Harold Park,Bradford

Thursday December 27th a.m.
It was a cloudy morning with some light showers and a temperature of 4°C
during our visit this morning.It was good to see the return of the Black Swan
with the Mute Swans and a female Goosander  which was having a snooze
and wouldn't lift her head for a snap.There were a lot of Coots with the usual
Mallards,Moorhen,BH Gulls,Canadas and Tufted Ducks. There was still two
Great Crested Grebes present and we were treated to a Cormorant flying
round the far end of the lake then landing briefly before taking off again.
c50 - BH Gull
1 - Black Swan
11 - Canadas
3 - Common Gull
c50 - Coot
1 - Cormorant
6 - Goldfinch
1 - Goosander female
2 - Gt C. Grebe
c50 - Mallard
11 - Moorhen
6 - Mute Swans ( 3 - Juvs)
1 - Pied Wagtail
14 - Tufted Duck
plus other common species

Black Swan

female Goosander having a snooze

male Tufted Duck

Mute Swan Juv

The Coots are coming

Harold Park

Black Swan

Rodley Nature Reserve

Sunday December 23rd a.m.
 When we arrived at Rodley the temperature had risen to 9°C with some light rain
showers.We walked quickly round the reserve looking from the hides & viewing
points as we went seeing a reasonable selection of birds although it was quiet.There were
a good number of Gadwalls along with Mallards,Coots,Moorhen,Mute Swan,Tufted Duck,
Grey Heron and a Little Grebe.We then walked up to the bird feeding area which gave us
the chance to get some snaps of Chaffinch,Goldfinch,Greenfinch and Reed Bunting.
Merry Christmas to Everyone!

Little Grebe

Grey Heron

Mute Swan Juvs

Goldfinch

Greenfinch & Chaffinch

Greenfinch & Reed Bunting

Chaffinch

male Reed Bunting

female Reed Bunting

Rodley Nature Reserve

Yeadon Tarn

Sunday December 23rd a.m.
 A cloudy and blustery Yeadon Tarn when we arrived this morning with a
temperature of 7.5°C.We broke our record with a count of 22 Goosanders
on the water,also still present were the Drake Mandarin & Goldeneye.Others
included a Cormorant fly over,Canadas,Mallards,Mute Swan,Gt C. Grebe,BH Gulls,
Pochard,Coot,Moorhen and Tufted Duck.We also had a flock of c40 Lapwings fly
over the Tarn, we then moved on to Rodley Nature Reserve.

Drake Goldeneye

Great Crested Grebe

Mandarin

Pochard

Lapwings

Goosanders

Redcar Tarn

Friday December 21st p.m.
  The rain stopped long enough for a quick visit to Redcar Tarn this afternoon where
it was cloudy with a temperature of 6°C.The usual birds were present with the
addition of a female Goosander, the Tufted Ducks were back and the friendly Robin
made an appearance along with a couple of Pied Wagtails.
c100 - BH Gull
6 - Canadas
2 - Chaffinch
25 - Common Gull
18 - Coot
1 - Goosander
1 - LBB Gull
c100 Mallard
2 - Pied Wagtail
1 - Robin
14 - Tufted Duck

Common Gull

BH Gull

LBB Gull

female Goosander

Robin

male Tufted Duck

Tufted Ducks

Redcar Tarn

Local Walk

Sunday December 16th a.m.
 A cloudy but reasonably mild start to the day as we headed towards Hewenden Viaduct
with the dog.The usual species were flitting around including Blackbirds,Blue Tits,Collared
Dove,Goldfinch,Great Tit,House Sparrow and Wren.As we approached the reservoir we
saw a Cormorant flying heading East and a Grey Heron heading South.There were six
Canadas at the far end of the reservoir and a number of BH Gulls.At the other side of the
viaduct we saw our first Redwing for our Cullingworth List, which set us off home happy
with this addition.We didn't have many snaps for my blog though even the Redwing flew
off before I could point my camera.Still I had a couple of poor snaps of Collared Doves,
then as we neared home we thought we saw another three Starlings on the wires connected
to a telegraph pole.The sky was still dull & grey but as we got closer they didn't look right
so looking through the bins we realized they were in fact Waxwings!Out came the cameras
& we started snapping,the dog was pulling my dad so he took her home, only 60 meters away.
He rushed back and we kept snapping the birds occasionally flying down into the gardens for
the plentiful berries.Then our look improved more as the sun broke through & soon even some
blue sky appeared which meant we got some decent snaps and another first for the year and an
addition to our Cullingworth list.

