Cullingworth & Hewenden Reservoir

Monday 2nd January a.m.
 A much better start to the day this morning with early morning sunshine but still chilly at just 1°C.
I made my way through the village on to the Great Northern Trail to Hewenden Viaduct where there were twelve Cormorants.Heading through the wood it was good to see Goldcrest again and soon after Bullfinch and a Jay.At the top end of the reservoir I could pick out Moorhen,Mallards,Tufteds, Goosander and a pair of Wigeon and I was surprised to see a Goldeneye. Coming back I picked up more common species including a Greenfinch then a mixed flock of Fieldfare and Redwings flew over.As I approached the farm there were three Mistle Thrush on overhead wires and a Pied Wagtail at the farm.Nigel.

Mistle Thrush

Cormorant

Seven Cormorant doing a circuit of the Res

Nine Cormorants in the water

Record shot of distant Goldeneye

Goosander

distant male Wigeon

distant female Wigeon

Blue Tit

Fieldfare and Redwings

Robin

Goldeneye and Wigeon

Hewenden Reservoir 2/1/2017

Redcar Tarn

Sunday 1st January p.m.
A wet start to 2017 which delayed my first venture out until a brighter afternoon with some sunshine but feeling cold when I arrived at Redcar Tarn at just 3°C.A good welcome with a flock of c 250 Lapwings flying around moving from one field to another.Also a high number of Gulls with c200 BH Gulls making the majority with Commons,LBBs and Herrings also on show.Rooks were in the trees then on the ground near the car park six showed up, there were eight Muscovys ,c100 Mallards,15 Tufteds, 85 Canadas along with Coot and Moorhen.I then spotted a male Goosander which I missed on my first circuit maybe flew in when I was looking elsewhere anyway I just got a record shot before it flew off.Anyway it was worth braving the cold to see the birds and with some low late afternoon sunshine it was good for pictures so here are a selection and get 2017 off to a good start.
Nigel.

Rook

Muscovy Duck

Odd Ball Duck

Lapwing

Tufted Duck

Canadas flying over Gulls

Common Gull

Common Gull 1st winter

Goosander

Herring Gull

LBB Gull

Plenty of Lapwings

Looking Good even in silhouette

A good variety of species

Redcar Tarn 1/1/2017

Birding Review 2016

We had a good year birding passing the 100 species mark locally again with another thirty on our Reserve visits further afield.We only added a few new species to our lifers list these being Fulmar, Merlin, Juv Mediterranean Gull and a female Black Grouse.
The New Year starts tomorrow so we'll be re-setting our lists and hopefully there will be plenty to see,photograph and report on.
In the meantime lets take a look back at the birds that have just for fun made our top ten of 2016.

Happy New Year to all our readers and birders out there searching for something special in 2017.

10.Redstart - Always good to see these passing through on migration, Harden Moor has been turning them up for us, here is a female pictured in August.

female Redstart, Harden Moor 27/8/16

9.Whitethroat - Again on Harden Moor where they spend the summer, this one is pictured with a couple of Juveniles proving breeding success in this location.

Whitethroat with a couple of youngsters 19/6/16

8.Buzzard - The Buzzard is a bird you often see soaring in the distance but on this occasion it flew low over me  near Hewenden Reservoir giving me chance of a good picture.

Buzzard 19/4/16

7.Black Grouse - We see plenty of Red Grouse locally but on this occasion a fellow birder put me on to a female Black Grouse a first for me and great to get a record picture.

female Black Grouse, Slippery Ford 17/10/16

6.Ring Ouzel - another bird that is generally seen on migration as it passes through but a bit of luck is needed to spot them.This bird is in the same field as the Black grouse above at Slippery Ford.

Ring Ouzel 28/4/16

5.Cuckoo - the cuckoo is one of my favourite birds but it is only a brief visitor to our shores in late spring and early summer.We have been lucky enough to hear it on Harden Moor and occasionally get a brief glimpse and the rare picture too.

Cuckoo 12/5/16

4.Spotted Flycatcher - Another bird seen as it passes through our area and for the first time we spotted one on Harden Moor and got a decent picture.

Spotted Flycatcher 14/8/16

3.Juvenile Mediterranean Gull - The Med Gull is one that has proved to be elusive for us but when a Juvenile was ID up at Redcar Tarn we went to see if we could pick it out in amongst the other Gulls.
This we did and got a picture of it for the blog.

Juv Med Gull 3/9/16

2.Fulmar - On our many visits to Bempton Cliffs we have always missed out on spotting the Fulmar, well this year we broke our duck and got some decent flight shots.

Fulmar 5/5/16

1.Marsh Harrier - We have seen the Marsh Harrier a number of times during our visits to Leighton Moss but during this visit we got some really good close views.The bird came so close at one point that I could even get a decent flight shot making this the stand out event for me during 2016.

Marsh Harrier 3/5/16

Yeadon Tarn

Wednesday 28th December a.m.
 A cold frosty start to the day but by mid morning when I arrived at Yeadon Tarn the temperature was up to 1°C and the sun was out.As I went down to the Tarn walking was tricky with the footpaths frosted over and icy in places where water had been on the path.There was a glare on the water from the sun making it difficult to see the birds but a good count of thirteen Mute Swans could be seen with just one yellow Tag 131 noted.The Mallards now back in breeding plumage looked good when the sun caught them, Tufteds mostly kept their distance as did two Great Crested Grebes staying in the centre of the Tarn.There were c100 BH Gulls with just four Commons seen as I did a circuit of the Tarn seeing Coots and Moorhens as I went.
 As I went past the model boat area a flash of  blue caught my eye and I watched a Kingfisher fly to the other end of the Tarn in to a corner.Then high in the trees three Greenfinch could be seen,also Blue Tit and Goldfinch then further along three LT Tits.As I approached the corner where I saw the Kingfisher fly to a skein of Geese went over but I could not be sure of ID maybe Pinkies.Further round I looked back and saw the Kingfisher perched I got a record picture but could not get close enough for a good view.On my way back to the car I added Blackbird,Robin and a Song Thrush showed well rounding off the visit well.
Nigel.

male Mallard

Mute Swan

Tufted Duck

BH Gull on the ice

Common Gull

GT Crested Grebe

Kingfisher

LT Tit

Robin

Song Thrush

Skein of Geese

Yeadon Tarn 28/12/2016