Local Walk

Saturday 17th September a.m.
  A short local walk this morning between the heavy rain showers the temperature
was 11°C. Not much about as far as birds were concerned c100 Starlings on the
overhead wires,4 Pied Wagtail feeding in the fields and only 4 House Sparrows.
  In the garden Purple Loosestrife and Phlox are flowering.

House Sparrows

Phlox

Phlox

Purple Loosestrife

St Ives

Saturday 10th September a.m.
Later in the morning we went to St Ives near Bingley where the rain had stopped
and the temperature was up to 17.5°C.Here there were Mallards the Drakes now
starting to colour up into their winter plumage. Other birds were Canadas,Coots
and Moohen with a couple of juveniles on show.
c100 - Mallards
8 - Moorhen
6 - Coot
6 - Canadas

Juvenile Moorhen

Moorhen

St Ives

Redcar Tarn

Saturday 10th september a.m.
Today started dull and overcast with drizzle falling but mild with a temperature
of 16°C.We saw the usual Canadas,Mallards,Coots and Moorhen, with a couple
of Rooks on fence posts, and also common geese plus a pair of interesting hydrid
Ducks.We also spotted three Muscovy Ducks which are not that common, they
probably fall into the feral escapee catagory.  There was also a large flock of
Lapwings overhead which landed in a nearby field.
c150 - Lapwing
c100 - Mallards
20 - Coot
9 - Canadas
8 - Moorhen
5 - Pied Wagtail
3 - Muscovy Ducks
3 - Rook
1 - Tufted Duck
plus hybrid Ducks and common geese

Canadas

Rooks



Hybrid Ducks



Muscovy Ducks

Muscovy Ducks

Lapwing Flock

Garden Visitors

Thursday September 8th p.m.
 Another poor day with heavy showers and a temperature of only 13°C. I was
able to see some birds on our bird feeder with the return of a Siskin and Long-
tailed Tits for the first time in our garden. I also had a couple of brief chances
to harvest some of the remaining veg from my plot including Radish,Spring
Onion,Beetroot and Onions, our Apples are ready for picking as well.

Siskin

Long-tailed Tits

Radish

Spring Onion and Beetroot

Onions

Apple Tree

Siskin

 

Walk around Hewenden Reservoir

Monday September 5th a.m.
  This morning was sunshine and showers with a temperature of 13°C. Near to the
 Reservoir there was a tree surrounded by bramble bushes where we saw a Willow
Warbler,Blackcap,Robin and a Blue Tit. At the far end of the Reservoir there was a
small group of six Canadas and three Cormorants with their wings out stretched which
would have made a great snap. Sadly something startled them and they went back into
the water. Through the woods there were a lot of mushrooms including the poisonous
Red Cap Toadstool. Walking back along the edge of the Reservoir we could see a
total of six Grey Heron and one of the Cormorants had caught a fish. One of them
took to the sky to give us a distant snap. There were a couple of Swallows and House
Martins about as well as a Pied Wagtail.

Poisonous Red Cap Toadstool

Pied Wagtail

Canadas

4 Grey Heron and 6 Canadas

Two Cormorant

Cormorant

Grey Heron

  

Hallas Bridge and Goitstock Woods

Sunday September 4th a.m.
  We repeated our walk from earlier in the week hoping to see some good birds again. It
started bright and sunny although the clouds were never far away the temperature was 13°C.
We saw plenty Starlings on the roof tops and TV aerials and a Grey Heron flew over.
There were plenty of Swallows about feeding low over the fields and then going onto the
wires where I counted 62. We saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker in a tree along with
a couple of Starlings and Chaffinch. In the field there were more Starlins feeding along with
Pied Wagtail. It was quiet around Hallas Bridge with nothing seen in Hallas Beck today,
through Goitstock Wood we saw a Robin. On towards Cow House Beck nothing much
about, as we walked back towards Bingley Road there were Long-tailed Tits,Blue Tits
and Goldfinch. This hillside has Gorse and Bramble patches on it which we think might
be a good spot for Linnets but we didn't see any. Another Grey Heron flew over as we
headed for home.

GSW 1

GSW 2

Starlings

Chaffinch

Swallows gathering on the wires

Ogden and Leeshaw Reservoirs

Saturday 3rd September a.m.
  A dry mild start to the day with a temperature of 14°C, Ogden was fairly quiet this
morning there were around 100 Gulls. There was plenty of shoreline but no sign of
any waders,Tufted Ducks still present but we couldn't spot the Little Grebe which has
been present recently. A Kestrel flew above disturbing the Gulls, as we came back
down to the promenade end the were Swallows and what we think were Sand
Martins feeding above the trees. Another Kestrel hovered in the distance and we
saw a Grey Heron. The usual Mallards were in the feeding area with a couple of
Dunnocks and Robins. One Robin which still seemed to me molting some feathers
and acquiring its red breast hung around for a couple of snaps.
 At Leeshaw things were also quiet we saw Gulls,Mallards and Grey Heron before
the rain came and we decided to go home.
Ogden.
c100 - BH and Common Gulls
5 -LBB Gulls
20 - Sand Martins
10 - Swallows
c70 - Mallards
3 - Tufted Duck
2 - Kestrel
1 - Grey Heron
2 - Dunnock
2 - Robin
Leeshaw
c50 - BH Gulls
11 - LBB Gulls
10 - Mallards
2 - Grey Heron.

Robin

Tufted Duck

Dunnock

Grey Heron

Kestrel

Robin

Leeshaw