Reservoirs in the rain

              Cormorants at every water

    Plenty Mistle Thrush at Leeshaw

                  Lower Laithe quiet.

With fog first light at Fly Flatts, as usual, it was down to Leeshaw where it was grey and damp deteriorating by 0845 hrs when the SW wind increased bringing black clouds from the west making it dark as night and by 0900 hrs the heavens had opened with hail and heavy rain throughout.
A very disappointing morning around the local reservoirs and the only sign of movement was several squadrons of Starlings migrating >NW.
Definitely not a photographic morning.

Leeshaw
4 Cormorant
18 Mistle Thrush blogging
22 Fieldfare over >S
8 Greylag geese
6 Canada Geese
48 BH gulls
9 Teal low over the water to the west corner of the res out of sight.
4 Mallard

Lower Laithe
1 mTufted
2 Cormorant
17 BH gulls
4 Mallard

Leeming
18 Mallard
1pr Tufted
1 f Teal
1 Cormorant
100 + BH gulls

Fly Flatts  2nd visit
2 Cormorant
1f Tufted
6 Meadow Pipits on seed
1 Kestrel
3 Mallard.
BS

Ogden late p.m. , too late p.m.

                           Drake Teal in the near dark and at distance.

It was 1600 hrs before I got free today so by the time I got to Ogden it was already coming dark ,not helped by the heavy rain and strong SW>5 gusting 6.
The whole area was void of birds other than a few Mallard and 2 BH gulls. Scanning across the water from the west bank I could just make out a single Teal on the east shoreline so other than come home with an empty camera it was a quick race against time, both with the darkness and the gates now being locked at 1700 hrs.
Once on the east bank I could see the Teal was a drake but with the water still well down and 3 parts dark the idea of a half decent photo was out of the question but took a few anyway.
A quick dash back to the car before lock up and home to dry the clothes out ready to get them wet again in the morning.
Target birds tomorrow :-  Wigeon and Whooper Swan.
BS

Fog less Queensbury.

At last a day without fog replaced with a moderate SW>5 and some rain.
Woodpigeons were on the move this morning with around 100 >S seen on the way to work but this move died out around 0815 hrs. Probably the big push will have been missed during the period of fog.
Other than that a few Fieldfare headed >W and unusual to see 4 Blackbirds together >S over the garage.
A full team of local lads out today combing the area, the highlight being Wigeon at Leeshaw and Leeming, JL.
Hopefully the promised south westerlies will bring us a few sea birds and wildfowl inland this weekend.
Have a good one.
BS.

Just to show not all Novembers are bad. Nov 2014 - Nov 2013.

                     Remember the Nov 2013 Ogden Firecrest

       Nov  2013 was a good year for Shelf Moor Snipe

                                        And Lapwings with 300+

                                 With a few Goldies thrown in

   Nov 2014 Woodpigeons heading >S over the garage.

                 Nov 2013 Shelf Moor Snipe

                        Nov 2014 Pied Jackdaw.

   Nov 2014 Record of 74 Common gulls, Foxhill park

    Nov 2014, Pinkies over the garage.

   Nov 2014  Whooper Swans over Leeshaw.

            Nov 2014 saw good numbers of Cormorant at Ogden

So you see, despite all this fog and doom and gloom good things can happen in November though poor Ollie tonight is coiled round my feet shivering thinking the end of the world has come with the noise of fireworks going on outside. I,ve put the radio on to try deaden it a bit for them while I type this but now I,m getting depressed listening to the Country and Western hour.
Think of the poor Redwings flying over tonight avoiding rockets and exploding air bombs.
BS alias Victor Meldrew.

On and Off Fog

A strange day weather wise with thick fog until mid morning then the rest of the day spent clearing and fogging up again till after dark when it eventually cleared.
Foxhill at lunch time was bright and sunny with a few Fieldfares overhead before the fog came like smoke across the field blanking every thing out.
All quiet on the message front today so possibly every one has had a share of the stuff.
A good move of Pinkies around the East Yorkshire coast today with c 900 moving >S past Bempton.
BS

Our turn for fog today.

   Yesterdays fog below Soil Hill

  Still the Thornton smelly wagon factory
                                         smokes on.

