A cold frosty start to the day but fine and dry when we arrived at Yeadon Tarn with a
temperature of -0.5°C.We were meeting up with other members of Bradford
Ornithological Group (BOG) for an organised walk, things started well with a Snipe spotted
flying around near the car park. It was slippery underfoot with bottle ice in parts of the
footpath but we all took care and safely walked round the Tarn seeing some good birds.
The first area held Mallards,Coots,Gt C. Grebe,Moorhen and Tufted Duck.Further along we
saw Goosander,Pochard,Mute Swan,BH Gull,Common Gull and it was great to see a Drake
Goldeneye. As we walked towards the airport end we saw the Drake Mandarin was still
present and I also spotted a brief glimpse of a Kingfisher, and there was a Grey Heron on the
wooden barrier with BH Gulls and a few Common Gulls.Along with some other common species
this was an excellent start to the morning.
Knotford Nook
We then went to Knotford Nook where we walked between the two lakes where we got some
good distant views of a number of birds.This area is restricted by private fishing rights to the lakes,
however we saw Wigeon,Coot,BH Gull,Cormorant,Mute Swan,Mallards and Goosander. It was
also good to see several male & female Goldeneye and a Red Kite briefly overhead.
Otley Wetlands
Our final destination was Otley Wetlands which is a private Nature Reserve where a permit is
needed for entry to the site,BOG members were invited guests on this occasion.There were a
couple of lakes here where we had some good views.We could see Greylags,Coots,BH Gulls,
Mallards,Tufted Ducks & Mute Swans.Walking around Grey Heron,Reed Bunting,Siskin,GSW
& Cormorants were also seen.We finished off with a visit to the bird feeding area where there were
Chaffinch,Blue Tit,Robin,Great Tit,Coal Tit and the bonus of a Willow Tit which rounded off a good mornings birding.
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| Drake Mandarin |
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| Drake Goldeneye |
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| Grey Heron & BH Gull |
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| Gt C Grebe & BH Gulls |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Pochard |
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| Yeadon Tarn |
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| Yeadon Tarn island |
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| Otley Wetlands |
Willow Tits a good bird to get
ReplyDeleteI was pleased to add it to my list for this year, not sure that
ReplyDeleteI would have got a positive ID though without the help of the
other birders.