A late night visit up to the Langsett Res. area, mainly around the weir side in the hope of Redstarts and Cuckoo, I didn’t see either on the walk. The first half of the walk, I was struggling for species, only Chiffchaff was the most notable seen or heard along with Willow Warbler, a Grey Wagtail was seen along the river, and a Grey Heron was seen flying in and on to the river.
On my return journey I noticed a flock of House Martin going thru the valley, along with a few Swallows, a couple of Common Buzzards drew my attention, a bit distant for the camera, and then a Red Kite drifted in, this is a bird I don’t see a lot of in the Huddersfield area, the last one I saw was back in 2010, so a 14 year gap, a pleasant site in deed, I took some shots, but only as a record due to the distance.
A disappointing trip out overall, no Redstart, Cuckoo or Red Grouse, but the Red Kite did give me something to say it was worthwhile coming out
Birds seen or Heard : Buzzard, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, House Martin, Lapwing, Pheasant, Red Kite, Swallow, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren
I decided on a brief to the local ponds after work, sun was out, it would be more of a reccy visit to see how the area was after the winter period.
The birds took president, first with Willow Warbler then Song Thrush, Chiffchaff, and Whitethroat, being the most notable. The reason for my visit of course were the ponds and surrounding area, for Dragonflies, I was a bit dubious before my visit, due to the lack of management from last year, but the ponds looked good, so I’m hopeful of a good year.
The only Dragonfly/Damselfly showing today, after lots of searching, were a few Azure Damselflies.
Other birds noted today were Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Lapwing, Robin and Woodpigeon
Arriving at Broadstone’s Reservoir at 6:30am to the sight of a Barn Owl flying over the wall had me stopping, an unscheduled stop, but worth going after, so getting the gear together off I set.
Willow Warblers were very prominent and seemed to be calling from every bush. Moving further on into the heath, a few Linnets were moving about, no sight of the Barn Owl. Moving further on, Common Whitethroats got my attention, this also brought me into an area where there were a few Blackcaps and a Garden Warbler, good to hear these two confusion species together, still no sign of the Barn Owl, so I moved off back towards the car, picking up on Skylark singing away as I did so. On my way thru I stopped at an area good, in the past, for Grasshopper Warbler, but no evidence of one today.
Getting back to the car, I set off for Langsett, my original first stop of the day, and parked up at the Barns Car park on arrival. The time was now 8:30am, there were plenty of Blackbirds around the car park area, along with Chaffinch, and a singing Blackcap.
Gear together, I set off towards my target species here, seeing Song Thrush, and Oystercatcher, near the dam wall, but no Common Sandpipers’ this morning or Pied/Grey Wagtails. Down in the woods, the target area for today, the sounds of Nuthatch,Robin, Blue Tit and Great Tit. Looking thru the foliage, I eventually caught sight of a Spotted Flycatcher, which was nice to find.
Further into the woods, things became rather quiet in the wood, then a quick movement and I’d found the target bird, a Pied Flycather, male. After watching the male bird for a while, and occasionally losing it, I caught sight of the Flycatcher giving a Great Spotted Woodpecker a hard time, diving bombing, trying to move the Woodpecker on. I eventually traced the Pied Flycatcher and got sight of the female coming and going with nest material, with the male looking on and giving song on various posts, safely keeping my distance
It was time to move on and I found myself down at Manvers lake, looking for the male Garganey which had taken favour with a female Mallard. I eventually found it tucked away out of sight along with the Mallard.
It was then down to Edderthorpe Flash, here I saw plenty of Swallows and Sand Martin moving thru, but no sign of the bird I was looking for, Willow Warblers, Chiffchaff, Reed Warblers, Shelduck, Oystercatchers, a pair of Common Sandpipers, lots of Avocets, Cormorants, but still no sign of my target bird for here. it was now moving on to 4pm, after talking with someone else, who decided to move on after I said I’d been there for an hour and a half and there was no sign of it, he moved on down to Old Moor. I however decided to stop for another thirty minutes, it took about ten minutes before I saw the bird in question, flying in from the right and landing down in front of where I was sitting, Black winged Stilt in the bag and giving good views. It was good to see it, after the one from Frampton where I only saw it from a video I’d taken, and to finish the day, a single Swift went thru.
