Queensbury Today, Common Gulls on the move.

                Evening skies over Foxhill.

Another hot sticky day with one or two welcome showers but still the temperatures stay up in the high twenties. Common gulls were the bird of the day today with a steady flow from early morn mainly >NW but some in various directions. Several were over Foxhill park midday giving it a coat of looking at and the first birds should be down in the next few weeks.

Four Pied Wagtails were on the top pitch and 2 Chaffinch were in the trees being harassed by 2 Magpies.

Called down at Tracys field tonight but the farmer was working there pulling up Ragwort with is poisonous to horses.

BS.

Queensbury, Dailie Fields

                                  Fields full of Ragwort and Thistles

                     Looking down on the old triangular station

                                 Looking east to Otley Chevin

                                     Plenty Tortoiseshell

                                  Alive with insects but not attracting the birds

        Hundreds of these little brown jobs. Meadow Brown or Gatekeeper ?

A quick dinnertime dash to the Dailies to see if the Linnet flock had appeared yet this year.
The top field was in good fettle thick with Ragwort and Thistle which were alive with butterflies and insects but not a Linnet in sight.
This time last year the Linnet flock was over 100 but with the breeding area of Gorse bushes killed off after the severe winter the Linnets have obviously moved on. Hopefully they will return during dispersion.

Several Swifts headed up the Aire Valley along with good numbers of LBB and BH gulls all north.
All Warblers from lower down the fields in the Hawthorns seemed to have moved away.

An interesting report today from a firms secretary of a Ringed Necked Parakeet on her garden feeders at her home in Silsden/ Addingham. Unknown if this is an escapee or a wild bird. Thanks for the info Jackie.
BS

Shelf Moor

A rude awakening this morning at 0615hrs with thick fog, skies as black as night, torrential rain and a real belter of a thunderstorm.
Not a bad day after a real soaking walking to work but the thunder is just returning now at 1945hrs.
Tried in vain this morning to get some photos of the lightening but it only flashed every time I got fed up of waiting and put the camera down. Anybody else manage any ?

A quick look around Shelf Moor tonight in passing found c50 Swallows on the wires along with a few House Martins over the pond.
2 Moorhen were on the water and 4 Canada geese in a nearby field.
Tracys Wheatear field held several corvids, 5 Lapwing and a pair of Pied Wagtails along with several Linnets and Meadow Pipits.
BS

Queensbury, fogged out

A day of thick fog up here in the Gods until late afternoon when the sun broke through leaving a bright evening still with the brisk E>4.
Several Jackdaws were around the chimney pots near the garage today feeding young, not a common sight for the village.
Lynda reported the local Sparrowhawk flying over the garden this morning with an unfortunate squawking Starling in its talons which it had taken from fat balls in a neighbours garden.
Also today a customer reported an albino Starling visiting her garden daily near the underground reservoir at Mountain, thanks for that Anne.
BS

Back to Leeshaw, evening visit

                                                 Little Ringed Plover

                                             2 LRPs together

                                              Snipe

                                    Golden Plover left,   Snipe right

                                   Juv Meadow Pipit

With the weather remaining near the same as this morning with low cloud and light drizzle thought it was worth another check on the wader situation at Leeshaw.
Found it much the same with birds showing well on the NW banking as this morning which makes it a bit more workable than them being on the east banking thought they are still quite a distance away.
2 Common Sandpipers were on the shoreline otherwise the birds were the same but different numbers.
Got to have some interesting waders at this site shortly.
Good to meet nephew Nigel Priestley,  Dannysbirds, tonight who had to leave as I arrived and missed out on the waders.

1 Curlew
9 Oystercatchers
2 LRPs
4 Snipe
7 Golden Plover
1 Dunlin
+ all the usual sp.

Raggalds Flood.
2 Woodpigeons
2ad Pied Wagtail + 1 juv
6 Meadow Pipit
BS.

Leeshaw, Waders galore.

