Garden Visitors

Wednesday 28th September p.m.
 A very warm sunny day with the temperature up to 24°C, one or two visits to
our bird feeder from Greenfinch,Goldfinch and a Robin. No clouds in the sky
which took the edge off the local sunset,some great sky pictures on Brian's West
Yorkshire Birding site this week.

Greenfinch

Greenfinch

Robin

Goldfinch

Local Sunset

Rodley Nature Reserve

Sunday September 25th a.m.
  We decided to go to Rodley Nature Reserve where it was dry and dull on arrival
but soon began to rain heavily, good job I took my brolly. There were plenty Grey
Herons about some in the trees others on the edge of the water, sometimes taking
flight,and the odd one perched on a branch thinking it was a Kingfisher.There was a
pair of Mute Swans with five large Signets,Little Grebe,Mallards,Coot,Moorhen,
BH Gull And Gadwall Ducks.We also saw a pair of Teal Ducks for the first time
and despite the rain had a good mornings birding.
c20 - Mallard
15 - Coot
12 - BH Gull
10 - Grey Heron
8 - Moorhen
8 - Gadwall
5 - Little Grebe
2 - Teal

Grey Heron 1

Grey Heron 2

Little Grebe

Teal 1

Teal 2

Gadwall Ducks

Village Walk

Sunday September 25th a.m.
  Today started dull with drizzle and a temperature of 12°C. Walking around the
village I saw two flocks of House Martins feeding high in the sky above the houses
and trees each flock contained c25 birds. There were also plenty Starlings on the
overhead wires and TV arials. I also caught sight of a Great Spotted Woodpecker
in a tree next to the main road, this was difficult to snap in the poor light.
c60 - Starlings
c50 - House Martins
1 - GSW

GSW 1

GSW 2

Fairburn Ings

Saturday September 24th a.m.
  This morning started sunny with a temperature of 14°C,later in the morning
it clouded over. We went to Fairburn Ings which is a RSPB Nature Reserve
near Castleford. We first saw Mallards,Grey Heron and Mute Swans the later having
two Signets with them which were nearly as big as the parents but still a grey colour.
As we moved down the track towards the Lin Dike hide there were Swallows
on the overhead lines and a couple of Pheasant ran into the longer grass.At the
Hide we could see more Pheasants,Lapwings,Mute Swans,Mallards and
Canadas.There were only two waders that we could see which we think were
Greenshank but at the distance they were from us we could not be sure.
  We moved on to the Pickup hide where we saw a number of birds on the
feeders including Goldfinch,Greenfinch,Chaffinch,Blue & Great Tits and Tree
Sparrow.From here we saw the same species of birds on some different feeders
behind a screen &  a Coal Tit. Finally at the Bob Dickens Hide we saw Coots,
Long-tailed Tits,Tufted Duck,Great Crested Grebe and Cormorants.
c200 - Mallards
c100 - Coots
36 - Lapwing
30 - Mute Swan
23 - Swallows
22 - Cormorant
20 - Long-tailed Tits
20 - Goldfinch
20 - BH Gulls
18 - Canadas
16 - Tufted Duck
10 - Tree Sparrow
10 - Pheasant
3 - Great-crested Grebe and 2 - Grey Heron
plus other species of Tits and Finches

Pheasant Hen

Pheasant Cock

Grey Heron

Chaffinch

Coal Tit

Greenfinch

Tree Sparrow

Gold-Greenfinch and tree Sparrow

Cormorants

Various snaps of what we think were a pair of Greenshanks

Redcar Tarn

Friday 23rd September p.m.
 After a dull start to the day it brightened up in the afternoon with the temperature
up to 17°C. We  went up to Redcar early evening where we saw the usual Mallards,
Coots and Moorhen. There was also a lot of Pied Wagtails with a nearby field only
recently ploughed. The three Muscovy Ducks were still present and the Lapwing flock
took to the sky from time to time. We had a walk on to where the Lapwings were and
saw seven Canadas with them along with the Sheep.
c150 - Mallards
c100 - Lapwing
c30 - Coots
25 - Pied Wagtail
7 - Canadas
5 - Moorhen
3 - Muscovy

Lapwing

Pied Wagtail

Muscovy Duck

Muscovy Ducks

Lapwings and Canadas

Lapwings and Canadas

Garden Sunset

Tuesday 20th September p.m.
There was a good sunset view from our garden this evening so I took a couple of snaps.

Sunset looking West from our garden

Sunset

Hallas Bridge and Goitstock Woods

Sunday 18th September a.m.
  We went on a longer local walk today with dry but overcast weather, the sun breaking
through from time to time, the temperature was 9°C. Another quiet day for birding we
saw 50 Starlings on the overhead wires again, there were no birds around Hallas beck.
On the other side of the woods we saw a couple of Mistle Thrushes,8 Chaffinch some
Goldfinch and Blue and Great Tits. We saw a few Gulls flying over, no sign of Swallows
today.
  In the garden the Asters are flowering well.

Mistle Thrushes

Chaffinch

Aster

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