Huddsbirder

Morning walk out around the Healy Mills/Kerries/Dewsbury Sewage Farm complex early on Friday on what was to be a beautiful sunny morning, the insects were out as well as the birds. First encounters on site were the  Sand Martins doing aerial displays around the colony, two male Goosanders on the river along with Mallards. Futher in and hoverflies, craneflies and butterflies were about these being mainly Euopedes hoverflies, Scorpion Cranefly and Orange tip Butterfly.

There was also a good selection of summer migrants about now on site and they seem to be settling in nicely with Chiffchaff, Blackcaps’, and a good selection of Common Whitethroats’ on what seemed to be every bush. Further around and on the sewage farm Reed Warblers and Sedge Warblers had arrived on site and were building territories calling from the reeds, Reed Buntings, Mute Swan, Little Grebes, Gadwall and Pied wagtails were found. Oystercacther, Black headed Gulls, Crows, Woodpigeons and Stock Dove on the filter beds with Sand Martins Swallows and Swifts overhead

There wasn’t a shortage of butterflies either with Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Peacock, Orange tips and Whites all seen

Around the pool edges I found Large Red and Blue tailed Damselflies

I finished my walk around the sight with Sparrowhawk flying over

List :-

Great Tit, Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Reed Bunting, Sand Martin, Swallow, Swift, Goosander, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Pied wagtail, Common Whitethroat, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap. Moorhen, Coot, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Crow, Woodpigeon, Stock Dove, Black headed Gull, Canada Goose,

Blue tailed damselfly

Scorpion Fly

Sedge Warbler

The original plan was to go for a day at Broomfleet Washlands for Damselflies but with only Large Red’s and a few Variable showing at the moment I decided on leaving it a couple of week and going for plan B and to mop up on a few local bird species and then a run down to Old Moor etc to meet family and try to pick up the Glossy Ibis at Wombwell.

The plan was to head out to the Langsett area so I decided on going via Broadstones Res to see what I could pick up on route. I Headed up thru Kirkburton where a Tawny Owl decided on frightening me half to death as it flew across the road in front of the car. At Broadstones all I encountered were Meadow Pipit, plenty of Linnets, Lapwings, Curlew and a single Wheatear

I arrived at the Langsett Barn Car Park to be greeted by a Song Thrush sitting on the nearby fence and Garden Warbler calling from within the car park. I caught up with the Garden Warbler amongst the foliage just beyond the car park giving good views whilst singing away.

Garden Warbler

Common Sandpiper’s could be found on the reservoir walls as I made my way along the dam road, on the grass banking were Jackdaw, Mistle Thrush and Blackbirds busy looking for tasty morsels. I arrived in the wood to be greeted by a noisy Nuthatch  calling away drowning out the calls of Blue Tit, Great Tit and Chaffinch then I just about made out my first target species of the day a Pied Flycatcher as it was calling within the wood. I was soon on to the fine male bird as it sang from its perch, then flying out from its perch, as flycatchers do, to catch a fine morsel as the unsuspecting insect flew past. I spent sometime with the flycatcher seeing both male and female birds as they brought in food to a nearby nest box. The light was awful today but I did manage a few not so good photos as the male has he was singing from his various perches.

Pied Flycatcher

On then to the other side of the valley where I did catch up with the second target of the day which was a Redstart, this bird was found singing away from the tallest tree in the valley making another difficult species to get a photo of. Other birds in the valley were Meadow Pipit, Red Grouse, Dipper, Stock Dove, Coal Tit, no Cuckoo heard or Crossbills seen., did see Siskin, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler on the way out.

Old Moor RSPB is where I met up with the family for dinner then I managed some time to myself whilst here . The Wader scrape hide was the place of choice seeing  Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Teal, Mallard, Gadwall, Avocet, Black headed Gulls, Lesser Black backed Gulls, Sand Martins, Cormorant, Mute Swans, Common Terns

After dinner and saying goodbye to the family I moved on to Wombwell Ings to find the Male Garagney in a good position near the hide, this bird at the moment wasn’t settling in anywhere, visiting Old Moor, Broomhill, Edderthorpe and here so it was great to find it here.