Langsett Area Birds :Barn Owl, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Crossbill (H), Curlew, Garden Warbler, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Linnet, Long tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Robin, Siskin (H), Skylark, Song Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Treecreeper, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon, Wren (33)
Manvers and Edderthorpe : Avocet, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black headed Gull, Black winged Stilt, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Common Sandpiper, Coot, Cormorant, Gadwall, Garganey, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Herring Gull, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Black backed Gull, Mallard, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Robin, Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Swallow, Swift, Teal, Tufted Duck, Willow Warbler (35)
Today I was at the seabird capital of the UK, RSPB Bempton Cliffs, on what turned out to be a very, very windy day, which made taking photos/videos very difficult, due to the gusts of wind.
i started around the visitor centre where I found Goldfinch, Pied Wagtail, and Jackdaw. On then down to the cliffs where I saw all the common cliff dwellers, Gannet, Kittiwake, Razorbill, Guillemot, Puffin, Rock Dove, and fly by Shag. It was extremely windy which hampered taking photos, so I decided on going back to the centre and maybe the dell area, where hopefully I was a little bit out of this wind. The trees around the feeders gave some shelter from the wind, so I was able to enjoy the Chaffinch, Tree Sparrow, Goldfinch, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Robin, Chiffchaff, Woodpigeon and Jackdaws. In the dell I managed to find a Willow Warbler and heard a Common Whitethroat.
After dinner I gave the cliffs another go, the wind hadn’t relented, it seemed to be worse, I don’t know how the birds managed to fly in the weather, I did manage to grap a few photos.
After Bempton I moved up to East Lea, a members only site in Filey. I was now getting cold, the wind was still strong, but I was hoping for a bit of shelter here, and it was also becoming overcast and grey too, but not to be down. There were a few goods birds here at East Lea, Greenshank (distant), Common Sandpiper (which did eventually work its way around to the hide, the long staying Long tailed Duck, other birds present were Coot, Moorhen, Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler, Stock Dove, Little Grebe.
It was a good day overall, despite the wind, I did manage to see what I’d come for, hopefully next time it won’t be windy
The day started early, 4am at home, on the road for 5:15am, arriving at Frampton at 8am and one hundred and ten miles later.
The first port of call as always is the area next to the car park, where once again the Lesser Yellowlegs was still present, now running well into its six, if not more in the UK. Other present around here were Dunlin, Lapwing, Little Egret, Ruff, Redshank, Moorhen, Mallard, Pintail, Shoveler, Gadwall, Teal to name a few. I decided on walking down the road, which runs down to the marsh, stating of course next to the visitor centre, from here i saw Marsh Harrier, Mute Swan, Greylag Geese, Great Crested Grebe and a lovely displaying Little Ringed Plover, so lovely to see its display flight and calling. Moving on from there, I saw more Ruff in the field opposite, along with plenty of Brent Geese, despite looking thru the flock, I couldn’t find the Red Breasted Goose, a couple of Pied Wagtails were in the field, along with a couple of White Wagtails.
Further along the road, I heard a call I hadn’t heard since last year, it turned out to be a Sedge Warbler, along the road side ditch, turned out to be a few down here, with one bird showing rather well, needless to say I took quite a few photos, well a lot. further along the road there were more Brent Geese, once again no reported Red Breasted Goose, it was definitely giving me the run around, amongst the Geese were now lovely looking Black tailed Godwits, now in breeding plumage. On the other side of the road were plenty of Black headed Gulls and with careful scanning a few Mediterranean Gulls, I found six.
Hearing then that the Red Breasted Goose had moved on to the far field, I headed off that way, a bit of a walk but did see Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Little Egret, Redshank and Dunlin on the way, but never did seethe Red Breasted Goose. Back up near visitor centre, looking out towards the farm building, someone had found some distant Yellow Wagtails, they easily stood out due to the colourful plumage..
After dinner I decided on going along the top path to once again try and for the Red Breasted Goose and Black winged Stilt, over near the farm side of the reserve, but once again turned into a fruitless task, did see however, Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Curlew Sandpiper, Greenshank, and down along the track that leads to the farm, about six Yellow Wagtails, giving excellent views, also I got better views of the two Barnacle Geese from here. My last call was back at the Visitor Centre where there were some Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins going thru, a nice ending to a lovely day, also breaking my Frampton Day Visit List at 70 Species (106 Total)
I started my afternoon, was now about 2pm, at Ingbirchworth Res, with a walk down along the dam wall. The first birds were Goldfinch in a nearby tree, on the water were a few Great Crested Grebes, Mallards, Canada Geese, and a few mixed up ducks. I was hoping for a few hirundie over the water, but there was nothing about. I made my way back along the dam wall, seeing a male Pied Wagtail this time, I took a few photos before moving on.
I then walked along the top path, passed the bus shelter, it was more productive down here with Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Great tit, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler, the latter I managed to get a few photos of.
