St. Ives

Saturday 9th November a.m.
 A chilly start to the day at 4°C but some brightness around as we made our way to the Coppice
Pond at St Ives.On the water were BH Gulls,Mallards,Coots,Moorhen & Canadas, but the
heavens soon opened and the rain came down so we headed to the bird hide. Here we saw a
good selection of birds Robin,Coal,Blue Great Tits,Blackbird & Nuthatch together with a few
Grey Squirrels.We took some snaps & then made a hasty retreat to the car when the rain eased &
off home we went.

Nuthatch

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Robin

Coal Tit

Grey Squirrel

Nuthtch

Grey Squirrel

Redcar Tarn

Monday 4th November p.m.
 A cold frosty start to the day the first of this Autumn, but blue skies & sunshine which
prompted a visit to Redcar Tarn this afternoon where the temperature was 6.5°C.Here
the sun was low in the sky giving great light for taking snaps so as you'll see below we
made the most of it.
 Good numbers of birds were here & nice to see a little Wren which missed out on its picture
taking because it wouldn't stop still long enough.A flock of Lapwings appeared towards the
end of our visit as did some Starlings preparing for their roost.
 The old Greylag Goose is an ever present here keeping a watchful eye on the other geese.
c100 - BH Gulls
9 - Canadas
17 - Coot
5 - Common Gull
5 - Goldfinch
3 - Jackdaw
c35 - Lapwing
2 - LBB Gulls
c100 - Mallard
2 - Moorhen
6 - Muscovy Duck
3 - Pied Wagtail
1 - Rook
c150 - Starlings
3 - Tufted Duck
1 - Wren
Plus Others

Lapwing

Pied Wagtail

Jackdaw

Rook

Muscovy Duck

Moorhen

Common Gull

BH Gull

LBB Gull

male Tufted Duck

BH Gulls & Mallard

Old Greylag keeps the other birds in check

Dowley Gap

Sunday 3rd November a.m.
 When we arrived at Dowley Gap the temperature had risen to 8.5°C still with bright
sunshine.In the hedgerow by the road were Blue,Great & LT Tits as we walked along
by the canal we saw a Blackbird feeding on the berries, it was joined by several Redwings
which kept in the middle of the trees,so no chance of a snap.The water works area held
BH Gulls,Pied Wagtails & a Couple of Grey Wagtails.By the bridge across the canal we saw
a Robin & a Goosander flew over, as we headed back we saw a Grey Wagtail fly to the edge
of the canal where we saw one last week giving us chance of some more snaps before heading
home.

Blackbird enjoying the berries

Robin

Grey Wagtail

Yeadon Tarn

Sunday 3rd November a.m.
 A bright sunny start to the day with a strong wind blowing & a temperature of 6.5°C
on our arrival at Yeadon Tarn.The first birds see were a charm of Goldfinch feeding
among the tree tops,the water held the usual Mallards,Canadas,Coots,Mute Swan,
Tufted Duck & BH Gulls.Other birds seen as we walked round were Moorhen,Dunnock,
Common Gull & Collared Dove.
 A good start to the day so we decided to continue over at Dowley Gap(report to follow),
taking the route over the moorland down to Bingley & seeing a Red Kite on the way.

Goldfinch

Moorhen

Tufted Duck

Mute Swan

Red Kite over the moors

Goldfinch

Canada Geese

Yeadon Tarn

  

Stocksbridge Nature Reserve

Saturday 2nd November a.m
 We finally managed to get to our destination in Keighley which was the BOG members
only Nature Reserve at Stocksbridge. Here there is a hide overlooking a lagoon with a
couple of islands surrounded by some Reed Beds,Grasses & Trees.There are several
feeding stations for the birds which attract a good variety of visitors throughout the year.
It was chilly on arrival with the temperature at 6°C & dull sky overhead, a scan of the
lagoon showed a Grey Heron & a Pheasant on the far bank.Then scanning the undergrowth
in front of the hide we caught a brief glimpse of a bird skulking around, the one we had hoped
to see, then it disappeared again.
 Other birds on the feeders & in the trees were Blue,Great & LT Tits,Blackbird,Dunnock,
Robin,Reed Bunting & Woodpigeon. We scanned in front of the hide again then out sculked
our bird a Water Rail which was behind some undergrowth.It came out into the open breifly
giving us chance of some snaps.These were the first good views we've had of this bird and we
were delighted to see it at last.

Water Rail

Water Rail skulking among the undergrowth

Cullingworth Kestrels Take Two

Saturday 2nd November a.m.
 It was a chilly start to the day with a temperature of just 4°C with patchy fog around as we
set off to Keighley. We headed out of the village up Keighley Rd where like last week we saw
a pair of Kestrels again we pulled in & took some snaps of these wonderful birds.Like last week
the light was poor but we did our best before moving on to last weeks intended location.

male Kestrel

female Kestrel

pair of Kestrels