Garganey is a migratory species of duck that arrives in England in late March early April to breed spending winters in Africa and Asia . Other birds included Avocet, Redshank, Mute Swan, Black headed Gulls, Lapwings, Greylag Geese along with Canadas’.

Garganey

Last port of call was Broomhill Flash a small reserve with one large pool highlights here was the numerous Sand and House Martins flying low over the water along with a fewer  numbers of Swallows. Swifts were also seen but higher up and in lower numbers.

The day had finished and with no Glossy Ibis in the bag but it was a great days birding much to enjoy. Butterflies encountered today were

In Flight House and Sand Martins [House Martin with the white rump]

The Bird List :-

Cormorant, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Garganey, Shoveler, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Red Grouse, Pheasant, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Lapwing, Curlew, Redshank, Common Sandpiper, Black headed Gull, Lesser Black backed Gull, Common Tern, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Tawny Owl, Swift, Skylark, Sand Martin, Swallow, House Martin, Meadow Pipit, Pied wagtail, Dipper, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Redstart, Wheatear, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Reed Warbler, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Pied Flycatcher, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Jay, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Goldfinch, Siskin, Linnet, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting

Butterfly List :-

Brimstone, Orange tip, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood

Today I decided on a tour of Old Moor and Wombwell Ings..Wombwell being next door to Old Moor I had decided stopping here first on the report of a few waders going thru. It was a cold start, wish had brought my gloves, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler were the first birds to encounter as I parked the car up on the bridge across from the Old Moor tavern, walked across the playing field and on to the reserve. Canada, Greylag Geese, Lapwing were in the fields along with a singing Skylark, from the hide Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard, Redshank, then a cb call of a Red Kite flying towards us had everyone escaping from the hide and looking upwards to find it flying gracefully and being mopped by crows. Back in the hide we mopped up on Little Ringed Plover (2) and Bar tailed Godwit which came down in front of the hide to give us good close views of these birds.

Wombwell List ;- LR Plover Bar tailed Godwit, Redshank, Lapwing, Skylark, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Shoveler, Gadwall, Red Kite, Black headed Gull, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Mallard, Blackcap, Woodpigeon, Sand martin, Swallow, House Martin

On then to Old Moor RSPB to see the Mediterranean Gulls, Bittern (booming every 10mins or so), Swallows and Sand Martins overhead, but it turned into an insect session at Old Moor with the countless Gorse Shield-bugs about, a couple of Sloe (Hairy) Shields thrown in, lots of Gorse Weevils, Common Carder Bees, along with Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Orange-tip, Large White and Brimstone Butterflies, but no Damselflies as yet even thou reported from other sites around Yorkshire

Gorse Shield Bug

Sloe Shield Bug

Gorse Weevil

Well today should have been a friend group outing to Leighton Moss RSPB but turned out to be an outing to Old Moor for us due to people dropping out of the trip. We were greeted by a few Chiffchaff calling away around the car park area along with a single Linnet, walking towards the visitor center a male Blackcap was seen along with 2 females in and out of the ivy. We made our way straight to the family hide hearing on our way a few Willow Warblers, settling in to the hide we were we soon on to the Mediterranean Gulls along with a single Redshank, Sand Martins, Black headed Gulls, Oystercatchers, Mallards, Gadwall, Coot and Moorhen.

