mytholmroyd 2024 (1 Viewer)

[Prestdj]

a very wet few days with near constant rain

thursday the river was so high it flooded the sand martins nesting bank , time will tell if they take to the nesting box nearby
friday still damp and grey weather though a dipper on the river whilst having a pint in the local bar was entertaining
saturday nice and sunny so lots of martins and swifts over the garden a few blackcaps singing on the dog walk with a nice female seen by the canal
sunday (today) another wet day off what we call 'moor grime' a brief lull produced a peregrine over the garden a few large gulls heading west and on the dog walk a rook flew over redacre wood

79 peregrine
80 rook

 

[Prestdj]

a strange weekend birdwise

lots of swifts around the house friday evening counted 10 screaming over the garden

saturday

house martins galore with 38 counted along with 7 swallows and 4 sand martins. dog walk through the railway woods produced a great spotted woodpecker feeding young and 2 blackcap singing also quite a few grey wagtails seen
later a raven flew east and a steady trickle of lesser black backed gulls heading ne

sunday

more martins and swifts 2 buzzards and kestrel from the garden before 8am
dog walk found 3 whitethroats singing 2 blackcaps after 2 miles jessie 12 now was knackered

garden buzzards still loafing around a slimmer thinner winged raptor appeared quite high being mobbed by crows bins grabbed and i was looking at a female type marsh harrier coming down cragg valley it then started circling reaching the river getting higher and higher before heading east down the river excellent bird

81 marsh harrier

 

[Prestdj]

Well another top bird this morning over the garden whilst having a coffee a little egret flew west towards Hebden bridge a really good bird locally so really pleased with that right time right place

82 little egret

 

[Prestdj]

A very quiet few weeks with just the usual birds
This evening I was cleaning the van when a calling wader caught my ear…….greenshank! Another excellent garden bird well flyover

83 greenshank

 

[Prestdj]

A nice 6 mile walk this afternoon, a pair of stonechats feeding young was a nice sight also a moulting raven flew over
It was getting very windy so chose to head back but stopped to watch a cracking male linnet singing away on the bracken

84 linnet

 

[Prestdj]

8 miles today but very little seen, searched for little owl to no avail got to keep trying
Walked my favourite wood Broadhead clough which is beautiful and scored a wood warbler singing away beautiful
A few swifts over the moors also Siskin and a couple of bullfinches
In a few weeks migrants should be passing through so fingers crossed

85 wood warbler

 

[Prestdj]

Well the last evening for a few days as were off back to Sussex for a long weekend
Just stepped outside for some air aka a cigarette when a barn owl flies overhead heading towards the fields behind redacre wood


86 barn owl

Been a great year so far

 

[Prestdj]

Just had a hobby over the garden catching insects amongst the gulls

87 hobby

 

[Prestdj]

the weather looked great this morning for migrants passing so i set off on what ended up a 7 mile walk.
a very pleasant walk but hard going. the edges of broadhead clough had gs woodpecker and a stunning green woodpecker
2 lbbgulls went nw as did a grey heron and raven calling but very quiet
as i headed to stoodley pike along the edge of sunderland pasture it picked up a bit with siskins and goldcrest plus a chiffchaff flitting about, scanned everywhere for wheatear but none.
reaching my favourite area between swillington farm and pinnicle lane i was heartbroken the once boggy fields have been dried out slightly so a once great area is just grass now.
spent a good while searching the fields........it proved worthwhile

8 greenfinch
15 linnet
12 goldfinch
4 pied wagtail
28 meadow pipits

as the pipits and wagtails dashed across the fields i noticed a pale yellowish bird amongst them in flight i suspected yellow wagtail after 10 minutes i heard the sound of "psee" a yellow wagtail! finally reaching pinnicle farm the garden looked as good as ever, like an oasis on the edge of the moors but only a willow warbler calling

good walk

yellow wagtail 88

 