My next stop after Ingbirchworth, is my favourite place, Langsett Res. Once again I parked in the Barns Car Park, which was quiet today, I got the gear together and headed out, target bird here was Pied Flycatcher, but alas was a no show, did see however Great Tit, Blue Tit, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker. i then moved onto Low moor Lane viewpoint, hopping for some raptors, but came away with Curlew, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Red Grouse, and a pair of drumming Snipe. On the for tea and afterwards staying up on the moors, hopping for some Owls, only a calling Tawny Owl, but did see a few roding Woodcock over the Moor
Bird List : Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Sandpiper, Curlew, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Red Grouse, Robin, Snipe, Song Thrush, Treecreeper, Willow Warbler, Woodcock, Woodpigeon, Wren (37)
The day started at Broomhill Flash which is managed by the Garganey trust, at 7am, Broomhill was quiet, the highlight being a Marsh Harrier trying to make a meal out of a Teal, which narrowly escaped thanks to a nearby bush, other birds noted were Oystercatcher, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, and Mallard.
We moved on then to Wombwell Ings, which is the next field over from Broomhill Flash, all part of the Dearne Valley complex, target here for the day was Water Pipit, which was a no show, Redshank, and Skylarks were very notable, along with Reed Buntings, wildfowl here were Canada Goose, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Cormorant.
We then moved on to Warbler Way, where there were more Chiffchaff, but we also picked up new birds for the year, Willow Warbler and a male Blackcap, we also found Buzzard and Sparrowhawk.
On then to RSPB Old Moor, target bird here was Garganey, and again a no show bird, however there were plenty to see, Little Egret, Teal, Wigeon, Shelduck, Pintail, Tufted Duck, plenty of Cetti’s Warblers were giving out there explosive songs, a few of the birds even gave excellent views. A new bird for the year was a Common Sandpiper, which we found from the East Pool Hide. The best place for me today was at the Tree Sparrow Farm were there were plenty of birds to see and photograph, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Robin, Dunnock, Bullfinch, Lesser Redpoll, Brambling, Great Tit and Blue Tit.
Our last site for the day was RSPB St Aidan’s on the reports of another Gargeney, and once again no show, despite extensive searching. Our highlights at here were, the Black necked Grebes, Bearded Tit, an in flight Bittern, Willow Warblers, Blackcap and a single Sand Martin.
So today I was visiting a couple of local sites, ones I hadn’t to for a while, in the vain hope of some summer migrants, Broadstones I was hoping for Wheatear with Langsett hopefully delivering Red Grouse. I started by travelling along the Brown Royd Edge Road and stopped at the airfield and found, Fieldfare, Lapwing, Mistle Thrush, with three Wheatear, easily picked up, due to their distinctive jizz, of the upright pose and distinctive run, great to see these birds again. Moving on passed the sheep fields, picking out Lapwings, with a couple of Pied Wagtails amongst them. I moved off from here I went down the Lower Maythorn Lane, where I knew Wheatear stop off, sure enough, there was only one, a female, but it didn’t matter.
So Langsett Res was the next stop, the Barns car park, and at the moment it was quiet. so I had a good choice of where I could park the car. Whilst getting the gear together, I heard and saw Chaffinch, Blackbird, Robin, Chiffchaff (which seemed to be everywhere now), Wren, Mistle Thrush and a hooting Tawny Owl. I started my route along the top path, where I saw and took photos of a Wren, there were also a few Chiffchaff down here also, and a Mistle Thrush, but little else of note. It wasn’t until I’d done my loop and was back near the car park again that I picked up on Siskin, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, heard Great Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch. Moving passed the car park and on towards the dam wall, this place is good for Common Sandpiper, today being a bit early but did see a pair of Oystercatcher, and a pair of Grey Wagtail in the overflown channel. I put a few things back in the car and went on then to the Bank View cafe for a bite to eat.
After dinner I decided on getting away from the crowds and going up on to Midhope Moors, to a place I knew would be quiet, and it was, a bit windy however, and a good place for Red Grouse , it took a while today for them to show, but they did eventually show, lovely calls to boot. There was also Meadow Pipits and Linnets around, I decided on taking in the view and sat down on one of the walls, along came a Common Buzzard flying steadily up the valley, a Kestrel hovering nearby, Curlews displaying and calling, then the experience of the day as a female Merlin came within in, maybe a foot, as it flew by hugging the wall, probably hunting the Pipits and Linnets, wow!
Homeward bound, via the Broadstones area again, stopping at the sheep field first where there were a few Pied Wagtail about, but I did manage to seek out alone White Wagtail too, there were a few Skylark in and amongst too, looking over the airfield again, the Wheatear etc had moved off, due to the model airplanes about now. Pulling into the layby/pull in area at Broadstones, I noticed a few Black headed Gulls flying over the road, but out of the corner of my eye I noticed something different, turned out to be a Barn Owl hunting the road verges, camera was in the boot, not in its usual place of the passenger seat, doh!, mad dash it was for the camera, then a run around to try and capture the Owl, well one day I’ll be in the right place at the right time. On to the heath then, which was quiet, but I managed to find a pair of Stonechat, lovely birds, one I was hoping to see.