                                           Snipe and Golden Plover

                       2 Snipe 2 Goldies  distant shots but gives you a taste.

 

                                           Dunlin

          Good shoreline, LRP on the left, Dunlin right, scoping job

                                                          LRP

                                           Oystercatchers gathering

          Plenty juv Pied Wagtails about

Fly Flatts fogged off.
Leeshaw, Low cloud, E>4  Heavy Drizzle throughout.

At last a break in the weather bringing some decent birding conditions which really showed it with the waders at Leeshaw. Fly Flatts was in the fog but Leeshaw was just on the cloud base with reasonable visibility and heavy banks of drizzle moving over making perfect wader/tern conditions.
Plenty BH gulls through>N but no Terns although I spent most of the time with my head down scoping the shoreline.
Amazing to see the banking alive with Dunlin, Golden Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Snipe, Lapwing , Oystercatcher and Curlew.
Surprising what a change in the weather can do.

1 Curlew
2 LRP
3 Dunlin
7 Oystercatcher
6 Golden Plover
2 Snipe
sev Lapwing
4 Ad Pied Wags + 4 juv
+ usual sp.
BS

Back Lane, Ogden

                                  Looking down on Ogden

                                  Looking south over Calderdale

A much better day today with full grey skies and a brisk E>4 so with little birding time late afternoon I went up Back Lane , Ogden to see if anything was in the skies.
Bird traffic was reasonably busy through the col with mainly gulls , hirundines and Swifts but good to get a single group of 15 Skylarks heading >SW.
Three Crossbills were active over the plantation along with several Chaffinch whilst all the Curlews seemed to have moved on.
100s of Swifts were high over the wind turbines.

36 LBB gulls, various directions
23 BH gulls..............>SW
9 Common gulls........>SW
1 Heron very high and >SW
15 Skylark..................>SW
3 Crossbills  bloggers
+ usual sp.
several BHGs on Ogden.
BS

Queensbury today, Jackdaws, Red Kite and a mystery Black and White job.

And still the heatwave continues although this evening there was a pleasant E >4 cooling things down slightly.
Hopefully it will last over the weekend.
Jackdaws are invading the village lately and other than the usual fly overs to and from their roost they have now become a common sight with several noisy birds on the chimney tops, and even coming down to garden feeders.
When I started birding in the mid 60s Jackdaws were not to be found around the village and were mainly a bird from the dales. HC and myself used to bird Winterburn reservoir between Gargrave and Malham which was a long bus ride but well worth the effort and it was,nt until you got passed Skipton that you really got into Jackdaw country.
Another Red Kite probably over the village today heading >E from the location it was seen but busy in the garage all day so dipped on that one, thanks for the text DJS.
An interesting report today from a house holder at Shibden Head of an unusual bird briefly in his garden.
He described the bird as Sparrow size but slimmer and fully black and white with a white patch on its head which to me sounds like Pied Flycatcher.
He lives right on the edge of Shibden Head wood so is familiar with all the usual common stuff but thought this could be something rare. He,s going to ring me it it re appears.
BS

Queensbury Scarecrows, clear skies and soaring temperatures.

                Interesting skies over Foxhill

  Queensbury scarecrows,  The old Nat West Bank

            High St Bric a Brac shop

                Temp in the garage hitting 30 deg in the shade, phew.

Another dreaded scorcher but hopefully the end is in sight with a chance of getting back to reality by early next week.
No wonder theres no birds around just now with the village filling up with scarecrows, something to do with the centenary I think. There were several more but 2 have been nicked and another had its head bashed in with the village hot weather  no marks.
All quiet on the birding front with things at a stand still but hopefully by the end of next week things will fire up.
One or two Coal Tits around which keep visiting the feeders, a bird only seen here during dispersion time or winter.
BS

