Redcar Tarn

Saturday 31st October a.m.
A cloudy murky start to the day with a temperature of 12°C as we headed off towards Keighley.
We decided to call in at the BOG members Stockbridge reserve on our way to Redcar Tarn,seeing a Water Rail made the visit worth it but quiet otherwise.
When we got to Redcar Tarn the mist was swirling around sometimes we could see right across the Tarn & others only half way.There were the usual good numbers of Mallards,BH Gulls & Canadas along with Common & LBB Gulls,Lapwings & Pied Wagtail.Also good to see a Dunnock singing on a wall & a record 15 Pheasants in the field opposite the Tarn.The highlight though was the five Snipe seen on the pond over the road, great little birds these but very well camouflaged & hard to spot.The old resident Greylag somewhat of a local character was not seen & others told us it has been missing for a few days.

Common Gull

Water Rail at Stockbridge

LBB & BH Gull

BH Gull 1st Winter

LBB & Common Gull

Muscovy Ducks

Pheasant

Dunnock

Pied Wagtail

Snipe

Four of the five Snipe seen 

Redcar Tarn 31/10/2015

Stockbridge NR, Keighley

Saturday 24th October a.m.
An overcast,dull morning with a temperature of 11°C at the BOG members Stockbridge Nature Reserve when we arrived as it was just light.There were 65 Mallards on the water which they had probably used it as their roost over night, they moved away in small numbers whilst we were in the hide.It was good to see a Juvenile Sparrowhawk on one of the bird feeding cages,but this kept other birds away only two Blue Tits were seen shortly after the Sparrowhawk had left.We were delighted when we saw a Barn Owl fly across the Resevere they are rarely seen in our area.It was also good to see a Water Rail show briefly on the other side of the water another rare sighting for the Bradford area.Others seen included Grey Heron,Moorhen and BH Gull.

Juvenile Sparrowhawk

Grey Heron

Water Rail

Mallards

BOG members Stockbridge NR 24/10/2015

Keighley Moor & Reservoir

From Monday 19th October
Here are some more pictures taken yesterday on a sunny Autumn afternoon on Keighley Moor & the Reservoir.I was also delighted to see Hen Harrier across the moor which had a radio tracking device fitted to it, I was not sure if I should add it to the blog yesterday because of their recent decline in numbers.However it is now on the BOG site so I have included it here now.N.P.

Fieldfare

Stonechat

Wheatear

Wheatear & Stonechat

Hen Harrier

Radio device visible here

Little Owl

Steep start to my walk but all down hill on the way back

Keighley Moor 19/10/2015

Keighley Reservoir

Monday 19th October p.m.
 With an afternoon to spare & some Autumn sunshine I decided to go to Keighley Reservoir for a change, here the temperature was 13°C.From the small area for parking things started well with a Little Owl on a distant fence post I  started up the small road the Owl moved to below the top of the wall for some cover.The road to the Reservoir is a mile or so all up hill so it took about 30mins, not too many birds were seen apart from Grouse & Pheasant a Kestrel flew over.When I got to the Reservoir it was very calm with no birds on the water, but I did spot a Wheatear. Further along I also spotted a couple of Stonechats Our first of the year.They were hard to pick out from the heather but one of them came to the edge of the Reservoir & joined the Wheatear.A Kestrel again flew past landing on the Dam wall but that was my lot apart from one thing I may get a chance to mention later.The weather was unusually calm these upland areas are normally cold & windy.The views were excellent though with Ferrybridge & Drax Power Stations visible in the distance.After getting some pictures I made my way down the narrow road past the lodge,much easier this way down the hill. As I approached the bottom I saw some birds in a tree as I moved nearer I could see Fieldfare our first for the season, soon after eleven flew off,also nine LT Tits past through..N.P.

Wheatear

Stonechat

Wheatear & Stonechat

Kestrel

Little Owl

Fielfare

Keighley Reservoir 19/10/15

Keighley Moor in the sunshine