[Prestdj]

list updated

1	Canada Goose	Branta canadensis		common
2	Barnacle Goose	Branta leucopsis		1 with canada geese feb-april
3	Greylag Goose	Anser anser		2 cragg vale may breeding
4	Pink-footed Goose	Anser brachyrhynchus		skiens in jan-march
5	Mallard	Anas platyrhynchos		common
6	Common Scoter	Melanitta nigra		2 small groups heard flying west
7	Goosander	Mergus merganser		winter
8	Pheasant	Phasianus colchicus		common
9	Swift	Apus apus		common breeding
10	Cuckoo	Cuculus canorus		broadhead clough and village calling
11	Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon)	Columba livia		common
12	Stock Dove	Columba oenas		common from great jumpos farm to swillington farm
13	Woodpigeon	Columba palumbus		common
14	Collared Dove	Streptopelia decaocto		common
15	Moorhen	Gallinula chloropus		breeding redacre
16	Oystercatcher	Haematopus ostralegus		common summer
17	Lapwing	Vanellus vanellus		declining
18	Curlew	Numenius arquata		fewer than last year
19	Snipe	Gallinago gallinago		prob common but need time to look
20	Greenshank	Tringa nebularia		1 flew west calling
21	Black-headed Gull	Chroicocephalus ridibundus		common
22	Common Gull	Larus canus		common winter
23	Herring Gull	Larus argentatus		common most pass over
24	Lesser Black-backed Gull	Larus fuscus		ditto
25	Cormorant	Phalacrocorax carbo		upto 3 though all year
26	Little Egret	Egretta garzetta		1 flew west
27	Grey Heron	Ardea cinerea		common
28	Osprey	Pandion haliaetus		1 flew south west
29	Sparrowhawk	Accipiter nisus		common
30	Goshawk	Accipiter gentilis		breeding site with held
31	Marsh Harrier	Circus aeruginosus		rare i over village before moving east
32	Red Kite	Milvus milvus		scarce over garden
33	Buzzard	Buteo buteo		common
34	Barn Owl	Tyto alba		1 over house
35	Tawny Owl	Strix aluco		common
36	Kingfisher	Alcedo atthis		regular on river/canal
37	Great Spotted Woodpecker	Dendrocopos major		common
38	Green Woodpecker	Picus viridis		selective on habitat common
39	Kestrel	Falco tinnunculus		common though less seen this year
40	Hobby	Falco subbuteo		1 from the garden feeding on insects
41	Peregrine	Falco peregrinus		getting scarce
42	Jay	Garrulus glandarius		common
43	Magpie	Pica pica		common
44	Jackdaw	Coloeus monedula		common
45	Rook	Corvus frugilegus		selective in habitat
46	Carrion Crow	Corvus corone		common
47	Raven	Corvus corax		common
48	Coal Tit	Periparus ater		common
49	Blue Tit	Cyanistes caeruleus		common
50	Great Tit	Parus major		common
51	Skylark	Alauda arvensis		common
52	Sand Martin	Riparia riparia		small colony
53	Swallow	Hirundo rustica		common
54	House Martin	Delichon urbicum		common
55	Long-tailed Tit	Aegithalos caudatus		common
56	Wood Warbler	Phylloscopus sibilatrix		scarce
57	Willow Warbler	Phylloscopus trochilus		common
58	Chiffchaff	Phylloscopus collybita		common
59	Blackcap	Sylvia atricapilla		common
60	Whitethroat	Curruca communis		brearley wetlands and gnome walk
61	Goldcrest	Regulus regulus		common
62	Wren	Troglodytes troglodytes		common
63	Nuthatch	Sitta europaea		common
64	Treecreeper	Certhia familiaris		common
65	Starling	Sturnus vulgaris		common
Turdidae (Thrushes)
66	Song Thrush	Turdus philomelos		common
67	Mistle Thrush	Turdus viscivorus		common
68	Redwing	Turdus iliacus		common winter
69	Blackbird	Turdus merula		common
70	Fieldfare	Turdus pilaris		common winter
71	Ring Ouzel	Turdus torquatus		selective
72	Robin	Erithacus rubecula		common
73	Stonechat	Saxicola rubicola		common in habitat
74	Dipper	Cinclus cinclus		common
75	House Sparrow	Passer domesticus		common
76	Dunnock	Prunella modularis		common
77	Yellow Wagtail	Motacilla flava		scarce 1 calling swillington farm
78	Grey Wagtail	Motacilla cinerea		common
79	Pied Wagtail	Motacilla alba		common
80	Meadow Pipit	Anthus pratensis		common
81	Chaffinch	Fringilla coelebs		common
82	Bullfinch	Pyrrhula pyrrhula		common in places
83	Greenfinch	Chloris chloris		small breeding group but doing well
84	Linnet	Linaria cannabina		common in habitat
85	Lesser Redpoll	Acanthis cabaret		common in habitat
86	Common Crossbill	Loxia curvirostra		scarce 1 flew sw
87	Goldfinch	Carduelis carduelis		commonst finch
88	Siskin	Spinus spinus		common

