Local Walk

Sunday March 24th a.m.
 Well can you believe it at the start of spring we have had two days of heavy
snow fall at least 15cm Friday & Saturday making any thoughts of birding impossible.
Today no more snow but strong winds blowing & drifting snow over icy roads, so we decided
to head out on foot with the temperature at -1°C and in the biting wind feeling much colder.
As we went up the path toward the Great Northern Trail we saw a Blue Tit doing its best to
get some food in these terrible conditions.The path ahead was blocked by deep snow drifts
but fortunately we were turning left on to the trail. A couple of Blackbirds around here and some
more Blue Tits, a Carrion Crow was fighting against the strong wind.We went along the trail to
Hewenden Viaduct where we had some distant views of birds on the Reservoir. BH Gulls were
the first we saw, then on a small bit of land at the far side of the water a Cormorant was holding
its wings out. This we normally see them doing as they bask in strong sunshine, there was none of
that today, there were others with it and when they moved on the water we counted 10 of them.
We also spotted a pair of Gt.C.Grebe and some Canadas,the wind was gusting across the top of
the viaduct making it difficult for us to get some record shots but we struggled on. We then headed
back towards Hallas Lane walking against the strong wind which was blowing the snow into my
face, the dog didn't seem bothered by it,mind you she has a better fur coat than me.
 We continued against the wind down to Hallas Bridge where we briefly saw a Dipper as it flew
upstream, a couple of snaps here, then it was off home to get warm, seeing House Sparrows,
Starlings & Woodpigeons on our way.

Blue Tit

Luckily we're turning left here

Hewenden Viaduct

Cormorants

Cormorants moving on to the water

Ten counted here

Canadas,Gt C Grebe & I think two Cormorants top left.

Hewenden Reservoir

Hallas Beck

   

Yeadon Tarn & Rodley NR

Sunday March 17th a.m.
 Yeadon Tarn
  Another dull morning with just a temperature of 2°C, plenty birds about this morning
with a record 10 Great Crested Grebes.One pair were showing us their courtship display
which was fascinating to watch, even passing weed as they do. The others included Mute
Swans,Cormorant,Tufted Duck and a pair of Siskin among the 22 species seen.

Great Crested Grebe passing some weed

House Sparrow

Yeadon Tarn

Rodley Nature Reserve

  A bit warmer here at 4°C and a good selection of 34 species seen.These included Little Grebe,

Gt C. Grebe,Cormorant,Chaffinch,Grey Heron,Goosander,Mute Swan,Oystercatcher,Reed

Bunting,Shoveler,Gadwall,Teal,Tufted Duck,Pochard & Wigeon.Just before leaving we decided

to check the river from the car park where we saw a Drake Goldeneye. As it moved away up the

River my eye was drawn to some birds feeding in the field in front of us. They were Fieldfare a bird

we have seen very little of, we quickly got a record shot, then some disturbance from behind us and

around 40 of them lifted and away they went.

Cormorant

female Gadwall

Oystercatcher

female Chaffinch in the feeding area

record shot of Fieldfare

Wigeon

Leeshaw & Leeming

Saturday March 16th a.m.
Leeshaw Reservoir
A cold dull damp morning on our arrival at Leeshaw Reservoir with a temperature
of 1.5°C,luckily the fog was higher up so we had some reasonable visibility.Not good
for taking snaps with the grey skies but managed a couple to keep things going despite
this we still saw some good birds.My first Curlew of the year here with a good number
of Lapwings, some displaying now a good sign of spring .Oystercatchers were moving
around and there were some Pied Wagtails.
c50 - BH Gull
2 - Cormorant
10 - Canadas
5 - Curlew
2 - Greylags
35 - Lapwing
3 - Oystercatcher
4 - Pheasant
4 - Pied Wagtail
plus other common species

Oystercatcher

Pied Wagtail

Leeming Reservoir

 A little warmer here at 3°C but still dull & Overcast skies,we started well seeing two Pied 

Wagtails on the Dam wall & a Rook landed briefly in front of us.Walking down the muddy

path along side the reservoir we heard & then saw a Curlew fly over,a good site tick for us,

which was quickly followed by another when we saw a Lapwing fly over.On the water were

Canadas & Mallards plus the Drake Goldeneye was still present. We saw a few Robins & a

Song Thrush was singing in a distant tree, a good few other common species were seen rounding

off a good mornings birding.

Drake Goldeneye still present.

Harold Park & Park Dam

Monday March 11th p.m.
 A day of sunshine & snow showers with a cold North Easterly wind blowing making
it feel even colder. My dad had an afternoon off work so he decided to do some birding &
take some snaps for my blog heading off to Harold Park & Park Dam, here is his report.
 It was a cold 1°C on arrival at Harold Park where I was pleased to see the Black Swan 
was still present along with the pair of Gt Crested Grebes.Other birds included Canadas,
Mallards,BH Gulls,Mute Swan,Moorhen,Coot & Tufted Duck. I managed to get some
snaps in the sunshine before another light snow shower arrived and I retreated to the car
and went down the road to Park Dam.
 Here it was -0.5°C and with the wind blowing across the water it felt colder although the sun
was back by now making it a lot more bearable.There were several House Sparrows around the
area where I parked,walking through to the Dam where there were several birds on the water.
These were BH Gulls,Common Gulls,Coots,Moorhen,Canadas,Mallards,Tufted Duck &
a distant Gt Crested Grebe. I caught sight of a Carrion Crow coming from a stand of trees
in the distance,it was joined briefly by a Kestrel which then retreated back towards the
trees where it disappeared. The Gt C. Grebe started heading towards me so I sat down for a
while hoping to get a snap of it in its colour breeding plumage.It got half way across the Dam
before turning back,so no snap today and time for me to head home.
All the snaps were taken at Harold Park.
P.S. I have just read the report by NK on his Birdbrain blog of his visit earlier in the day and
I too missed the so called resident Pochard,Teal & Scaup on the description sign.

Black Swan

Mute Swan

pair of Mallards

Tufted Duck

Harold Park's small pond partly covered by ice

Lister Park

Sunday March 10th a.m.
 A cold wind was blowing on our arrival at Lister Park making it feel colder than the
-0.5°C temperature with dull overcast skies & occasional light flurries of snow.The
water level was down in the lake due to some repairs being carried out on the lake
wall.There were still plenty birds on the water including Canadas,Mallards,Coots,Moorhen,
BH Gulls & Tufted Duck.It was also good to see the return of a pair of Goosanders, with 
the water level lower there was a Pied Wagtail feeding in the edge which quickly flew away.
In the cold conditions there was very few birds to see in the wooded area of the park.
c100 - BH Gull
65 - Canadas
5 - Carrion Crow
15 - Coot
c50 - Feral Pigeon
2 - Goosander
c50 - Mallard
6 - Moorhen
1 - Pied Wagtail
24 - Tufted Duck
17 - Woodpigeon

Mallard

Tufted Duck

Canadas

female Goosander

male Goosander

repairs on the lake wall

Lister Park

Redcar Tarn

Saturday March 9th a.m.
 A dull morning with some heavy rain and drizzle, feeling cold at just 1.5°C.We
decided to go up to the Tarn where the usual wildfowl were present along with
various hybrid Ducks.
c50 - BH Gull
2 - Canadas
6 - Common Gull
12 - Coot
3 - Jackdaw
1 - LBB Gull
c50 - Mallard
1 - Moorhen
10 - Tufted Duck

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Coot

BH Gull summer plumage hood almost complete on some birds.

Hybrid Ducks

Moorhen

LBB Gull