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Yorkshire Birding (27 Viewers)

markoh said:
Hi cliff,
Could you please tell me where in mickletown the leo are showing.
Regards
Mark.
Click to expand...

Nice find with the owls bushycliff, but I'd urge anyone who stumbles across a winter LEO roost to think twice before broadcasting their whereabouts with such precise detail. Maybe check with the local bird recorder beforehand to see if the roost is already known?

LEO roosts are very susceptible to disturbance and it would only take a few photographers/birdwatchers to get too close and they could move on, plus increased observer activity might also attract the attention of undesirable locals.....
 
Hi ingsbirder. Visited this site on 31st (no we didnt disturbe the 1 bird we saw). Could be wrong but it seems to me one of the better sites to publish as it is viewed from the other side of the lake, there being a large body of water between there and the bird.

Happy birding, Sam :t:
 
Ingsbirder said:
Nice find with the owls bushycliff, but I'd urge anyone who stumbles across a winter LEO roost to think twice before broadcasting their whereabouts with such precise detail. Maybe check with the local bird recorder beforehand to see if the roost is already known?

LEO roosts are very susceptible to disturbance and it would only take a few photographers/birdwatchers to get too close and they could move on, plus increased observer activity might also attract the attention of undesirable locals.....
Click to expand...

sorry but i thought people on this site were responsible birders , if you go there you will see that you have to look over abot 50 yds of water and it is deep in parts. it is well known locally and i have spoken to people walking past that they did know about the owls
 
Keith Dickinson said:
It's crazy, I got tree sparrow yesterday, still trying to find a house sparrow. 30 years ago I'd have had house sparrow without needing to leave the house.
A walk along the canal from Rodley to Kirkstall gave me a spankling female sparrowhawk along with a pair of goosanders, mallard and moorhen. The drive home from Rodley turned up a couple of red kites over Headlingley, so I'm, now on 54 species.
Click to expand...

You can come see them in my back garden if you like, there's about 30 of the buggers!
 
bushycliff said:
sorry but i thought people on this site were responsible birders , if you go there you will see that you have to look over abot 50 yds of water and it is deep in parts. it is well known locally and i have spoken to people walking past that they did know about the owls
Click to expand...


... Therefore I suppose, sadly, that this site is a good one for eggers and others up to no good.

Sandra
 
The following was posted on Lee Evans' UK400 thing tonight about owls...

Exminster Marshes LONG-EARED OWL is unnecessarily harassed by photographers
Sadly, news of a roosting LONG-EARED OWL was broadcast on an assortment of news services which in turn attracted an element of undesirables travelling quite some distance to see it. Two particular individuals decided that they wanted to get to within a few feet of the bird, despite being challenged, and photographed it from a very close distance, causing it to wake up and be alarmed. A number of local observers asked for them to move away but were quite seriously threatened by one particular individual. He was photographed and appears to be a character I witnessed disturbing Stone Curlews at a nest. His vehicle number plate was taken but as he returned to his car, he became very violent and abusive towards those present and threatened to 'do' some of them over. This behaviour can not be tolerated and I urge those of you that witnessed it to report the incident to the police. I have photographs of the two individuals involved which can be used to help identify them.

My policy now, because of such repeated behaviour, is to suppress all Long-eared and easily disturbed Short-eared Owl locations - both species seem to act as a magnet for such behaviour
 
beegreen said:
Hi im having a trip to bolton abbey tommorow and wondered if any one new if there was owt good about and where??Cheers DS
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Depends on what you call good.
You should be able to find nuthatch by the stone hut on the Eastern bank of the river upstream of the Cavendish pavilion, great spotted and green woodpeckers are also possible in the woods on both banks.
The Strid should be in full flood still so I guess that dippers and mandarin will probably be absent.
There's always a chance of red kite, buzzard or sparrowhawk over the priory.
 
Leo Roost

Hi all,this is my first post so be gentle with me.when i was a wee lad we had a LEO roost in rother valley country park but local birders would not tell me where it was even though they knew i was a keen birdwatcher so i spent weeks looking for the roost myself when if i had known where it was,i would have gone only 1 or 2 times to the site then left them alone.my point is who decides who should or should not know where a roost is and if every roost is kept secret how will newcomers ever get to see the birds.
yours manorblade[nigel]
 
manorblade said:
Hi all,this is my first post so be gentle with me.when i was a wee lad we had a LEO roost in rother valley country park but local birders would not tell me where it was even though they knew i was a keen birdwatcher so i spent weeks looking for the roost myself when if i had known where it was,i would have gone only 1 or 2 times to the site then left them alone.my point is who decides who should or should not know where a roost is and if every roost is kept secret how will newcomers ever get to see the birds.
yours manorblade[nigel]
Click to expand...

