A Calderdale 1st For Me Today

 My twitching apathy finally left me this morning and I drove over towards Todmorden to twitch the  'long staying' Shag there -  originally found by Anne H.

Some pretty good distructions from DJB over a pint last night paid dividends making this my easiest twitch of all time.

I parked up, walked 200 yds to the canal, 20 yds along it and "Yellow" (that's French for ) there it was.

The Shag was diving constantly but it failed to catch owt while I was there.

I then walked along the canal for 2 hours or so and a few other birds were present.

The Shag was nowhere to be seen when I returned to my car later.

A cold day, frost on the car and 1 degrees at home, slightly warmer along the canal.

Snow forecast for the day after tomorrow apparently - I don't like snow!!

Not a bad way to see out 2025 was it?

Wishing you a Happy and peaceful  New Year.

Birds:-

SHAG.

Cormorant.

Canada Geese. Mallards. 1 Muscovy Duck.

1 Drake Mandarin Duck.

Great Spotted Woodpecker (h).

Green Woodpecker (h).

Male Goosander.

Kestrel - I think.

Jay.

Nuthatch (h).

and a few others.

My Calderdale Yearly sighting were a mere 119.

(not the best year for me - in more ways than one).

My Calderdale Life List has reached 155.

Bradshaw - Soil Hill (Summit) - Ogden Water

On the day that Adam says to Eve:-

"Eve, It's New Year's Eve, Eve, Eve".

My usual birding outing again today, 5 hours or so out and about.

Great to get out and about in this long staying dry spell.

I found it particularly colder today even given the lack of wind.

I went to Ogden via the high route over Soil Hill Summit.

(I leave the north slope morass to DJB where the Good Birds Are!!) .

It was good to chat with Geoff H. walking his dog along Ned Hill Track.

I also enjoyed a nice rest and a coffee with Steve and Pat in the visitors centre.

My second visit to the visitors centre was marred by an interloper in the form of 7 rucksacks Pete - but my razor sharp wit left him bamboozled. 

I bought him a coffee , that I intended to lace with 5 spoons of Horlicks, to send him to sleep (yawn!), but I soon realised that I'd left my Horlicks Jar and tablespoon resting on my commode at home. 

When you are nearing fifty,, like me,  I think maths is the first to suffer.

Ogden water was very busy with peeps again - this is obviously why my birding list is so short.

Birding was the same as usual for this time of year but some snow is possible later on this week so who knows a scarce Duck species or dare I say a Shrike may appear.

Birds:-

c10 Wren.

Black Headed Gull. Common Gull. Herring Gull.

2 Pheasant.

Chaffinch.

2 Singing Mistle Thrush.

Kingfisher.

Red Head Goosander.

Raven.

2 Nuthatch.

Long Tailed Tits.

Goldcrests.

3 Treecreeper.

16 Magpie.

Little Owl.

and a few other species.

Cromwell Bottom N.R.

I had a mid-morning / early afternoon outing with my niece today.

A walk along the canal , a cafe visit and a look  in a charity shop ... we know how to live... we do.

In among I had a quickish scan of the Ski-lake and a few birds were about.

Not really a birding outing but an enjoyable way to spend some time.

Birds:-

Herring Gull.

Common Gull.

Black Headed Gull.

2 Heron.

6 Goldeneye Duck (2 Drakes).

Long Tailed Tits.

Coal Tit.

2 Cormorant.

3 Red Head Goosander.

3 Moorhen.

Dipper.

Mute Swan.

Canada Geese.

Mallard.

2 Coot.

And a few other species.

There seems to be a lack of winter Thrushes?

Bradshaw - Soil Hill - Ogden Water - Bradshaw

Cold, Dull, Dry and Dank to start - Cold, Dull and Dry to finish.

This a.m. I took the high route, over Soil Hill to Ogden Water and the lower route through the farms back again.

Ogden circuit was slightly rammed with walkers, Dogs, prams and even some Christmas Presents - 2 big electric scooters.

