Freak weather and an evening at Ogden.

A full afternoon of shopping and work at home meant no time to get up Oxenhope as planned which could have been interesting with thunderstorms moving around.
After a quick trip to Asda Halifax at 1730 hrs in light rain we arrived back at Queensbury to an amazing sight. The main road was flooded half way up the car wheels and water was gushing out of every side road. Our back garden was 6 inch deep and up to the bottom step, something I,ve never seen happen before.
The neighbour told us there had been torrential rain and hail stones for about 20 minutes, the worst he had ever seen it.
Ogden sprung to mind to see if anything had washed out of the sky but as I reached Ned Hill the roads were dry so obviously the rain had skirted past the Ogden area.
                                                   Ogden was pleasant with still conditions and some interesting dark rolling clouds bringing out the midges.
As expected in June things were only just beginning to happen with 9 Black Headed gulls, 3 Commons and a few fly over Lesser Black Backed. Only Canadas and Mallards left on the water and passerines busy with family business with several juv Gt Tits and Willow Warblers around. A noisy Heron flew over the water along with Carrion Crows which once again seem to have exterminated the Mallard ducklings with only 1 showing out of 2 families of 5 and 6.
Strange that I have,nt seen a Blackcap or Long Tailed Tit yet this year.
BS

Looking back at some previous July birds

No time to get out birding today with fence painting duties until I was rained off by a torrential rainstorm at 2000 hrs.
Rushing June out of the way heres a few July birds from previous years to look out for.

                                         Common Scoter, Ogden

Pochard  Ogden

                          juv Common Sandpiper, Fly Flatts

                                             Redshank

   Variety of gulls building up at Ogden.

                                  Herring gulls passing through

                Black Headed s, one with leg ring

             Juv Wheatear, Fly Flatts

       Swifts congregating ready to move

                        Twite at Fly Flatts, 2 year ago

    Grey Wagtail bred at fly Flatts

                                    Shoveler at Ogden

                          Dunlin, Fly Flatts

  Distant Gt Northern diver, Fly Flatts, from top road

                Tons of gulls at Oxenhope

                                  Busy shoreline at Oxenhope

Hopefully the thunderstorms will bring us some Scoters or Terns through this weekend
BS

Ogden mid evening

                                           Common gulls staring to linger

              Good shoreline but only Canadas present

                Black Headeds through in numbers

                      Carrion crow on duckling watch

                    Black Headeds through >N

Strange how I seemed to have more birding time before I went semi retired but hopefully that will change when I get on top of the jobs I have lined up.
1 hour spare this evening for a quick dog walk around Ogden to find no Oystercatchers present and no sign of the Common Sandpiper, Goosander or Tufted, a complete clear out.
Gulls were the things of interest with 8 LBB on the water, 3 Commons on the banking and 6 Black Headed around the edges with a count of 32 BHG fly overs >N possibly heading for Oxenhope.
Otherwise Willow Warblers and Wrens were in full song whilst 2 Kestrels were over Ned Hill.
BS

Lower Laithe/ Leeshaw/ Fly Flatts.

Put the jobs on hold this afternoon until this evening and took Lynda for a walk around Haworth as she had her spending head on. She got what she wanted so was well pleased although I could see it was hard for her seeing people sampling the different good smelling food knowing she couldnt have any.
By coincidence , on the way back we passed Lower Laithe , Leeshaw and Fly Flatts where we stopped off briefly for a quick scan round.
Lower Laithe was as normal with very little present other than 1 Cormorant, 2 Heron and a Gt Crested Grebe plus a few LBB gulls.
Leeshaw has quietened considerably with most of the Lapwings and Curlews moved on having raised their young. Just 2 Curlew and 3 Lapwings were present in the fields and a Snipe was chipping away throughout. This is the first year I,ve known for Cuckoo not to be present.
The water was alive with geese, Greylag and young greatly outnumbering Canadas this year.
3 Cormorants were on the tower whilst LBB gulls moved through >N with at least 2 Herring amongst them. 2 Common gull were on the far shore.
Fly Flatts held around 300 Canadas inc young but nothing more.
BS

Ogden early evening

            Good to see Common gulls slowly re appearing

                                     Always a good sign when the gulls
                                          start returning.

                                                     LBB

                               1 of 3 Oystercatchers

  Becoming a common sight at Ogden lately,

                    Probably the Oxenhope birds

                             2nd summer Common.

