I decided on visiting some friends locally today so rather than take the car I used my legs and hoped for some local bird species I wasn’t dissapointed.The walk took me about 3 hours with the bird highlights being Bullfinch, Green Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush, Coal Tit, Long Tailed Tits, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Pheasant, Greenfinch, Jay and Nuthatch (2).
Rather a good week at work as well with Coal Tit, Treecreeper and Goldcrest seen
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Another trip out to Potteric Carr setting off from home about 10:30am it not so good weather with fine drizzle following us most of the way but the clouds parted and the sun shone for most of the time we were there. We arrived about 11:30am so we headed off towards the cafe area for lunch first seeing on our way Tufted Duck, Mallards, Robins,Wren, Long Tailed Tit, Blue Tit and Great Tits. After dinner we sat ourselves in the Willow Pool hide and watched the birds coming into the feeders here we saw Chaffinch, Reed Bunting, Robin, Moorhen, Coots, Mallards, Pheasant, Willow Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, and a splendid Great Spotted Woodpecker. We decided then on a walk down to Pickup Hide and on doing so flushed a Kingfisher from under the bridge on Mother Drain seeing its flash of blue heading away from us. On the walk we managed to add Treecreeper to the day list, at Pickup hide Mute Swan, Coot, and Mallards were present along with a Green Sandpiper.
We headed back then seeing very little else on our way around we stopped off eventually at Decoy Hide in the vain of a Bittern but alas today again wasn’t the day there was however some Pochard present, no butterflies today present from the previous dat when Brimstone and Peacock were seen we did manage a couple of ladybird
The days list (in no order) :-
Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Willow Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Robin, Reed Bunting, Wren, Dunnock < Blackbird, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Pheasant, Moorhen, Coot, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Black-headed Gull, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Crow, Green Sandpiper, Kingfisher, Grey Heron, Pochard, Treecreeper, Bullfinch
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Tagged coal tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, mute swan, reed bunting
For this Fridays trip out I decided on staying local again to try and catch up on a few patch birds so I started at Sands Lane Gravel pits, which is now a fishing lake, for the hoped for Ring-billed Gull which had been seen on and off, today was and off day, there were a few Common Gulls along with the more common Black-headed Gulls, Mallards, Coots and Mute Swans and Goosanders on the nearby river (5♂ and 1♀). So I decided to have a walk around the lake along the hedge rows were Chaffinch, Robins, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tits and a Mistle Thrush. By the weir were Canada Geese along with 2 Greylag Geese, Moorhen, Pied Wagtails, Collard Dove and Woodpigeon. It wasn’t long before I heard the familiar sound of a Kingfisher, turning my head I saw the familiar flash of iridescent blue as it made its way down river.
It was then onto the moors and the location being around Digley Reservoir near Holmfirth here I managed about an hour before rain stopped play I did however pick up Red Grouse, Mistle Thrush, Lapwing, and more Black-headed Gulls. Not a bad morning however I did manage to add double figure amount to the patch list today
The Morning List (in no particular order) :-
Common Gull, Black-headed Gull, Goosander, Mallard, Moorhen, Coot, Pied Wagtail, Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Kingfisher, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Robin, Mute Swan, Jackdaw, Crow, Magpie, Collard Dove, Woodpigeon, Grey Partridge, Red Grouse, Lapwing
Couple of views around Digley
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Tagged canada geese, grey partridge, mistle thrush, red grouse
Due to the freezing weather I have been hiding in doors these last few weeks the last two winters have taken their toll and beaten me, I don’t fancy standing around in minus 5 to minus 15 temps anymore not at 50+ so I’ve been hibernating. However I did brave the elements today only for a couple of hours, getting fed up of being stuck in, and went for a stroll around some local village highlights taking a few pictures and catching up on a few bird species that were also braving the elements. It started to snow as I made a start but it soon stopped but the cold freezing temps carried on I manged to see Lapwings, Golden Plovers, Lesser Redpolls, Long Tailed Tits, Grey Heron, Fieldfares, Starlings and a Kestrel for my reward
Yet another visit to Potteric Carr today we arrived at about 12:30pm just in time for dinner after a morning’s shopping. As we made our way towards the cafe we had great views of Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tits and especially great views of two Treecreepers as we strolled down for dinner. After dinner we tried getting in the Willow Pool hide but couldn’t do so so we made our way down to the Hawthorn Bank Hide from here we saw lots of wildfowl including, Mute Swan, Greylag Geese, Shoveler, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, Wigeon, Moorhen and Coot and finally the bird I was hoping for the female Ring-necked Duck my first female Ring-necked giving excellent views, similar to Tufted Duck, no tuft at the back of the head, white spectacles around the eyes, faint white flash down the flank and the white around base of bill. We made our way back to Decoy hide in the vain hope of seeing a Bittern as we were making our way to Decoy we had great views of a male Kingfisher along the Mother Drain part of the reserve and a skien of Pink-footed Geese flying thru. The Decoy hide wasn’t fruitful on the Bittern side but there was a lone Common Snipe giving good views in front of the hide. Well worth coming to Potteric today had a little boost with its species list with 3 new birds taking it upto 98 now [Potteric List] these were Pink-footed Goose, Treecreeper and Ring-necked Duck
The Day List (in no particular order) :-
Treecreeper, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Blackbird, Robin, Willow Tit, Reed Bunting, Common Snipe, Shoveler, Gadwall, Teal, Wigeon. Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Ring-necked Duck (female), Greylag Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Pochard, Magpie, Crow, Kingfisher, Wren, Coal Tit, Lapwing
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Off to a New Start with the first port of call being Fairburn Ings RSPB near Castleford taking in firstly the Lin Dike area. Down here I found Redwings and Teal on the nearby field pools, scanning the nearby fields Canada and Greylag Geese then a Fieldfare flew over nearby where I was standing, on further towards the hide and Spoonbill flash Goldeneye, Mute Swan, Little Egret (2), Grey Heron, Cormorants, Black-headed Gulls, Wigeon and more Teal. I moved on then to the visitor centre area but not before finding two Lesser Redpolls on my return journey along Lin Dike. At the centre the feeding area is always a good place to catch up with some common birds at close quarters namely Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Dunnock, Blackbirds, House Sparrows and Tree Sparrows but the surprise today was a Red-legged Partridge feeding quiet happily around the feeders.