The thing is Nigel that most roosts are very susceptible to disturbance, but not all roosts are kept secret - some aren't that susceptible to disturbance (such as the one bushycliff mentioned on the far shore of a lake/Faiburrn birds (I think) and the infamous Park Hall birds). If just a couple of sites are advertised it will limit disturbance at other sites as the main volume of people will keep to the well-known sites. However, as with everything there are always idiots who will try and get too close and disturbe them (as recently happened at Exminster Marshes RSPB), which is why in the main they are kept quiet. It is also worth noting that both LEOs and SEOs are now monitored by the UK rare breeding birds panel.

Sam
 
Keith Dickinson said:
Depends on what you call good.
You should be able to find nuthatch by the stone hut on the Eastern bank of the river upstream of the Cavendish pavilion, great spotted and green woodpeckers are also possible in the woods on both banks.
The Strid should be in full flood still so I guess that dippers and mandarin will probably be absent.
There's always a chance of red kite, buzzard or sparrowhawk over the priory.
Click to expand...
Cheers!Not a bad day 2 peregrine,2 shorties,numerous buzzards,1 red kite,large finch flock inc siskin,redpoll,goldfinch,numbering 100 plus.Not a bad day.
 
manorblade said:
Hi all,this is my first post so be gentle with me.when i was a wee lad we had a LEO roost in rother valley country park but local birders would not tell me where it was even though they knew i was a keen birdwatcher so i spent weeks looking for the roost myself when if i had known where it was,i would have gone only 1 or 2 times to the site then left them alone.my point is who decides who should or should not know where a roost is and if every roost is kept secret how will newcomers ever get to see the birds.
yours manorblade[nigel]
Click to expand...

It doesn't feel good keeping certain species secret and i think most birders do genuinely want to share there knowledge with others. Unfortunately however some times secrets have to get kept. My understanding of the situation was that the Rother Valley birds were regularly harassed by birders and photographers until the site was abandoned. Owls also have that extra appeal that attracts more of those who do not appreciate such things as keeping to a reasonable distance. On balance i'd always put the birds welfare before peoples desire to see them. It is frustrating and i certainly remember a time when i wasn't in the loop but i think that is just how things have to be. With other species publicising their presence by birders simply being at a site can have very serious consequences. A few people gathered with scopes in certain areas of the Peak District is quite enough to alert game-keepers to the presence of Goshawks or harriers and get the birds killed. As for Long-eared Owls their winter habitat choices are pretty predicable and though it is harder work finding your own birds it is not impossible.
 
Last edited:
schiffornis said:
The following was posted on Lee Evans' UK400 thing tonight about owls...

Exminster Marshes LONG-EARED OWL is unnecessarily harassed by photographers
Sadly, news of a roosting LONG-EARED OWL was broadcast on an assortment of news services which in turn attracted an element of undesirables travelling quite some distance to see it. Two particular individuals decided that they wanted to get to within a few feet of the bird, despite being challenged, and photographed it from a very close distance, causing it to wake up and be alarmed. A number of local observers asked for them to move away but were quite seriously threatened by one particular individual. He was photographed and appears to be a character I witnessed disturbing Stone Curlews at a nest. His vehicle number plate was taken but as he returned to his car, he became very violent and abusive towards those present and threatened to 'do' some of them over. This behaviour can not be tolerated and I urge those of you that witnessed it to report the incident to the police. I have photographs of the two individuals involved which can be used to help identify them.

My policy now, because of such repeated behaviour, is to suppress all Long-eared and easily disturbed Short-eared Owl locations - both species seem to act as a magnet for such behaviour
Click to expand...

I spoke with Carl Watts, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust's Staveley Community Officer yesterday who told me that the LEOs at YWT Staveley were roosting again until disturbed by photographers. These selfish people were not content with watching from the path like everyone else and went too close. This happened apparently before Christmas.
Shame.

Jono
 
And some news.. There has been up to 12 Goosanders on the River Ouse and it's floods at Bishopthorpe in recent days. 7 this morning.
Cheers

Jono
 

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