 

[Prestdj]

Yesterday a nice but hot walk over the moors was productive especially around withens clough res

Barnacle goose amongst the canadas
Stonechats 3
Linnet 2
Reed bunting
Sparrowhawk 1
Buzzard 1

A distant group of birds turned out to be 70+ lapwings and 20+ golden plover which rested on the shoreline

89 golden plover

 

[Prestdj]

yesterday evening after fish and chips at hollingworth lake (tasty) i sat with the scope in the garden watching the moors a nice hour

buzzard 4
kestrel 1
raven 2
short eared owl hunting was new for year having not seen one last year very nice

still house martins over the house and a few swifts plus dipper 3 grey wagtails and a moorhen on the river

90 short eared owl

 

[Prestdj]

Interesting weekend with barn owl seen from the garden on Friday evening and on Saturday a little egret flew low west over the moors but very little else
Today looks good for migrants fingers crossed

 

[Prestdj]

well no migrants seen monday which i found annoying despite a 9 mile walk, off to wales in the van at the weekend

 

[Prestdj]

a great walk today after the weekend in north wales (drove past the hudsonian godwit twice and couldnt be bothered to stop to look)
2 wheatears along dicks lane were much wanted for the year so well pleased also small numbers of meadow pipits and 2 nice reed buntings a nice area
withens clough res had a very miserable great creasted grebe in winter garb was at least diving, a few stonechats.
a lesser whitethroat seen in the bracken plus chiffchaff
a nice day

91 great creasted grebe
92 wheatear
93 lesser whitethroat

 

[Prestdj]

forgot reed bunting so

94 reed bunting

 

[Prestdj]

yesterday a 9 mile walk in heavy rain got me soaked to the skin but still managed to record

meadow pipit 100+ grounded
skylark 8
linnet 60+
mistle thrush 14
kestrel looking fed up
chiffchaff 5
goldcrest 20+
lesser black backed gull 1 ad se

this morning dog walk

dipper 2
grey wagtail 2 river 3 over garden
jay 1
tawny owl 1 calling

 

[Prestdj]

Yesterday

A good walk with pinkfooted geese over
In the mist so unable to see them
Lots of chiffchaffs along the way also Siskin
Got to the moorland edge…. Out of all the dry stone walls just one had the following

Whinchat 3
Wheatear 1
Stonechat 4
Reed bunting 1

The whinchats were watched for a while feeding
A little owl at erringden grange was looking great in the emerging sun

95 whinchat
96 little owl

 

[Prestdj]

Most of the past week looking for migrants
Lots of chiffchaffs a single blackcap 8 wheatears and small skiens of pink footed geese passing over

Today bright and cold so off walking again 2 little owls and 4 ravens
Just near home a bird called from a sycamore……yellow browed warbler amongst a tit flock what a find so close to home

97 yellow browed warbler

 

[Prestdj]

Rubbish sketch of the warbler