Dowley Gap to Hirst Wood

Sunday 8th November a.m.
An early start today with more rain forecast, just 5°C when we arrived at Dowley Gap but dry.We walked along the canal footpath with just Mallards for company but the water works produced good numbers of BH Gulls & Pied Wagtails.Along the river we saw a Goosander & a Moorhen plus a couple of Grey Wagtails.Heading back to the canal we saw a couple of Goldcrest in the Oak trees & a couple of Grey Squirrels.Further along it was good to see a Kingfisher flash past we found it later but could only manage a poor record snap before it was off again.A bonus when we got back to the car was a Jay in the trees opposite, just as we got into the car the rain started so we headed home.

Dawn at Dowley Gap

Robin

Jay

Grey Wagtail

Goldcrest

record snap of Kingfisher

Moorhen

BH Gulls

Grey Squirrel

Dowley Gap

Aqueduct

Dowley Gap 8/11/15

Ogden Water

Saturday 7th November p.m.
Well this morning was a total wash out with rain & even heavier spells of rain, needless to say we didn't venture out.By lunch time though the sun suddenly made an appearance so feeling a little restless we took a chance on going to Ogden.When we finally arrived though it was all change again as the dark clouds rolled in with a temperature of 12°C.We carried on seeing the Mallards at the feeding area & as we crossed the promenade some Canadas flew over.We have seen the reports on the water level being low but we were a bit taken aback how low it was, with the tap feeding the stream below looking to be fully open as water gushed out.There was a group of Gulls on the shoreline in the distance as we started our circuit, as we got closer we noticed a duck near the edge of the water.When we got the bins on it we saw a drake Teal, a first for us at Ogden so we were really pleased we came, although now the dreaded rain returned & we sheltered for a while under the trees watching the gulls.There was a selection of them mainly BH Gulls,several Common & one LBB Gull,the rain eased & we carried on, we could see a Cormorant now on the buoy in front of the promenade.We didn't see many birds at the top end but we enjoyed the scenery & took a few snaps, there was plenty water going in to the reservoir with one entry point looking like a waterfall. Heading back we saw  a group of Tits passing by these were Blue,Coal & LT Tits, as we headed up the path to the car park we added Blackbirds,Magpie & Carrion Crow.

Teal & BH Gull

drake Teal

Canadas over the Promenade

BH,Common & LBB Gulls

BH & Common Gulls

Top Pond

Plenty water going in to the reservoir

Still low level

Ogden Water 7/11/2015

Yeadon Tarn

Sunday 1st November a.m.
A sunny morning at Yeadon Tarn with a temperature of 11°C feeling very mild with no wind blowing.A good selection of birds with a good number of Goosander & GC Grebe along with some returning ducks in the form of two Pochard & a female Goldeneye.A very pleasant walk around the Tarn taking a few snaps as we went.

Mistle Thrush

Goosander

Distant Goldeneye

Closer but sun behind the bird

GC Grebe in Winter plumage

Pochard

Four of the GC Grebes

Yeadon Tarn 1/11/2015

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