Mixenden Reservoir p.m.

      LBBs and 2 Herring Gulls, 4th from right and 2nd from left.

                                      Sole survivor, Mallard

              Gt Crested Grebe

                                    Moorhen on take off

                                  Big Bill checking out the area, Heron

                                Ships that pass in the night

                     Plenty House Martins

                    and Swifts

A late afternoon check on Mixenden res found it lively in the better weather conditions with sunshine and a mild W > 4.
Gulls were piling through >SW with mainly LBBs but a few Herring mixed in, several of which landed on the water before moving on again.
A  single Gt Crested Grebe was on the water with the unusual sighting of 2 Moorhen very noise and mobile from one end of the water to the other, disturbed by several fishermen.
The sky was full of Swallows, Swifts and House Martins.
An extra stab at it tomorrow so hopefully the conditions will be better than this morning.

To leave you on a sad note, HC texted me this evening to say Tony Gough had suffered a massive stroke but no details on his condition as yet.
Most veteran birders will have met B.O.G. member Tony at some point who is renown for his wit and dry sense of humour spending most of his birding life at Barden and probably the most knowledgeable  raptor man you,re ever likely to meet.
Hang on in there Tony, we,re all rooting for you.
BS

Bank Holiday Blues

Another of those dreaded Bank Holiday Sunday mornings in contrast to yesterday with thick fog and heavy drizzle.
The planned trip to Fly Flatts was quickly aborted ending up at Ogden, where the mist was down to tree top level and drizzle coming over the water on a W>4. By 0700 hrs the rain was coming down in stair rods before clearing back to drizzle.
With my hopes down to moving Terns I trudged around the water which just held the 2 Gt Crested Grebe which soon left for Mixenden whilst the Tufted and a few Mallard were in the feeding corner.
A few Willow Warblers were singing along with Robins etc but not being a woodland man I get no pleasure searching through leaves to finally find another Robin so I left them be, although a Garden Warbler appeared briefly before heading for cover.
Up the Withins track a fox scurried through the mist on the golf course but otherwise poor.
Bad news when you return to the car with an empty camera, hopefully the tea time session will produce something.
BS

Patience is the name of the game. Soil Hill Sedge Warbler

    A long long wait but paid off in the end, Sedge Warbler.

Patience was the name of the game today with a late afternoon visit to Soil Hill with the sole purpose of getting some pics of the Sedge Warbler after last weekends fail.
Weather conditions were good with little wind and patchy sunshine so that was a good start , now for the patience bit which unfortunately I,m a bit short of.
I got squat down in what I thought was a good position and the wait was on.
Two meat and potato pies, a Kit Kat and 5 Digestive biscuits later swilled down with a bottle of water the birds started to appear.
Just a tip , digestive biscuits are not a wise choice when laying in wait for a photo, I got crumbs down the wrong hole causing a coughing fit which threw the wait back 15 minutes although it did flush a Snipe not 30 yards from me.
First birds to appear were Reed Buntings and Whitethroats which I had to ignore and wait for my target bird.
Suddenly , half a call then the bird started to appear, distant to start with then moving closer but very mobile in and out of the brambles. Once or twice it posed for me briefly, mostly when I was swopping the lenses for faster focusing but after around 20 minutes I had got what I wanted so I quietly snook away with a beam on my face.  What a great bird.
BS

Ogden, pm

                     1 new pair of Tufted

                               Usual pr, Gt Crested Grebe

                                  Curlew calling, very high and >E

An evening visit to Ogden in low cloud and drizzle with a mild NNW>4 started off looking like a damp squib but turned out half decent with nothing special but enough to keep the interest going.
A Cuckoo was calling throughout to the west of the area and briefly showed itself skimming through the plantation viewed from the east shore whilst a calling Curlew went over very high and >E.
The water held a pair of Tufted duck and the usual pair of Gt Crested Grebe.
Several Swallows were skimming the water but as usual by this time passerines had gone down apart from Robins, Dunnocks and Blackbirds.
Hope you all have a good Bank Holiday and the reports come in thick and fast.
BS

