Harold Park & Park Dam

Sunday 26th July a.m.
The morning started well when as we were setting off a screeching noise above us made me look up to see 15 Swifts high above our house, also two House Martins were flying low over the gardens. When we arrived at Harold Park there was hazy sunshine with a temperature of 10.5°C, we headed straight for the lake.There were Canadas,Mallards,Moorhen,Coot,Mute Swan & Tufted Duck here plus a pair of Great Crested Grebes with three chicks.Above were a few Swifts & a couple of House Martins, we made our way up to the small pond.Here on some Water Lily leaves were five Moorhen chicks with parents close by making for some decent snaps.
     We then headed the short distance down the road to Park Dam where there was another pair of GC Grebes this time with five chicks.Good to see the Little Grebes again with others including Tufted Duck,Coot,Canadas,Mute Swans & Swallows. Also present were a good number of Common Blue Damselflies.

Moorhen chick

Moorhen with chick

GC Grebe

GC Grebe with three chicks

GC Grebe with five chicks

Swallow Juv

Common Blue Damselfly

Harold Park

Harold Park pond 26/7/15

Redcar Tarn

Saturday 25th July a.m.
 A sunny start to the day with a temperature of 12.5°C on our arrival at Redcar Tarn, overhead were Swift,House Martin & Swallow.On the water were the usual BH Gull,LBB Gull,Mallard,Coot & Tufted Duck, a distant Kestrel was good to see & a couple of Pied Wagtails made an appearance.On the corvid front Jackdaws & Rooks were the order of the day, nice to see some Lapwings in a nearby field.
 The sunshine meant there were Butterflies about so we snapped a couple of them for a change.

BH Gull

LBB Gull

Jackdaw

Lapwing

Pied Wagtail

Meadow Brown on the Thistle

Small Tortoiseshell

Redcar Tarn 25/7/15

Stocksbridge NR

Saturday 18th July a.m.
 This morning was cloudy with some sunny intervals & a strong blustery wind, the temperature was 14°C.We went to the BOG members reserve at Stocksbridge in Keighley where we settled down in the hide watching the comings & goings of a good selection of birds.On the water there were Mallards,Coot,Moorhen,BH Gulls,a Common Gull & at the edge a Grey Heron.Next to the hide is a Raspberry patch which at this time of year when the berries are ripe attracts Blackbirds,Blackcaps & others.There were frequent visits from a good number of Blackcaps most of them Juveniles & adult females,snaps were difficult due to the strong wind & them moving quickly.A Chiffchaff broke into song for a while & a couple of Bullfinch & Jays made appearances.Also a Deer appeared with two youngsters and some Swallows fed low over the grassland.

Blackcap

male Bullfinch

female Bullfinch

Grey Heron

Common Gull

Jay

Juv Blackbird

Deer with young

Blackcap enjoying the Raspberries

Stocksbridge NR, Keighley 18/7/15

Cullingworth & Hewenden Reservoir

Saturday 11th July a.m.
 A cloudy start this morning with some drizzle at times and a temperature of 16°C, we headed off to walk through the village & round Hewenden Reservoir.Good to see House Martin numbers rising as I'm sure chicks will have fledged by now as they zoom between the houses then glide showing their white rump so we can ID them.Walking towards the Great Northern Trail there was a flash of red,black & white as a GSW flew past, with a good number of usual species seen as well.There were good numbers of Swift over the viaduct & also Swallows as we took the path towards the reservoir.
Plenty Grey Wags were in the overflow some of them juveniles, on the water were Canadas,Mallards, Cormorant,GC Grebe & a Mute Swan.We then headed past the farm heading round the reservoir where a flash of yellow & green gave us a Green Woodpecker which landed up ahead of us & then moved into a tree. A second bird then landed on a wall, this was a juvenile which posed for a couple of snaps.The birds then flew into the field below us where we were able to see them together, looking through are snaps we think there were three birds in total a pair of adults & the Juvenile, wonderful to see them so close to home.We continued around the reservoir where other notable birds were Oystercatcher,Coot,Pied Wagtail,Willow Warbler,Linnet & Chiffchaff.

Green Woodpecker Juvenile

Green Woodpecker male

Green Woodpecker female & Juvenile

Cormorant

Grey Wagtail

GC Grebe

Jackdaws

Swallow Juvenile

Green Woodpeckers

Redcar Tarn

Friday 10th July p.m.
 We visited Redcar Tarn this afternoon with warm muggy conditions, the temperature was 22°C.
There was still a high number of LBB Gulls with the usual Mallards,BH Gulls,Coots,Tufted Duck & Moorhen with a chick.Swallows,House Martins & Swifts were present along with Pied Wagtails some of them Juveniles.

Pied Wagtail

LBB Gull

some of the many LBB Gulls

Juvenile Pied Wagtail

Juvenile Coot

Moorhen with chick

Juv Pied Wagtail

Redcar Tarn 10/7/15