Red-legged Partridge
My visit to Fairburn was over so I came back via Pugneys Country Park to pick up the two Great Northern Divers still on the main lake and hearing news of a Drake Smew over at Calder Wetlands I couldn’t resist going over to have a look. The Smew (white nun) was easily found on the left hand pond near the footpath which bisects both ponds and was in full view giving great views to see him in all his splendor. Other birds about with him were Teal, Goldeneye, Tufted Duck, Wigeon and Mallard, the same guy who put me on to this Smew also told me about another bird, one of the butcher birds, on my local patch area so I wasn’t spending as much time with the Smew as I would have liked I was soon off heading towards the Bretton Park area. The bird was in an area of farmland along Jebb Lane near to High Hoyland than Haigh by the directions I had been given and it took some finding as there wasn’t any other birders about at the time I arrived but I found it eventually, Great Grey Shrike (last seen in 2004) was the bird and a bird hard to see in the Huddersfield Area and now was safely on my Patch List taking it now to 157. I enjoyed the bird for quiet a while and by now a few more were too, the first day out birding in 2012 had got the year off to a great start (Last Great Grey was seen 31st December 2004 at Carsington Water)
The Day List :-
Great Northern Diver, Cormorant, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Shelduck, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Smew, Goosander, Kestrel, Red-legged Partridge, Pheasant, Moorhen, Coot, Lapwing, Curlew, Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Redwing, Mistle Thrush, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Great Grey Shrike, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Lesser Redpoll, Bullfinch, Reed Bunting
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So that was 2011 looking forward to 2012 and the new wildlife and photos it will bring, I would like to wish everybody a Happy New Year and I hope 2012 is full of fantastic wildlife days out for you all.
If you would like to view my summary for 2011 and all lists please view HERE and don’t forget the 2011 highlights Page HERE
Thanks
Huddsbirder
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Out again on Bittern watch or watching spaces where Bittern should be, another place where Bittern had been seen daily up to today, I think they get wind of me going and then move on to reserves had been to a few days before. Anyway no Bittern today but a good walk around we had seeing various birds like Blue Tit, Great Tit and Long Tailed Tits. The main area for birdlife today was from around the Willow Pool Hide here we saw Coal Tit, Reed Bunting, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Robin, Pheasant, Dunnock, Bullfinch and Mallard. Outside the hide we had views of Redwing, Siskin, Redpolls and Blackbirds. A great day out ending off the 2011 wildlife year on a good note
Reed Bunting
Sunset Potteric Carr
The Day List (in no order) :-
Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Crow, Robin, Mute Swan, Blackbird, Long-tailed Tit, Mallard, Teal, Goldfinch, Wren, Bullfinch, Shelduck, Moorhen, Black-headed Gull, Shoveler, Lapwing, Chaffinch, Reed Bunting, Coal Tit, Coot,Pheasant, Greylag Goose, Dunnock, Redwing, Siskin, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Kestrel
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Tagged coal tit, dunnock, long tailed tits, mute swan, reed bunting
Potteric Carr was shut today so on the chance of a Bittern we ended up at Old Moor which had been getting up to 2 coming in to roost most days, but today was not one of those days. We had a look at the new hide next to the visitor which is more photo friendly, bigger, and further into the garden itself. other birds we saw today included Grey Partridge, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe and a Sparrowhawk hunting around the feeding areas looking for its meal.
Long-tailed Tits
The Day List :-
Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Grey Partridge, Pheasant, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Kestrel, Moorhen, Coot, Lapwing, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Jackdaw, Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Willow Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Starling, Blackbird, Redwing, Robin, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Lesser Redpoll, Bullfinch
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I would like to thank all my readers and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, see you all in 2012….with some new stuff
Christmas
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