Fieldfare Feast

Saturday 21st December a.m.
  The day started well with some early morning winter sunshine & a temperature of 7°C as we
set off to Redcar Tarn.As we went out of the village there were c75 Canadas grazing in a
road side field, we headed into Keighley town centre to do a couple of errands on our way.
As we approached the city center we spotted some birds in the tree tops we parked up to get
a closer view. We were surprised to see Fieldfare there were c60 of them moving high between
the tree tops, then we noticed several trees which had brought the birds here as they were full of
berries.We have not seen much of Fieldfare in the past so this chance encounter delighted us & we
had the camera with us to get some snaps.These were better as the birds came lower & started to
eat the berries, we also saw a Goldfinch which posed for a snap.

Fieldfare amongst the berries

Goldfinch

Part of the large Fieldfare flock

 

Staveley Nature Reserve

Sunday 15th December a.m.
 We had a trip out to Staveley Nature Reserve in North Yorkshire this morning which is run
by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.On our arrival it was fine & sunny with a temperature of 5°C,
as we headed for the East Lagoon we saw Robin,Wren,Blue Tits & on the water Mallards
& Mute Swans. At the first hide we got a brief glimpse of a Water Rail with Willow Tits,
Blue & Great Tits,Reed Bunting,Chaffinch,Greenfinch & Tree Sparrow were visiting the feeders.
 We moved on to the second hide where we saw more of the same birds on the feeders and a
Little Grebe & Gadwall Ducks on the water.
 We then moved to the hide overlooking the west lagoon where we saw Cormorants,BH Gull,
Teal,Wigeon,Pochard,Tufted Duck & a Great Black-backed Gull. As we walked back to the
car we saw a Kestrel, making for a good mornings birding at this new location for us.

Willow Tit

Blue Tit

Chaffinch

Reed Bunting

Tree Sparrow

Greater Black-backed Gull

male Teal

female Teal

Cormorants

GBB Gull with BH Gulls in the background

Great Tit & Tree Sparrow

West Lagoon from the hide at Staveley NR

Morning Tour

Saturday 14th December a.m.
 The morning started off dull with a temperature of 4.5°C on our arrival at Leeshaw Reservoir
near Oxenhope.Still quiet at this location with no geese & work still being done on the dam
embankment.There were only a few species of birds to be seen these were Pheasant,Mallards,
BH Gulls & a single Lapwing.
 We moved on to the other side of Oxenhope where Leeming Reservoir was also fairly quiet
but we did fair better here.On the water were Mallards & BH Gulls, there was a mixed flock of
Goldfinch & Greenfinch in the surrounding trees.Plenty corvids were around, the best birds were
in the overflow area where we saw a Pied Wag ,Grey Wag & a Dipper.
  We moved on again towards Keighley & the River Worth at Damems where we were lucky
enough to catch up with a couple of Dippers & some decent snaps.We also had the chance to
see a steam train, the "Santa Special" go past on the Worth Valley Line.

male Pheasant at Leeshaw

Goldfinch at Leeming

record shot of a Dipper in the overflow at Leeming

Dipper,River Worth at Damems

Dipper at Damems

The Santa Special

Magpie,Jackdaws & BH Gulls on the Dam wall at Leeming

   

Yeadon Tarn

Sunday 8th December a.m.
 A dull start to the day with a strong gusty wind making it feel a lot colder than the 9°C
temperature on our arrival at Yeadon Tarn.We counted 16 Goosanders which included
both male & females, most of these flew off during our visit leaving 3 females.It was also
good to see Pochards again we counted 12 of these,there were also a couple of
Cormorants.There was also BH Gulls,Mallards,Canadas,Gt Crested Grebes & Tufted Ducks.
The highlight of the visit was seeing a returning drake Goldeneye the first this season for us,
whilst we were getting some snaps of it a couple of Pied Wagtails made a brief appearance.

Pochard

Gt C. Grebe

Pied Wagtail

drake Goldeneye

female Goosander

Goosanders

Goldeneye

More from Dowley Gap

From Sunday 1st December
  Its not often you get to see a Kingfisher perched on a branch long enough to get some
decent snaps so here are a few more together with the Jay & Goosanders we saw at
Dowley Gap on Sunday.

female Goosander

female Kingfisher

Jay

female Goosander

male Goosander

pair of Goosanders with the Autumn colours reflected in the water

Dowley Gap canal