Amazing Sunday morning skies from Leeshaw

                                   First sun

                                  Sun touching the top of the moor

                                       Early sun being masked with cloud

                                            Looking west over the backing

                                                 Mottled sky

                                            Looking NW over the reservoir

                                         Amazing cloud formation

                                      A good bird movement morning

Just some snaps of interesting skies over Leeshaw reservoir from my Sunday morning trip.
These sort of skies seemed to please the birds with good movement of Woodpigeon and Cormorants a.m. and Pink Footed geese p.m.

The weather up here in Queensbury started off half right with a hint of sunrise and blue sky but this rapidly deteriorated by late morning into a strong SSW>5-6 and heavy rain showers, the showers being at their worst while I was dog walking up Foxhill at lunch time but thats the norm for me.
A few small gulls were on the football pitch with 3 LBBs over >W, otherwise, in contrast to yesterday, all was quiet.
BS

Pink Footed Geese movement

Skeins of Pink Footed Geese heading west  at midday today

                                 Photos taken from Jackson Hill, Queensbury. TC.

                                     All photos courtesy Tracy Collier

With news out via AC,see his Northowram blog, at midday today that Pinkies were on the move West with a total of near 800 birds I was unfortunately on the way to visit the daughter at the other side of Sowerby Bridge but thought that I was heading in the right direction to pick them up, wrong. With a frightening drive over there watching the sky instead of the road we arrived without hitting anything and then a watch from the garden which overlooks the valley, nothing.
Luckily for me my P.A. Tracy was on the ball snapping the skeins as they came over her location and saved the day with sending me the above photos. Thanks for that Tracy, you,re doing a great job.
BS

1st good Soil Hill soaking of 2014.

With all the movement today of Woodpigs, Cormorants and Pinkies I thought Soil Hill has got to be worth a try to see if anything had come over with them,  first bad decision of 2014.
It was 1510hrs by the time I got up there and already the weather was deteriorating with a strong WSW>6 with heavy horizontal drizzle and the cloud base lowering.
As I got to the west summit the rain was lashing and only the lower section of the mast was visible but by this time I was drenched through so may as well carry on.
After a trudge across both summits and the mounds I searched the top of the northern slope where the Jack Snipe was yesterday but all I had to show for my efforts was 1 Meadow Pipit. Even the mad Fieldfare had abandoned the hill which goes to prove that it may be mad but not as mad as me.
Raggalds Flood had thawed out but no signs of life and the water still seems to be receding.
As I got home dripping wet and took the dogs up Foxhill the weather was of course improving slightly although the daylight was almost gone at 1610hrs,

Leeshaw Reservoir

                                         More Greylags than Canadas

                                            Cormorants moving >NW

                                   100s of Woodpigeons >NW

                                      Local Fieldfares

                             100+ Fieldfare

                                 Suddenly joined with around 200 Starling

                                    Swarms of em

                             15 Cormorant through and 5 bloggers

          Greylag waiting to be joined with Barnacles and Pinkies ?

                                            Juv Cormorants

A bright cold start to the morning at Leeshaw with icy roads and a freezing W>4. The sun tried to break through but clouds moved over from the west by mid morning with the wind increasing.

Nothing on the water other than Mallards, small gulls and Cormorants but the skies were alive with moving and resident birds.
Woodpigeons were piling over >NW along with 15 Cormorant whilst massive flocks of Fieldfare, Redwing and Starlings moved around the fields.
Geese are still in short supply and no sign of the long staying Curlew.

Meant to come back Fly Flatts way but the road up to Paul Clough was sheet ice and impassable.
Raggalds Flood froze over and deserted.

18 Greylag
3 Canada
4 Pied Wagtail
13 Mallard
300+ Starling
150+ Fieldfare
16 Redwing
400+ Woodpigeon.............................>NW
15 Cormorant...................................>NW
5 Cormorant blogging
+ usual sp.
BS

Mixenden res. / Raggalds Flood,/ Soil Hill

                                                 Entrance/ Exit, Soil Hill

                                      Skies alive with Meadow Pipits

                                         A total of 51 birds

                                 West to Ovenden Moor from Soil Hill

  Raggalds Flood, water reduced but still enough to hold birds

                               A total of 47 Lapwing around the shoreline.

