Swillington Ings

Friday 7th May a.m.

  Another frosty morning as I had a drive out to Swillington Ings where it started cloudy with a temperature of 3°C but sunny spells developed as the morning wore on.  I started well as I went across the bridge leading to the site there was a Little Egret on the bank of the River Aire below.  Astley Lake was full of birds including Gadwall, Common Tern, Pochard, Great Crested Grebe, Tufteds, Cormorant and BH Gulls.  Waking round among the Reed Beds, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Bearded Tit, Linnet and Whitethroat were all seen.  Overhead a couple of Kestrels were seen one perching briefly on an RSPB sign, several Swifts were also flying around, others included Shoveler, Canada, Mute Swan, Greylag, Lapwing, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Bullfinch and Grey Heron.  The highlight for me though was seeing the Black-necked Grebes again with one pair having two young.

Reed Warbler

Sedge Warbler

Whitethroat

Common Tern

Kestrel

Reed Bunting

Shoveler

Black-necked Grebe

Swillington Ings 7/5/2021

  

Harden Moor

Wednesday 5th May a.m.

A cold frosty morning with a temperature of 2°C but the sun was out as were Whitethroats, Garden Warbler and Willow Warbler.  A Cuckoo was being chased by a Carrion Crow, Curlew were in the distance as was an Oystercatcher, plenty Mipits and a few Skylark.  Others included, Redpoll, Song Thrush, Linnet, Pheasant, Kestrel, Jay and a Little Owl posed well for a picture.

Little Owl

Garden Warbler

Whitethroat

Linnet

Mipit

Skylark

Song Thrush

Harden Moor 5/5/2021

 

Low Wood area Keighley

Sunday 2nd May a.m.

  Another chilly cloudy morning with sunny spells developing from a start temperature of 4°C in the Low Wood area of Keighley.  This is one of the best Bluebell woods in the local area and I was pleased to see them flowering as I went through the wood, I would guess they will be at their best in the next week or so.  Plenty birds in the woods with Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Nuthatch, LT Tit, Wren, Robin and Song Thrush seen.  The canal had Goosander, Mallards with a couple of chicks, Grey Heron and Greylags with loads of goslings. I was pleased to briefly see a Pied Flycatcher, others being Garden Warbler, Pheasant, Chaffinch, Swallow, Canada and Dunnock. Also good to see some BOG birders out doing a survey of the area.

Blackcap

Chaffinch

Chiffchaff

Grey Heron

Greylag with goslings

Greylag gosling

Nuthatch

Pheasant

Robin

Song Thrush

Low Wood Bluebells 2/5/2021

Harden Moor

Saturday 1st May a.m.

  A chilly start with a lot of cloud cover and a temperature of 4°C, gradually warming up as the sun came through during the morning.  Good to see four returning Whitethroats and two Garden Warblers joining the singing of the Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Cuckoo, Skylark, Robin, Dunnock and Wren.  Plenty to see others included Curlew, Bullfinch, Goldfinch, Mipit, Pheasant, Little Owl, Barn Owl and Kestrel.

Whitethroat

Garden Warbler

Willow Warbler

Goldfinch

Bullfinch

Kestrel

Barn Owl

 

Hallas Bridge to Hewenden Reservoir

Sunday 25th April a.m.

 A chilly morning with a start of 2°C as I went down Hallas Lane down to the Bridge seeing a Reed Bunting on a overhead wire which was joined by a couple of Swallows.  A Song Thrush was belting out a tune in the distance and Chaffinch and Nuthatch were also very vocal.  In Hallas beck it was good to see a Dipper as I turned and headed towards Hewenden Viaduct.  Hewenden Beck was looking picturesque with both Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler heard and seen on the route through. The reservoir had a Canada and a couple of Teal on the banking, closer inspection also revealed a Redshank with them, a first for me here.  A couple of Linnets were hiding in the Gorse and a couple of LT Tits also passed through, a Grey Heron was in the distance and Swallows and Sand Martins were feeding low over the reservoir.  A quick look down Station Road gave up more Swallows which gave me chance of a decent picture and a Curlew passed over too quick for a picture though.  I headed home and was pleased to bump in to DP and we stopped for a chat, as we did two Oystercatchers flew over.  Heading over the viaduct a look down in to the overflow for the reservoir produced two more Redshanks which DP had mentioned that he saw.

Swallow

Dipper

Song Thrush

Chiffchaff

Robin

Grey Heron

LT Tit

Teal & Redshank

Redshank in the overflow taken from the viaduct

Hewenden Beck

Hewenden Reservoir 25/4/2021