On then to Wath Ings hide were we saw Little Grebe, Lapwing,  lots of Sand Martins and Swallows moving thru on the right side of the hide, Mute Swan, Tufted Ducks and a Common Buzzard

Back on then to the Wader Scrape hide were we picked up the Avocets along with Shovelers. Finally around the Garden feeder Hide we saw Dunnock, Yellowhammer, Bullfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Reed Bunting, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Greenfinch, Chaffinch

Day List

Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Swallow, Sand Martin, Avocet, Buzzard, Mediterranean Gull, Black headed Gull, Gadwall, Mallard, Shoveler, Woodpigeon, Starling, Dunnock, Robin, Blue Tit, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Coot, Moorhen, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Bullfinch, Greenfinch

Out on the local patch today down on Healy Mills nature reserve hopefully to catch a few arriving migrants, I wasn’t to be disappointed with Chiffchaffs calling and Sand Martins on the nearby river, Blackcap and Willow Warblers in the woods. On the river were Goosander ♀, Mallard and a Kingfisher. Grey Heron and Cormorant were seen further in as I made my thru the reserve towards the sewage farm, around the feeders Dunnock, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Reed Bunting, Stock Doves and Woodpigeons flying over, Robins, Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Chaffinch. Around the farm Pied Wagtails, Black headed Gulls, Canada Geese, Sand Martins, and on the filter beds Teal, Little Grebe, a couple of pair of Gadwall, Lapwing over Oystercatchers on the filter beds and plenty of Linnets

Plenty of Butterflies were on the wing today with double figure Peacocks, a handful of Small tortoiseshell and a couple of male Orange tips with a lone female.

First Swallow of the year was seen on route at the Coal Mining Museum

Cormorant

The weather forecast looked favourable so we decided on a day out in a westerly direction, this would be out of Yorkshire so with passport in had we headed into  Lancashire and landed at Southport, Marshside RSPB reserve at about 10:30am to see lots of Pink footed Geese flying over the marsh.

We headed to the Visitor Centre first, toilet stop, whilst there we had a look over the marsh to find various ducks and waders Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler, Mallard, Wigeon, Black tailed Godwits, Avocets, Redshank, Black headed Gulls

Male Teal

Other birds of note were Canada Geese, Starling, Lapwings with Golden Plovers, Grey Heron with elusive Little Egrets. We decided on a walk across the road onto the marsh, keeping to the footpaths of course, here we found Skylarks, Pied Wagtail, Goldfinch and a couple of Male Wheatears

Wheatear posing for the camera

Back to the car due to the now dark skies and only just in time as the heavens opened, so much for the weather forecast, but we watched the gulls flying past the car as we ate dinner and added a Common Gull to the day list.

We moved off and headed towards Yorkshire once again, can’t stop away too long, but first we stopped off at the Brockholes Nature Reserve next to the M5 for a coffee, not much happening here due to the strong cold winds and rain. Watching from the visitor centre with coffee in hand we saw Pied Wagtails, Coot, Moorhen, Black headed Gulls, Grey Heron and Tufted Duck, rushing back to the car we got sight of a few Sand Martins overhead. Looks like a good reserve, big and a few things for the children as well, it’s the  first time we’ve been so maybe well be back when its warmer

Day List in no particular order :-

Mute Swan, Wigeon, Black tailed Godwit, Redshank, Avocet, Common Snipe, Black headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Little Egret, Pink footed Goose, Canada Goose, Shoveler, Mallard, Gadwall, Teal, Tufted Duck, Starling, Grey Heron, Pied Wagtail, Goldfinch, Coot, Moorhen, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Wheatear, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Sand Martin, Common Buzzard[on travels]

I decided on a quick morning dip around the Healy Mills reserve to start the day and maybe catch up with some early migrants, I did find a Chiffchaff but it was probably one of the over wintering birds. The first birds on site were Mallards and Moorhen on the river Calder, Grey Heron overhead. Around the feeders were the usual Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Robin, Chaffinch and this week I got a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a large female Sparrowhawk. On the river again Tufted Duck, Goosander (3♂ 1♀) and a pair of Teal.