A late afternoon dash to Mixenden reservoir in  grey ,dull and damp conditions found very little on the water other than a single m Tufted, 12 Mallard and 1 Common gull with a single f Goldeneye just dropping in from the direction of Cold Edge before I left.
Though dull the WSW>4 was no problem so time to give Soil Hill a bash till last light.
A good trample round the summits and mounds found nothing other than the resident deranged Fieldfare still buzzing around up there until NK sent a text to say he had just flushed a Jack Snipe at Shelf Moor, see Nigels blog. As I was putting the phone back in my pocket a bird flushed from nearly under my feet which first thought was Skylark but then surprise to see a Jack Snipe which landed about 20 yds away.
I pinpointed the place it landed and edged up there with camera poised ready but could see nothing, even stood on a mound looking down on the spot. Suddenly it launched again dropping over the ridge of the summit before the camera even had time to think about focusing.
So as not to disturb it a third time I walked back across the NW summit where Meadow Pipits were feeding in a group along with a Skylark and as they flew around I counted 51 Mipits before they landed again on the east summit. I hoped for a Snow Bunt amongst them but a good scan through found it was,nt to be. Maybe at last the hill is coming back to life, and at least its proved that the Clay Pigeon shooters have,nt scared off the Jack Snipe.
A drive past Raggalds Flood this morning from work found 47 Lapwing, and a visit this afternoon found the water deserted but a flock of around 80 Fieldfares landed in the field just over the ridge.
BS

Judy Woods

                                           Several Nuthatches present

                                     Dipper in the beck

                             Wintery sun going down
                                          All 4 photos courtesy Tracy Collier.

A report from yesterday kindly sent in by Tracy after she,d been down Judy woods with her brother taking advantage of a bright clear day.
She told me Nuthatches were numerous which was good news for a bird hard to find in our area.
Thanks Tracy, it gave me a breather from thinking of something for the blog tonight after another wet , windy and bird less day.
A quick visit to the Tawny Owl site at lunch time proved fruitless with no sign of the owls and only a couple of soggy pellets on the deck meaning they must be using a second roost site during these windy days. The tree they roost in was really wafting about today, no wonder they,d moved to somewhere more sheltered.
BS
 

Raggalds Flood

                                    Mallards galore total of 34

                                   Both ends of the water and on the banking

                               Distant  male Teal x2

                        Half the size of the Mallards .

           Very hard to find in this position by the far bank

                                     Flock of 58 Lapwing circling above

                                                Mean looking Crow

                                      A tranquil scene

Thanks to NK this morning for the call alerting me to 2 Teal on the Raggalds Flood, see his blog also, so I was able to shoot up there in my dinner hour to find a packed field.
34 Mallard were on and around the water along with the 2 drake Teal which took some finding sleeping against the far banking which I quite easily could have missed if I had,nt have known they were there.
A group of 58 Lapwings were circling overhead before moving off towards Soil Hill whilst 3 were on the deck.
Just ready for the Wigeon now !
BS

Mixenden Res/ Raggalds Flood/ Shelf Moor/ Green Lane.

                                       A grey Mixenden Reservoir

    West bank and plantation with Hunter Hill in the background.

Mid afternoon with light rain and a stiff SE>5  and still daylight has hardly broke through with 1430hrs looking more like last light.
First stop was Mixenden reservoir which held several small gulls, 3 f Goldeneye and a
1 m Goosander with no sign of the long staying Tufted , although I had,nt time to walk around the perimeter.
Back to the top of the hill with a quick stop off at Raggalds flood which is in good fettle but birdless atlhough
several small gulls were in surrounding fields.
Down to Shelf Moor where I met with NK and together we trampled mud producing 5 Snipe along with a single Wren, 3 Lapwings in the field, and a small group of 12 mobile Lapwings overhead.
Green Lane was deserted although by 1515hrs we were nearly back to darkness.
A total of 34 sp throughout the day is reasonable I suppose given the limited time I was out and the poor weather conditions.
Back to work tomorrow but the weekend looms near.
BS

Leeshaw/ Fly Flatts

                                 Canadas and Greylag

                                    Fieldfares over the fields

                                       and large Starling flocks

                                          Still 4 Cormorant present

                                                   Fields full of Pheasant

A deteriorating morning with a dark dull start at Leeshaw with a slight SE>3 and light rain soon developing into mist on the hills, heavy rain and wind increase to SE>5.
Leeshaw was lively both in the sky and fields and on the water although nothing to get the adrenalin flowing .
Geese numbers are slowly building along with Mallards whilst large flocks of Fieldfare and Starlings were moving around the fields.  A single Curlew was still present and a nice charm of Goldfinch.

Fly Flatts was wind blown and misty with nothing on the water and just a few small gulls and corvids overhead.

The Delvers held Blackbirds, Robins , Greenfinch and Chaffinch.

Leeshaw
c150 Fieldfare
4 Cormorant
23 Mallard
4 Mistle Thrush
30 Goldfinch
11 Canadas
5 Greylag
+ usual sp.

Not a bad start to the new year with a count of  28 species.
BS