Yeadon Tarn

Sunday 26th April a.m.
We arrived at Yeadon Tarn in bright sunshine with a temperature of 4.5°C & began walking round the water.The usual suspects were on the water Mallards,Coots,Tufted Duck,Mute Swan,Coot, Moorhen & Great Crested Grebe.We saw a few Willow Warblers singing in the surrounding trees & it was good to see a male Black Cap & also a female nearby.A couple of Reed Buntings were also moving around, but the highlight came when we spotted a Common Tern circle then land on the wooded break water.It called from time to time & we saw a second bird circle & come in before they flew off again.Sand Martins & Swallows were also flying above the water making for another good morning.

Common Tern

Willow Warbler

Dunnock

Great Crested Grebe

House Sparrow with a feather

Mute Swans

Yeadon Tarn 26/4/15

Bingley to Saltaire

Saturday 25th April a.m.
 We met other members of BOG for a riverside walk from Bingley to Saltaire the weather was poor with spells of rain & a temperature of 10°C but plenty birds were seen during the walk.We started off with a walk to Ireland Bridge seeing a Grey Wagtail on the way, at the bridge a Dipper,Grey Heron & a second Grey Wagtail were seen.We then headed back through Myrtle Park hearing a Mistle Thrush & then spotting it singing high in a tree, a couple more were seen later in the morning.Also on leaving the park a Chiffchaff was heard & then a Blackcap was singing which we managed to get a good view of.
 Heading towards Cottingley a couple of male Goosanders were on the River & soon after we saw a Goldcrest, other common species were seen as we walked along.It was also good to see some of the flowers which were in bloom in particular Wood Anemone,Bluebells & Celandine.A couple of broods of Mallard chicks were seen along the route as we made our way to Hirst Wood.There were a good number of Sand Martins over the River near the water works with a Mute Swan on the River &
A Jay on the opposite bank.Through the woods Nuthatch & Treecreeper were seen & a GSW was heard .At the other side of the wood another Dipper was seen along with Swallows,Sparrohawk & a Song Thrush.Approaching Roberts Park an Oystercatcher rounded off a good morning.

Jay

Dipper

Grey Wagtail

Mistle Thrush

River Aire at Myrtle Park

River Aire looking towards Saltaire

Bolton Abbey to Barden Bridge

Tuesday 21st April a.m.
 This was my last days holiday so I decided to make the most of a gloriously sunny day & headed off to Bolton Abbey.I set off from the Cavendish Pavillion with a start temperature of 8.5°C which rose rapidly to the high teens as I headed along side the River Wharfe up stream to Barden Bridge coming back along the other side of the River.
 I had a great start bird wise seeing Dipper,Grey Wagtail,Pied Wagtail & a Kingfisher from the bridge near the Cavendish Pavillion.The Dipper was collecting nesting material as was the Pied Wagtail, further along the River I got a nice surprise when I found three Common Sandpipers which were displaying.It was a wonderful walk & many birds were seen along the way including Mandarin Duck,
Goosander,GSW,Green Woodpecker heard,Nuthatch,Curlew,Buzzard,Treecreeper,Coal Tit,Willow Warbler ,Redshank, Chiffchaff heard,Sand Martin & others.The highlight for me though was seeing a Pied Flycatcher which is not very common in our area along with the marvellous scenery. N.P.

Pied Flycatcher

Common Sandpiper

Dipper

Dipper with nesting material

Pied Wagtail - anything a Dipper can do...

Grey Wagtail

Goosander

Drake Mandarin

Mandarin pair

Nuthatch

River Wharfe above Bolton Abbey 21/4/2015

Soil Hill Ring Ouzel search

Monday 20th April a.m.
 After the mist started to clear I headed for Soil Hill hoping it would be fog free & fingers crossed for my Ring Ouzel search.On arrival it was still a bit misty but visibility was OK, I headed up the track picking up Skylark & Meadow Pipits on the way.Then I started searching on the side described by BS with no initial luck. I headed down the hill then noticed a bird land behind me some distance away, I got the bins on it & Eureka a male Ring Ouzel! I headed back up the hill hoping for a better view but off it flew, I found a spot to sit hoping it would come back & soon after it flew right above me giving a great view.After a while there was no more sign so I headed back down the hill & got three birds going into some bushes,they were not visible though soon after I picked one up at the bottom of the hill, again along way away. I went half way down the hill & again found a spot to sit hoping they would come closer but no luck.I did get a Reed Bunting though along with Curlew,Wheatear,Lapwing & a couple of Deer.
 The sun was out now & it was warming up happy with seeing the Ring Ouzels for the first time I headed back up the hill bumping in to DP on the upper path.It was good to see him again & have a chat before I was off home for some lunch.As I was driving along the bottom road there were a couple of Swallows on an overhead wire so I stopped & got our first Swallow picture of the year.N.P.

Swallow

Reed Bunting

male Ring Ouzel

Deer

Harden Moor

Monday 20th April a.m.
 A great start to the day with blue sky & plenty of Willow Warblers up singing with the temperature at 2.5°C.The Sand Martins are now established in the quarry & other birds like Kestrel, Redpoll, Linnet,Bullfinch,Little Owl & a flyover Lapwing I was doing well.Then came the fog reducing visibility to a few yards which put a holt to the birding & off I went home.Luckily I got some decent pictures for Danny's blog, later as the fog began to lift I thought I'd go over to Soil Hill in search of Ring Ouzel as reported by BS on his West Yorkshire birding blog.See how I got on later...N.P.

Willow Warbler

Redpoll

Linnet

Willow Warbler before the fog came