Wheatear for Raggalds Flood

                            A dry looking Raggalds Flood

With reports of Yellow Wagtails in the area, Calderbirds, I thought I,d better give the Raggalds Flood a coat of looking at as, even though its dried out , its still the ideal rough cow field that Yellow Wags prefer, especially having had visits from them in the spring.
First bird seen there was an adult, Autumn plumage Wheatear and after a bit of scanning an adult Pied Wagtail along with 1 juv.  Several Swallows were skimming the mud and LBBs headed east overhead towards Eccup.
So although now just a dusty field it does,nt want neglecting as it still has its pulling power , especially after a bit of rain which hopefully will come soon and get rid of this hot stuff.
BS

Queensbury Cuckoo

Another steaming hot day with clear blue empty skies other than LBB,BH and Common gulls around in various directions.
Whilst up Foxhill Park at midday a Cuckoo was calling from Harp Lane in the dense trees there, then it got quieter as if it was heading for the station.
Could,nt go investigate at lunch time as it was playtime at Foxhill School and as Harp Lane runs down the side of the playground its not the place to be armed with bins and a camera.
By this evening all was quiet.
A report today of 2 Snipe flushed by a dog walker down the old station.
BS

Queensbury, Birds for Monday

              Collared Doves, new this year to the garden

  Downy juv House Sparrow getting male plumage

Another of those terrible hot days till mid afternoon when it clouded slightly and a welcome breeze appeared making things a bit more pleasant.
Up to 5 Collared Doves, 2 Woodpigeons and 7 Goldfinch are using the garden now, all new birds this year.
Also in the last 2 days several young Blue Tits have been through plus the resident House Sparrows now up to 40 post breeding birds.
Gulls are getting a regular sight over the village now and on an evening LBBs, Commons and BHGs fly over >E heading for the roost at Eccup.

Be aware that a local birder had a brick put through his car window 1500hrs Sunday afternoon on the Cold Edge Rd by the Norstar Kennels whilst he was birding Hunter Hill.
Another problem this weather causes bringing the scumbags out when usually these lowlife are at home wrapped in a duvet drinking cheap lager.
What a waste of space these sort of halfwits are.
BS

Gull Watch, Leeshaw Reservoir

                                       The watchpoint

                    The speck on the shoreline is 1of 2 LRPs  + 1 RP

                                        3 LBBs  2 Herrings

                                       LBB,                         Herring,             Common
        The problem with photos at Leeshaw are, they are all very distant and out of range.

A visit to Leeshaw Reservoir late afternoon to check the gull situation in the hope of Yellow Legged or Terns which neither happened.
Gulls were livelier than expected with a steady flow throughout the 90 minutes I was there, some landing briefly on the water, others going straight through all >N.
The 2 long staying Little Ringed Plovers were both on the shoreline along with a Ringed Plover and 3 Kestrel.
Common Sandpiper and 1 Redshank were still present but the Oystercatchers seemed to have moved on

1 Ringed Plover
2 Little Ringed Plover
1 Redshank
2 Common Sandpiper
3 Curlew
c20 Linnet
1 Little Owl
sev House and Sand Martins
83 LBB gull
126 BH gull
12 Common gull
7 Herring gull
Sev Greylag and Canadas
+ usual sp.
BS

Fly Flatts

               Skies full of Swifts, hard to show on a photo

                                                Juv Pied Wagtail

                                        Redshank in the conduit

                                         juv BH gulls moving through

Fly Flatts  0700-1000hrs.  Hot hazy sunshine but slightly more pleasant with a cooling NW>4
Poor visibility in the sun.

A quiet morning with no sign of either Wheatear or Twite though several gulls were on the move with LBBs>N and BHGs >SW.

Meadow Pipits were in big numbers with juvs and post breed congregating , whilst at least 2 Curlew and hanging on there.
Nice to bump into Brian Vickers on the banking also looking for Twite. Same story at his end with a great shortage of Whinchat and Stonechat.

c40 LBB gulls
c70 BH gulls
2 Common gull
1 Dunlin
2 Redshank
4 Common Sandpiper
1 Golden Plover, heard only
1pr Pied Wagtails + 2 juvs
100s of Meadow Pipits and Swifts
usual Canadas and Greylags.
BS