After a circuit of the water I stopped at the visitor centre for a well earned? coffee, Twix and my chicken butty - probably be eating Chicken for a while now.

Having refuelled I did a second circuit of the water before sloping off home.

It was great to get me boots on to try and remove some of my excess fat , after all the Christmas indulgence.

Ogden Water is pretty stubborn not allowing any new Wildfowl to visit!!

It's been pretty quiet here these last few months.

Looking at the Met. Office weather map I'm guessing that when the big low pressure emoji kisses the big high pressure emoji some smaller pretty white emojis will fall by the end of this week?

Maybe that will allow for some Wildfowl movement our way?

Birds:-

Soil Hill:

Wren.

3 Partridge species flushed early from the eastern summit that I believe were Grey Partridge.

Ogden Water:

Nice to see a Grey Wagtail near the promenade waterside cobbles

c60 Black Headed Gull, c10 Common Gull, 2 Lesser Black-baked Gull at one point.

10 plus Long Tailed Tit.

Nuthatch.

Goldcrest.

c10 Robin - loads of Robin contact calls.

Bradshaw:

Buzzard.

Herring Gull, Common Gull, Black Headed Gull.

Usual Jackdaws, Magpies and Crows by the farm.

A few others.

Quite a few Bits and "Bobs" on Soil Hill Summit.

Including this Wellie "Bob".

Bradshaw, Soil Hill & Ogden Water

A colder morning but dry with a few bright bits escaping the big lump of dark cloud that loomed above.

Soil Hill had a bit of a wind chill and one Wren!

But.... you just wait.

Busy at Ogden today with lots of families, walkers and dogs around the circuit.

Two circuits of Ogden Water, 2 visits to the visitors centre for coffee and home via the farm track and fields completed by day out.

Birds:

Nothing out of the ordinary and even 'the ordinary' took some finding.

An enjoyable outing none the less.

Best wishes for a Happy Christmas - thanks for tuning in.......

and may you never forget another password !!!

Bradshaw - Ogden Lane.

Singing Song Thrush.

Wren. 2 Kestrel. 4 Stock Dove. Coal Tit.

Ogden Area:

A Kingfisher flew down the east side of the water and later a Kingfisher was down on the sluice railings. Could be one or two of them then.

C25 Gulls early on increased in number later.

One! Tufted Duck.

Buzzard. 3 Goldcrest.3 Long Tailed Tit.

2 Wren. 4 Robin.

No finches again?

I was hoping to turn this Duck into a 'Non-Mallard' when I got home.

But failed!!

Bradshaw & Ogden

A late morning / early afternoon jaunt to Ogden Water, a laugh in the visitors centre with Pat & Steve and a jaunt back the way I came, was my birding day today.

Before that I had mist and drizzle for company on my "last minute" Christmas shop to Morrisons.

Nice to bump into Roy H on Syke Lane, delivering a Turkey - he'd make a good District Nurse our Roy would.

Very dull out and about but it stayed mostly dry on the walk with more-or-less the same birds as usual, except 6 Tufted Duck were here today.

An unusual sight was of three Treecreeper all climbing the same tree at the same time - Top, Middle & Bottom - reminded me of darts in The Royal Oak at Ambler Thorn, Queensbury when I was minus 20 years old.

Birds:-

Bradshaw - Ogden Lane.

3 Red Legged Partridge.

Little Owl.

6 Stock Dove.

5 Canada Geese.

Herring Gull / Common Gull / Black Headed Gull.

Pheasant.

Kestrel. 

Mistle Thrush - singing.

3 Greenfinch.

Chaffinch.

Ogden:

(Two Laps).

2 Nuthatch.

Raven.

4 Treecreeper.

Goosander.

5 Goldcrest.

(Lots of Goldcrest calls - I wonder how many Goldcrest are here!!).

Long Tailed Tit.

6 Tufted Duck.

A Kingfisher that flushed from the east side trees flew north along the water.

Herring Gull / Common Gull / Black Headed Gull.

Happy Memories of ......... click...original post....

1998