Canada Goose update

       The 2 surviving goslings growing well

                              The every watchful parents

This is how they were last week

A quick dinner time check on the Station road Canadas found the remaining 2 from 4 goslings growing well with a good chance of survival now.
The Crow that took the other 2 seems to have lost interest now and the young are getting too big for it to tackle although the local heron is still around.
Well done to Cllr Paul Cromie , his wife Linda and mother Rita for keeping watch having to dash out of the house several times when they saw danger lurking.

Otherwise all quiet around the village and on the grapevine with the W>5 still blowing.
Foxhill park is alive with Starlings now frantically probing for food for their new hatched chicks and in the next few days we,ll be in undated with baby brown Starlings.
BS

Queensbury Today

                   Two noisy awesome looking Rooks above the garage

A brighter day but still the strong W>5 which seems to have got stuck in one position.
Very quiet throughout the day with the only thing half photographable was the 2 extra noisy Rooks this morning high up on a TV aerial above the garage. The one on the right was an awesome size.
Good news on the 2 remaining Canada goose chicks in Cllr Cromies garden which have so far survived and getting bigger by the day.
Very little over today with just 2 LBB gulls NW and a Heron high and >E.
A heavy gardening project at home tonight so had to make do with a bit of sky watching which produced 8 Swallows >N and 3 Swifts in the same direction.
All the resident Sparrows, Starlings, Woodpigeons, Collared Doves and Blackbirds are busy day long in the park after food to feed their young.
BS

Ogden Skywatch, pm.

        Several Goldfinch after the catkins

                           Here comes the views

                                                    The western path

1900 hrs and just time for a quick burst to Ogden for 30 minutes sky watch before they locked the gates. A pleasant evening with sunshine and a WNW>5 but not the conditions I was after hoping for the heavy showers from earlier to continue with a chance of bringing the goods through.
Nothing on the water until 1930 hrs when the 2 Gt Crested Grebes arrived from the direction of Mixenden .
Sky wise nothing of great interest but enough moving to keep me interested. A pair of Teal flew >N very fast and high over the Back Lane area whilst 6 Black Headed gulls high and >NW looked out of place at this time of year.

6 BH Gulls........................>NW
1pr Teal.............................>N
4 Linnet.............................>NW
6 Greenfinch.....................>W
Several Mipits in various directions
3 LBB gulls........................>W
1 Pied Wagtail. From the >W onto the east banking.

A quiet birding day but a momentous occasion this morning when I took Lynda to the B.R.I where she had her feeding tube removed after 18 months.
Lynda has persevered with her eating which is very hard work for her and we have tried a thousand different soft and blended foods but she has managed to retain her weight over the last month without overnight feeds so they agreed to remove the tube which was a relief but a bit frightening for her as now we are on our own food wise.
Well done Lynda, you,re a hero, yet another step forward.
BS

Ideal reservoir watching conditions.

One of those special mornings where I could have done with skipping work and going out on reservoir watch with ideal conditions in the strong westerly wind and squally showers which prove perfect for shoreline and maritime birds.
With the good move of gulls yesterday and a continuation this morning something was bound to go through as DJS found out with a Kittiwake at Fly Flatts. Well spotted to Dave with a bird that could easily have been missed and taken for just another gull.
Unfortunately our reservoirs are well topped up with water at the moment with no shoreline available to tempt down passing waders, hopefully the levels will drop in time for the Greenshanks and Green Sandpipers in the next couple of months which is also a key time for Yellow Legged Herring gull.

Unfortunately today was Monday and duty called so I had to make do with watching several LBB gulls along with a few Herring gull all drifting >NW whilst I dreamt of the the birds I could be missing.


Just a reminder of the Kittiwake that ended up on Shibden park lake in February 2014 staying a few days until it built its strength up to move on again.

BS