39 bird species for the day, not a great tally, but a great day
Bird List ; Barn Owl, Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Curlew, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Grey Heron, Grey wagtail, Herring Gull, Kestrel, lapwing, Long tailed Tit, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Merlin, Mistle Thrush, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Red Grouse, Robin, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Stonechat, Tawny owl, Wheatear, White Wagtail, Woodpigeon (39)
Here was again back at RSPB Fairburn Ings and it looked as if it was going to be a nice day. I started around at the Visitor Centre feeders at the Pickup Hide, seems to be a favourite place of mine of late, the usual common species were here, Reed Bunting, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long tailed Tit, Chaffinch, there was a Chiffchaff and a Green Woodpecker calling nearby. I eventually caught up with the Chiffchaff, near the Kingfisher Screen, as I made my way up to the top trails, sadly not the Green Woodpecker.
I finally arrived at the viewpoint where I could see over the bottom area of the flashes, looking from here I managed to pick out plenty of Cormorants, a couple of Little Egret and finally a Spoonbill, which broke lose from the trees and flew down towards the Lin Dyke area with another following shortly afterwards.
I moved on down towards Lin Dyke as the Spoonbills looked as if they had settled near to the Lin Dyke hide, it looked along way from where I was standing. Finally arriving seeing very little on my journey down here, around the hide were a few Chiffchaffs. It looked as if the Spoonbills had moved, but not far, I managed a couple of shots before they took flight again, back to where I had just come from, I managed a couple of flight shots before they got to far away, there was also two Cattle Egret present down here amongst the Highland Cattle.
Well back at the Visitor Centre feeders, the day was warming up, now evident due to a few Bees now flying around, I settled in for another session with the camera, seeing the usual common species again. Another move and this time back down to Lin Dyke, but in the car this time. I stopped around the feeders here hoping for the a Willow Tit to show up, unfortunately it was another no show, there were Dunnocks, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Long tailed Tits, and a Pheasant.
Fairburn Bird List : Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Cattle Egret, Cetti’s Warbler, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Great White Egret, Green Woodpecker, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Long tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Pochard, Reed Bunting, Robin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Spoonbill, Stock Dove, Teal, Tufted Duck, Wren (44)
My idea was to travel back North via Willow Tree Fen for the Cranes, OK it did mean a bit of travelling south first by about 40mins, but would mean a loss of 6mins to home, so decision made then.
Big change from yesterday’s weather were it was nice and bright to a very damp start today. On my travel into Willow Tree Fen I came across Twenty one Whooper Swans settled in a field, so things brightened up, it was still drizzling when I arrived at Willow Tree Fen and to locked gates to the car park, it wasn’t long thou before the voluntary warden showed up to unlock, and looked in disbelieve at someone showing up today. After parking up the rain did stop, looking over the marsh we did manage to to find a few Cranes, I finally picked out seven birds in total, a few did fly off site, which was great to see, long necks and legs, calling with that distinctive Crane sound, beautiful.
Also on site were a few Marsh Harriers along with Common Buzzard, Chaffinch, Collard Dove, Coot, Goldfinch, Mallard, Mute Swan, Shoveler, Snipe.
Back on the road, as I got further North the weather started to brighten up so I decided on calling in at RSPB St Aidan’s on the way for the Black necked Grebes. On arrival at St Aidan’s, my first stopping point of course was the dragline, but again no Little Owl was showing but there was plenty of Stock Dove about. The BN Grebes apparently were frequenting Bowers lake, so I headed off in that direction. I was looking at Great Crested Grebes, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Mute swan, Pochard, Coots and Black headed Gulls and the sound of Bittern, but no BN Grebes, I decided on walking back the way I had come, so I was looking at the opposite lake, it wasn’t long before I picked up on a Black necked Grebe, a bit distant, I watched it for a while and it was eventually joined by another two, not good views due to where they were hanging out amongst a patch of reeds. After that I made my back seeing Reed Bunting, with Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, and Common Buzzard over the hillside.
I was then joined by another group of people who informed me that a Black necked Grebe was making its way around the channel close to the footpath, and heading towards us, I waited and ended up having one of the best wildlife encounters ever, as the Black necked Grebe popped up withing six feet of me, after getting over experience, I did manage a couple of pics, what a moment.
Moving on then down towards the main lake area, seeing Grey Heron , Great White Egret, Lapwing and a Common Redshank, there were a few Gulls down on the main lake, mainly Black headed Gull and Lesser Black backed Gulls. Well the day was drawing to a close, I headed back out towards the visitor centre again, once again seeing the Kestrel hunting over the hillside, with no Little Owl on the dragline, again. Whilst having my usual coffee and cake break, outside this time where i had good views of the feeders, finishing the day off with Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Reed Bunting.
Huddsbirder 