Cromwell Bottom NR

Monday 9th December a.m.
 At last a bright sunny morning so I decided on a trip to Cromwell Bottom Nature Reserve near Elland where on arrival the temperature was 7°C. I had a walk along to the weir but only saw a couple of Mallards on the River Calder, so I went to the bird feeding area. Here there were numerous Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, LT Tits, Bullfinch, Chaffinch and Nuthatch. In addition there was a few Reed Buntings, I had a spell here trying to get a decent picture of the Coal Tits, they were a bit too quick for me most of the time but I didn't do too badly. A walk on to the canal gave me a view of the Ski Lake where I saw at least five Goosanders and three Cormorant, another Coal Tit was in a tree and a Treecreeper tempted me briefly to get a picture, but I was too slow again.

Reed Bunting

Bullfinch

Coal Tit

Nuthatch

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Goosander

Robin & Bullfinch

Coal Tit & Gt Tit squabbling

Coal Tit at Cromwell Bottom NR 9/12/2019

Wharfedale Tour

Saturday 7th December a.m.
 A cloudy morning with some light drizzle during the tour and a temperature of 8°C as I met other BOG members at Yeadon Tarn.Goldfinch and Bullfinch were seen in the car park then on the way to the Tarn Redwings and Greenfinch were added and a fleeting glimpse of a Kingfisher as it flew past us. We soon caught up with the male Shoveler which was good to see again, over thirty Tufteds were seen, Cormorant,Canadas, Greylag,Mute Swans and Goosanders were added as we did a lap of the Tarn.
 We then moved on to Knotford Nook where we started off with Fieldfare and Redwings and soon Wigeon were heard and they flew overhead. We walked on the road between the two Lakes and through the restricted viewing (Bushes and fencing) saw five male and one female Goldeneye. Others were Goosander and Great Crested Grebe and coming back more Wigeon on the water and Goosanders. A field held c100 BH Gulls with several Commons and a couple of Herring Gulls.
 Then finally on to Otley Wetlands which is a permit only site with BOG members given permission to visit this morning. A quiet visit here as we walked around the muddy track but we were treated to a fly over by a Red Kite, a bit too dark for a good picture but a couple of record shots were obtained. The best spot was on the main lake but the birds were very distant these included Cormorant, six female and a male Goldeneye, Goosander and Wigeon.

Goldeneye

Shoveler

Cormorant

Mute Swan

Red Kite

six female Goldeneye

distant Wigeon

Wigeon flyover Knotford Nook

Cormorant & Wigeon Otley Wetlands

Yeadon Tarn 7/12/2019

Redcar Tarn

Friday 6th December p.m.
 A wild,wet and windy afternoon up at Redcar Tarn with a temperature of 8°C but still plenty birds to see.There were c100 BH Gulls, c50 Canadas, c50 Lapwings and c200 Starlings in the adjacent field.
Also present several Herring Gulls, Common Gulls and ten Tufteds.

Herring Gull

Herring and Common Gull

Lapwing

Tufted Duck

Coot & Tufted Duck

Canada

Starlings

Redcar Tarn 6/12/2019

Rodley NR

Sunday 1st December a.m.
 Conditions were the same as at Yeadon Tarn earlier in the morning but more water seemed to be frozen over which meant there were fewer than normal birds to see.There were still plenty Gadwalls on the main lake as well as Goosander, Little Grebe, BH and Common Gulls, Teal and Tufteds. It was good to see a flock of c30 Linnets after the seeds in the open area along with Reed Bunting, Robin and Chaffinch.

Reed Bunting

Linnet

Little Grebe

Robin

Teal

Chaffinch

Common Gull

Gadwall

Rodley NR