Well the three mile walk to work this morning gave me my ‘First’ summer bird of the year if you guessed Phylloscopus collybita [Chiffchaff (114)] then you win, other birds this morning Song Thrush, Robin, Dunnock, Grey Wagtail, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Crow, Woodpigeon, Magpie now I’m hoping Friday will bring Wheatear 🙂
Some of our Summer Migrants are now arriving back in the country notably at the moment Sand Martin, Little Ringed Plover and Wheatear and it would have been easy for me to head off to Old Moor to bag a couple of these but I decided to stay in the club/patch area to see if I could find one locally, so I headed off to the Royd Moor area to try and find a Wheatear. I soon located a ♀ and ♂ Bullfinch as I headed down towards the reservoir also along the footpath Yellowhammer, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Chaffinch, on the water Great Crested Grebe, Mallard, Common Gull and Black Headed Gull. I headed off down to Scout Dyke around the farmland hoping to catch a migrant somewhere but all I saw were Meadeow Pipits, Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail ♀♂, and Linnet. No luck here so I headed back to the car and decided to drive down to Ingbirchworth living in hope, but alas no Wheatear the only birds I saw were Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Rook, Crow and Pheasant, so to try and pull something out of the bag in the form of a year bird at least I went and looked for the Little Owl[113] and sure enough there it was sat on top off the wall, well the day wasn’t lost after all.
Well I think spring has finally arrived the three mile walk to work this week has been more relaxing and pleasant I’m glad the weather of January/February is hopefully out of the way the birds are now proclaiming loudly there new territories. Birds everywhere Blue Tits, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Mistle and Song Thrush proclaiming from a high tree top, Green Woodpecker “yaffling” loudly as I walk passed, Great Tits, Magpies, Coal Tits, Collard Doves in display flights along with Woodpigeons nearby, Dipper ‘bobbing’ away on the stream near a busy road, Grey Wagtail doing a similiar dance as the waters gently flow and glisten in the spring time sunlight, Great Spotted Woodpecker busy defending his terrority, I was however gently reminded that winter is still not letting go 15-off Redwing in the fields now in beautiful colours and stirkingly marked they were there along with a Mistle Thrush busy probing the grass , fueling up for the long flight to there breeding grounds in North and Eastern Europe, then they were off and hopefully winter with them come October they’ll be back gently reminding us that winter is on its way back, but lets gets some summer birding in first short sleeves and suncream bring it on, how long now to the first summer migrant I usually have one in the bag before March is out, so which will be first this year Wheatear, Chiffchaff or Sand Martin place your bets
Winscar and Winscar Res were the first port of call nowt much about loads of hungry Mallards and Canada Geese in and amongst 6-off Oystercatcher
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Oystercatcher
So with nothing much else to see Langsett was the next port of call home of Crossbill, Siskin and Redpoll
On arrival at Langsett Barns Car Park I was greeted by Robin and Blackbirds I was soon togged up and ready for the off and an adventure in the woods for this kind of place you have to rely on ears and how well you know your bird calls rather than eyes, and a strong neck. I soon picked up Blue, Great and Coal Tits along with Siskin in and amongst the trees and then flight calls of Lesser Redpoll as they passed overhead, nowt much on’t moors thou apart from a hunting Kestrel and a few Red Grouse calling. I was soon back at the car park now after my loop around the Lansett footpaths coming along the road side fields seeing displaying Lapwing and Woodpigeon now already thinking of the breeding season and setting up territories, spring migrants have already made England mainly in our southern counties so won’t be long before we start seeing and hearing them back in the Huddersfield area. As I made the car park Song Thrush jumped on the wall my heart was hoping for that first Wheatear but alas not this week and as I was greeted by a Robin I was seen on my way by a Robin
Yahoo Friday again play time the forcast was good and there was still some good birds about an early finish at work I was off next stop Pugneys CP. The main reason I was off to Pugneys was for a certain grebe it had been around for a while now visiting other reserves in the area and had now spent the last few days here so I was hoping to see it I hadn’t seen this species of grebe since 2004.
Anyway I was soon walking around the lake with the many joggers, cylists and dog walkers seeing Pied Wagtail, Common Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Coot and Great Crested Grebe but not the grebe I was looking there was compensation in a  nice male Stonechat which gave spledid views . Onto the reserve part and into the hide more ducks and gulls Goldeneye, Gadwall, Shoveler, Wigeon, Cormorant but you guessed it not the grebe I was looking for.
Okay over to Calder Wetlands to see if it had gone over there more Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Goosander ♂♀, Redshank, Sparrowhawk, and about 20 Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, and Red Breasted Merganser no grebe and no Smew either time had run out I had to be else where, I got reports later that night that the grebe had shown up later on the boating lake with the Smew on Millfield Pond, okay so it was a early start to Saturday.
Saturday morning and I was at Pugneys for 6:45am and stood by the main lake the lake was clam and flat unlike yesterday so things should be easier to pick up this morning. I scanned the lake Great Crested Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Great Crested Grebe ah there you are the grebe I was looking for and very near to my bank of the lake the name Red Necked Grebe, the bird very similiar to Great Crested, in winter plumage, however slightly smaller in neck length with a dark/dusky collar on the foreneck with a yellow base to the lower bill it’s mainly a late summer to winter visitor and never common. I did manage to get some video footage, okay not good I was hoping for better after I had watched it for a while but it was soon scared off by a barking dog running straight for me, i’m sure that sign over there says “keep your dogs under control at all times or on a lead at all times” strange how dog owners go blind when you put a sign in front of them and no it does not compensate for saying sorry when the bird has flown to the other side of the lake, thats it rant over and viweing over I didn’t have time to relocate to the other side I was lucky to get out again early doors here’s to next week 🙂
Huddsbirder 