted Hawthorns have thickened up and will make a good secure habitat when the leaves are out.

By eck Howard, the hill seems a lot steeper to climb now than when we were 15 yr olds, we use to run up it in those days.

7 Linnet
2 Green Woodpeckers
4 Greenfinch
1 Snipe
1 Kestrel
11 Magpies
Sev Redwing and Fieldfare.
BS

Queensbury today.

A wild and wet morning clearing p.m..  The wind till lunch time was W>6 with heavy drizzle but the rain passed over by midday and the wind dropped during the afternoon.
A good flock of c 30 Lapwings flew >SE over the garage this p.m.heading towards Jackson Hill and LBB gulls trickled over most of the day all >NW.  Two of the LBBs had very dark,almost black mantles probably of the intermedius race.
Otherwise things were quiet with nothing in the park at lunch time due to the strong winds but on the plus side, Robins are starting singing whilst its still dark in the mornings, wont be long now.
BS

Common Gulls

Foxhill

park

A foggy start with rain but soon clearing leaving a cloudy but very mild day with temperatures rising.
Surely the reservoirs will be well on their way to a thaw now.

Has anyone else found a shortage of Common gulls this winter in their area. By this time of year the winter flock around Foxhill park and the rugby field is up in the 70s but recently we are down to 8 at the most. At the start of the winter the flock slowly started increasing as normal but as it got into the 20s the birds started to move away leaving us with very few.
About a dozen Black Headed are around which is normal but the Commons are gone.

Two Pied Wagtails were on the top pitch but no sign of the Meadow Pipit today, meanwhile the skies were quiet.
BS

Queensbury today

Snow on the Dales hilltops from Foxhill.

Over Shipley Glen to Menwith Hill golf balls.

A brighter but cold day with a strong N>5 turning W>3 by late afternoon. Blue skies and heavy freezing after dark.

A gull moving day today with a steady flow of LBBs >NW most of the day with up to 30 Herring gulls sighted at lunch time in the distance looking east in the direction of the photos, the Herrings were moving >WNW.
A single Meadow Pipit along with a Pied Wagtail seemed out of place in Foxhill park and 7 Collared Doves were in nearby trees.
This p.m. 5 Redwings flew over the garage and landed in trees down Station Rd whilst the resident Wren that has been missing for a while re appeared below the Rose Hip bushes.
BS

Ringby Top produces

Cavalry arriving yesterday at Ringby, DJS

Even time to pick up the football results.

The favoured Twite/Reed Bunt tree

A foul windy wet day with only a short period without rain this afternoon.
DJS just missed out on the Linnet flock yesterday when they had gone to ground but his persistence paid off with a second visit today,( see Calderbirds for report), when he got the birds he was after.
The weather conditions are attrocious most of the time up there but there,s something in those fields that attract passerines, even now that the main feeding field is grassed over .
The next few months should prove interesting up there.

Needless to say Ive had a pretty birdless day and the best I could do was half a dozen LBB gulls >W over Foxhill park at lunch time.
BS

Ringby Top

The Seed Man DJS

Skies full of Jackdaws

A cloudy sunset from Ringby Top
1430-1600hrs Icy cold W>5 but water up there remaining unfrozen.

A poor start with no passerines around Ploughcroft and no sign of the Little Owls.
Plenty big gulls moving over Halifax but this soon stopped apart from a late 2 Herring Gulls at nearly 1600hrs.
As I got onto the top feeding field the action started. Firstly I flushed a flock of around 78 Linnets followed by smaller birds which flew into the solitary tree by the track. These turned out to be 5 Twite and 2 pair of Reed Bunting. Also present were Skylarks and Meadow Pipits. The flock of Linnet dropped down into the private field on the other side of the track and due to the late hour these were not re located. Hundreds of Jackdaws came over heading to roost.

11 LBB gull
9 Herring gull
1 GBB gull
c78 Linnet
5 Twite
2 Meadow Pipit
6 Skylark
2pr Reed Bunting
8 Grey Partridge
1Kestrel

BS and DJS.

And still its froze, Ogden

Some signs of starting to thaw

Black Headed

Inquisitive Squirrel

Ogden 0830-1000hrs. Strong W>5 dropping to 3 by 0900hrs. Overnight snow and freezing.
Some signs around the water now of a thaw starting with water around the fringes and some cracks appearing.
All 3 ponds are now clear of ice and the water hole on the reservoir is getting bigger.
Bird wise it was quiet with no passerines in the usual Alders. The only small birds were on the feeders being the usual Gt, Blue and Coal Tits. No Common gulls were present and only a small number of Black Headed but as always patience was rewarded when the Kingfisher called by the northern pond then skimmed low over the icy reservoir and down into the overflow not to be relocated.
Several Fieldfare , Redwing and Woodpigeons were around the Back Lane plantation area.

Fieldfare............................... 42
Redwing.................................28
Woodpig..................................78
Kingfisher...............................1
BH Gull...................................15
+ usual sp.
BS

Shelf Moor

A day of rain and thaw but heavy freezing from late afternoon. The road around Shelf Moor was treacherous with black ice.
Reasonably quiet in the skies but several Fieldfare and Redwings in the fields. A good number of Mistle Thrush were in the holly bushes and 2 Pied Wagtail were by the old Bacon Factory.
Only 4 Lapwing seen in the distance and a small flock of 8 birds flew out of Hawthorns and quickly disappeared across the fields, these were more than likely Linnet but couldnt be certain with the brief glance I got of them.
If anyones interested and only wants small amounts of seed Wilkinsons in Halifax are selling off  1kg bags of Nyger seed at 1.79p a bag which is a lot cheaper than most pet shops. I got plenty bags in stock for the garden and Soil Hill.
The weather so far looks good for tomorrow so lets hope for some good reports.
 Mistle Thrush..........................11
Fieldfare..................................c150
Redwing.................................c 50
Pied Wagtail...........................2
Blackbird...............................7
Lapwing.................................4
Linnet type sp.........................8       not chaffs.
BS

Here we go again

Same view in Foxhill as yesterday but whitewashed

Chapel Lane, snow and fog

Rain turning to ice this evening

So its back to the start with the snow again although the rain was starting to move it until after dark when it froze on landing.
Snow today from 0800hrs until 1500hrs combined with fog making it a birdless day other than the garden feeders packed with Starlings and House Sparrows going mainly for the fat balls and Lyndas oatcakes. Water is usually the biggest problem but today has kept above freezing so that made the job easier.
Hope this weather improves for the weekend, I think the forecast is warmer which usually means fog up here in the gods but we shall see.
Bet the Linnet flocks recorded yesterday have struggled today unless they headed for lower ground. Has anyone else had unusual winter flocks of Linnets?
BS