                                                The sea of mist

        Whilst Queensbury had blue sky
      and singing Goldfinch.

But not today with a full day of dense fog getting thicker than ever this evening.
Good job the car knows its way to Sainsburys because I could,nt see a thing.
Had to get the shopping tonight instead of Thursday as the dogs are spooked by fireworks which will probably go on all next week. I hate Halloween and Plot night , Lynda says I,m getting more like Victor Meldrew by the minute.
The breeze seemed to be getting up when I walked the dogs tonight so hopefully it,ll shift the fog by tomorrow.
BS

Pinkies for Queensbury

             Pink Footed Geese over the garage.

                                                 Rear section

                                        Front Section  c120

A cracking day in Queensbury up above the cloud base which blanked out just about the rest of the country.
Fieldfare movement was steady but mainly bounce back birds whilst a few late Meadow Pipits headed >S.
NK was out first light collecting birds like there was no tomorrow, my phone was on melt down.
See Nigels blog for a great report plus an amazing LEO photo. One of NKs sightings from Soil Hill was the above skein of Pink Footed geese which came more or less over the garage at 0845 hrs >SE.
With a drake Shoveler on Ogden, NK, a gulped down dinner and rushed dog walk then on to a dash to get a pic with about 15 minutes to get there and back but the race was cut short when I got to the top of Ned Hill and saw the fog now moving across Ogden.
With 10 minutes spare I chanced a dash across Soil Hill and half way down the North slope to try get a good shot of the LEO but the bird was,nt playing so a dash back to the car , a few gasps of breath and back to work just in time to see the fog rolling in blanking us out.
Thanks for the calls Nigel.
BS

SEO or LEO ?

Just got an e mail from Mick Cunningham who says he,s pretty sure tonight's SEO, below, is actually a LEO. Mick, for those of you that don,t know him, is an ex Bradford birder now at Huddersfield and is somewhat an expert in bird i.d., especially raptors.
The bird looked very pale but I did only see the underside through the camera lens.
Under wing patterns are near the same with LEO more streaking.
Will recheck the photos although micks word is usually good enough. Any comments welcome.
AMENDMENT
Looking closer at blown photos, as expected, MC was right and it is a LEO.
Won,t have to take the jizz for granted next time.
Thanks to sharp eyed Mick Cunningham for correcting me and for taking the time to view and study my blog.  Thanks to AC for comment and NK for text comment.
BS

LEO still on Soil Hill

            Long Eared Owl at distance

 An amazing lens, these were taken from the
very bottom on the excavations by the now
dug up Sedge Warbler pond.
The LEO was up on the summit.  600mm hand held..

Back to Soil Hill via Ned Hill track late afternoon with hopes of my first Stonechat of the year but not to be. After a scramble back down to the bottom of the north face and a fleeting glimpse of 1 Long Eared Owl diving for cover I continued on across treacherous country where the excavations are taking place in an attempt to sort out the duck situation on the NK pond.
Half way across the squelching mud I turned back and saw an owl quartering the top of the summit and dropping just over the top of the slope.
A scan through the bins proved Long Eared Owl so it was about turn and back up the slope.
Back up on the summit I searched around, once I,d started breathing normal and got over the thoughts of a heart attack dashing up that hillside, but the LEO was not to be re located.
A few Mipits were on the top and after a Snow Bunting check in the usual areas it was back to base.
Walking back along the Ned Hill track a Little Owl flew across the lower fields.
BS

Fly Flatts

     Early morning silhouette,  Red Grouse

               One of the lucky young ones

  You could see as far as the moon but fog hung
                  over the reservoir.

                          Fieldfare passing through

                             Zoomed in

                       Full Zoom

The first hour at Fly Flatts this morning was bright and clear with thick fog in the valleys though skies were quiet with just around 150 Fieldfare through and a Mistle Thrush on the moor. Several Red Grouse were up near the top road, probably safter up there although shooting seems to have stopped almost now.
The water held 18 BH gulls, 8 Mallard and 3 Canadas along with one female Tufted.
After that my old friend the fog came looking for me and blanked out any horizontal vision whilst the skies remained quiet.
BS