Waxwing on top of Telegraph pole

Plenty berries in the gardens for the Waxwing

One of Three Waxwings Cullingworth 16/12/2012

Redcar Tarn,Keighley

Saturday December 15th a.m.
 There was a strong blustery wind up at the Tarn which was initially sunny with a
temperature of 5°C. The Tarn was still 60% frozen from the sub zero temperatures
on Friday, but the surrounding path was good for walking. There were large numbers
of BH Gulls on the ice and a good number of Common Gulls among them. The c100
Mallards with several Coots were at the far end of the Tarn where the ice had thawed
and they were free to swim.We were struggling a bit for snaps as we watched several
Chaffinch took flight from the hedge around the footpath,when the day was saved by a
Robin landed next to us where it posed for a couple on minuets. A flock of 16 Canadas
flew over the cars and slid on the ice as they landed,in the nearby fields where more BH
Gulls,Lapwings and Starlings.There was a single LBB Gull with the Canadas on the ice
and as we completed the circuit 4 Jackdaws appeared, the rain then started to fall heavily
which was our cue to depart.
 Locally in Cullingworth it was good to see at first light the Covids,mainly Jackdaws leaving
their local roost,my estimate would be c400 with their yapping call they make quite a din but
as they rise on mass are a great spectacle.

Robin posed well for a few snaps

Canadas on the ice

Redcar Tarn 1

Redcar Tarn 2

Yeadon Tarn & Otley

Saturday December 8th a.m.
 A cold frosty start to the day but fine and dry when we arrived at Yeadon Tarn with a
temperature of -0.5°C.We were meeting up with other members of Bradford
Ornithological Group (BOG) for an organised walk, things started well with a Snipe spotted
flying around near the car park. It was slippery underfoot with bottle ice in parts of the
footpath but we all took care and safely walked round the Tarn seeing some good birds.
The first area held Mallards,Coots,Gt C. Grebe,Moorhen and Tufted Duck.Further along we
saw Goosander,Pochard,Mute Swan,BH Gull,Common Gull and it was great to see a Drake
Goldeneye. As we walked towards the airport end we saw the Drake Mandarin was still
present and I also spotted a brief glimpse of a Kingfisher, and there was a Grey Heron on the
wooden barrier with BH Gulls and a few Common Gulls.Along with some other common species
this was an excellent start to the morning.
Knotford Nook
 We then went to Knotford Nook where we walked between the two lakes where we got some
good distant views of a number of birds.This area is restricted by private fishing rights to the lakes,
however we saw Wigeon,Coot,BH Gull,Cormorant,Mute Swan,Mallards and Goosander. It was
also good to see several male & female Goldeneye and a Red Kite briefly overhead.
Otley Wetlands
 Our final destination was Otley Wetlands which is a private Nature Reserve where a permit is
needed for entry to the site,BOG members were invited guests on this occasion.There were a
couple of lakes here where we had some good views.We could see Greylags,Coots,BH Gulls,
Mallards,Tufted Ducks & Mute Swans.Walking around Grey Heron,Reed Bunting,Siskin,GSW
& Cormorants were also seen.We finished off with a visit to the bird feeding area where there were
Chaffinch,Blue Tit,Robin,Great Tit,Coal Tit and the bonus of a Willow Tit which rounded off a good mornings birding.

Drake Mandarin

Drake Goldeneye

Grey Heron & BH Gull

Gt C Grebe & BH Gulls

Mute Swan

Pochard

Yeadon Tarn

Yeadon Tarn island

Otley Wetlands