On the sewage farm filter beds a few Pied Wagtails with 2 pale females which had me looking a bit longer. Crows and Black headed Gull. On the old beds Common Snipe (2), Teal, Shoveler. Coot, Mallards and Reed Buntings. On the way back thru I managed to pick up a pair of Jay flying over along with a pair of Stock Dove but the catch of the day was a brief sighting of a Kingfisher heading off down river

Male Tufted Duck

I decided on a day out taking time off work for a bit of therapy to the East Coast for a little bit of photography taking in Filey, Bridlington and the North Cave Wetlands. Just short of 50 species for the day no major highlights all common species such as Knot, Oystercatcher, Common Redshank, Guillemot, Razorbill with a couple of surprises thrown in like Little Gull and Common Seal

A more detailed report can be read at the TRIPS tab and scroll down to “Yorkshire Front Page” and then “East Coast Feb 2014” or if you like at this link

By clicking this   and if you would like to look at some photos of the day you can see them at My Flickr Site by Clicking This

Oystercatcher

Common Redshank

Friday 21st turned out to be a busy day first off was a morning visit to the new reserve at Healey Mills first birds encountered were Mallard and Common Teal on the river calder. In at the feeders were Dunnock, Robin, Blue Tit, Long tailed Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, and Wren.

On at the farm plenty of Black headed Gulls, Oystercatchers (2), Teal (c50), Shoveler (3♂ 2♀), Common Snipe (14). On the filters beds Crows, Pied Wagtails, Grey Wagtails (3) and Reed Bunting, surprise of the morning was a Fox on one of the pools

Great Tit

Healey Mills birds in no particular order :-

Magpie, Crow, Robin, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Dunnock, Long tailed Tit, Black headed Gull, Mallard, Teal, Shoveler, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Song Thrush, Cormorant, Goosander, Grey Heron, Chaffinch, Oystercatcher, Common Snipe, Pheasant, Wren, Bullfinch, Fox

The second part of the day, pm, was a visit to Old Moor RSPB and or was port of call was at the Tree Sparrow farm were the second surprise of the day was a Weasel near the little pool running around in and out of the stone work, at the feeders were Brambling, Chaffinch, Blackbird. Straight on then to the Wath Ings hide were we saw Pochard, Little Grebe, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Gadwall, Lapwing, Teal, Starling. On our way back we stopped off at the Field Pool hide were we picked up a couple of Dunlin and had a chat with a young lad with his grand parents telling us all he had seen and wanted to see, after he had correctly ID the Dunlin, great to see the younger end coming thru

We then had a visit to Broomhill Flash where the only birdlife different was a pair of Goldeneye

Birds at Old Moor :-

Brambling, Chaffinch, Collard Dove, Woodpigeon, Stock Dove, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, lapwing, Starling, Robin, Moorhen, Coot, Pochard, Little Grebe, Canada Goose, Common Gull, Dunlin

Tufted Duck

Weasel

I was due to meet up with somebody this morning to have a tour of one of “The Patch” reserves that I hadn’t been able to get on due to it being a restricted access site but that wasn’t till 9:30am so I had time to drop in on Sands Lane on my way.

Sands Lane still has the  Great Northern Diver present and once again in the middle of the large lake, which I didn’t mind this time because I left the DSLR at home. Along with the Diver…Great Crested Grebe (2), Tufted Duck (10..7♂ 3♀), Coot, Mute Swan, Mallard, Black headed Gulls. I moved on then to the weir to find more Black headed Gulls, Common Gull (1), Mallard, Canada Geese, Goosander (1♂ 1♀)

Female Goosander

It was then time to move on to the new reserve at Healey Mills, I meet up with my guide for the morning and having passed security we were soon on the reserve negotiating our way around the now fallen trees from this weeks storms. Moving thru the vegetation we were soon upon the area were the feeders are looking at Blue Tit, Great Tit, Reed Buntings, Dunnock, Blackbirds, Stock Dove, Chaffinch and Robins. Hitting the second area we had to put on our hard hats and hi-vis vests or risk being thrown off site, more Reed Buntings could be seen on the filter beds along with Pied and Grey Wagtail. Around by the still ponds Shoveler, Teal and Common Snipe on the nearby river Goldeneye, Goosander, Cormorant and Mallard. A quick mornings tour to a site I hope to be seeing a bit more of, unfortunately only half this site falls within the HBW area.