With just 1 hour to spare early evening whilst my fence post concrete went off it was harness up the dogs and off to Ogden.
A better night weather wise which brings out the public, its always a bad sign when the ice cream cart is in the car park.
The water was pretty much the same with male Goosander and Tufted along with 15 Canadas but the gull situation is starting to improve with 2 Commons, 4 Lesser Black Backed, 1 Black Headed all present and 4 Herring high over the plantation >NW.
The Common Sandpiper was in the stream by passerine alley but flushed and was only visible through the trees as it headed into the NW corner.
3 Oystercatchers were on the east shore preening in the waters edge, JL had reported 5 earlier, a good count for Ogden.
BS

Fly Flatts evening visit, land of the undesirables.

1700-1800 hrs.  Bright with some dark clouds, strong W>5.
Not one of my better choices for an evening but needed to check the water for Scoter so decided on a joint dog walk and watch in one on the top road.
The road around this time is like the M62 with cars steaming past in both directions using it as a rat run between Halifax and Keighley so the dog walk was limited to short and sweet.
Druggies were parked in every space making me keep the camera in the car and the highlight was 2 cars full of scummies racing and one spinning round on the new road chippings and ending up nose first down a ditch where it got left abandoned,probably stolen anyway.
                                                           The bit of birding I got in amongst all this was just the usual Canadas on the water along with a pair of Mallard with young.
Several LBB gulls were over the moor and a Peregrine flew >S along the horizon.
The stars of the show were Swifts with the sky alive with them slowly making their way >N with several young in tow.
Its a shame a good spot like Fly Flatts has been lost to the scum but if you dare,nt leave your car and walk down to the water early morning and its unsafe to use the top road at evening theres not much else going for it .
BS
                                                       

Ogden, evening visit.

         A surprise visitor brought in with the weather
                             Common Sandpiper

     Possibly the same Tufted returned

Good to get Black Headed gull back on the move.

With the days jobs caught up to and 1 hour to spare at 1600 hrs the cloud had come down and heavy rain starting causing a little voice in my head to say " get to a reservoir quick " so at 1610 hrs I was stood , once again in torrential rain, at the passerine alley watchpoint, Ogden.
                                   Not perfect for the birder but for me excellent conditions for reservoir watching. One of those evenings where anything can happen and local birding history can be made.
You soon get to ignore the weird look you get from the one or two dog walkers passing thinking , what a sad man.
Anyway, I,m in second heaven when I,m stood waiting for the unexpected so who cares.
A check around the water hoping for Scoter produced 1m Goosander, 1m Tufted, 14 Canadas and the usual Mallards.
The first thing of interest was a Black Headed gull picked up on the shoreline and a scan round soon found another 3 which is good for this time of year and showing some dispersion is starting.
Shortly after , BH gulls started coming over >N skimming the water and acting very Tern like dropping into the reservoir before moving off again.
Checking them out for Terns was,nt easy through dripping wet , steamed up bins but they all checked out as gulls. Around 30 went over in 15 minutes followed by a single Oystercatcher.
                                                                  Next bit of excitement was a small brown bird fast and low over the water just beyond the centre so after a quick wipe of the bins I managed to get it as a wader but it disappeared around the promenade area. Suspecting Common sandpiper but not certain it was hot foot it down towards the prom.
A check in the duck feeding area and then along the cobbles below the prom produced nothing , as did a scan down in the sluice gate area.
With hopes fading and the rain coming down in stair rods I walked on to check out the overflow area when suddenly I spotted a movement on the cobbles near the tower and a check with the bins proved Common Sand.
Up to now I,d been using the bridge camera but rain or no rain this was a job for Bertha which was dismantled in my rucksack, I was,nt going through all this and coming away without a photo.
A few snaps later I came away leaving the bird in peace satisfied that once again my soaking had been worth it.
Just think, all this writing just for a Common Sandpiper, imaging how much you,d have had to read if it had been a Pectoral Sandpiper!
BS

Herring gulls on the move. Leeshaw res

           Herring gulls piling through >NW

          Some dropping onto the water briefly

            One of 2 Common gulls present.
Did,nt title this as Common gull, well picked out
                                by Mick Cunningham.

  Very young juv Black Headed

Leeshaw res this morning was quiet with most of the waders moved on now but the watch was saved with a spectacular move of Herring gulls >NW. Some of the gulls dropped down onto the water briefly before moving on whilst others were very high and distant.
A single Black Headed very young juv flew in with a flock of Herrings and stayed on the water.

Lower Laithe was void of birds other than an unusual sight of a Dipper flying over the water whilst Fly Flatts just held the usual Canadas and Mallards with a high count of over 300 Canadas on the water and several more on the surrounding moors.

Leeshaw

148 Herring gull......................>NW
1 juv Black Headed
2 Common gull
43 Canada inc young
27 Greylag inc young
1 Little Owl
2 Heron
1 Pied Wagtail
5 Linnet
3 Curlew
Swallows, Swifts and House Martins.

A report of 8 Common Scoter on Ringstone, AT, this morning is promising.
BS