Bradshaw and Ogden

8:35 - 14:30

A sunny but windy start to my birding walk along the Bradshaw fields to Ogden Water this morning.

Ogden Water was quite pleasant,  sheltered and calm mostly.

It was good to chat with B.S. who was just leaving as I arrived here.

I did two slow circuits of the water today - still lots of shoreline but some of the muddy bits that were in the middle are now submerged - with water flowing in.

I also bumped into PG who came into the 'cafe' as I was leaving, but I stopped for (another) hot drink and we swopped insults for a while with Cheryl and Pat the volunteers wondering about our sanity.

DJS and Js had a real good find here this afternoon with a Med. Gull.

I have checked through all my Gull photos but I can't find the Med. Gull in there alas.

I did quite well birding wise today, nothing spec-tack-ular but some decent birds to keep me occupied.

Birds:

Bradshaw Area:

Little Owl. Partridge species. Kestrel. c15 Goldfinch.

A Song Thrush acting quite strange.

Ogden Water:

2 Cormorant, Wigeon, Pied Wagtail. Nuthatch,

2 Teal. 2 Lapwing, 2 Bullfinch. 4 Tufted Duck.

Heron. Jay. 15 Canada Geese,

Great Spotted Woodpecker. Buzzard.

I was hoping to catch up with the Chaffinch flock, but I only managed to eyeball a few Chaffinch!

Hoping the middle Gull might be a Med.

Bradshaw - Ogden - Soil Hill Top

11:30 - 16:10

Pre-porridge this morning I stood on the doorstep for 10 mins to see if anything was passing and I was rewarded with two small groups of Redwing (c20 and c15).

I thought the weather forecast was for an improving picture as the  morning wore on so  I went to Tesco early on - in the sun.

Late morning I set off across the local fields to Ogden with dark cluuds and some drizzle - oops!

I called at the cafe and had a good laugh with the 3 lady volunteers before heading across the promenade.

I then bumped into PG who was on his way back from scaling the Eiger.

We returned to the cafe for a chin wag, a laugh  and a coffee before going our separate ways.

I did a circuit of the water and then headed off to scale my own Eiger - Ned Hill Road,

It was a tough climb today for some reason.

I just crossed Soil Hill along the right hand side before going along Percy Rd and down Taylor Lane home.

Birds:

Bradshaw Area:

35 Redwing.

Little Owl.

Raven,

Ogden Water:

2 Cormorant (at least).

2 Great Spotted Woodpecker.

1 Wigeon.

2 Nuthatch

Kingfisher.

Teal.

Tufted Duck.

Buzzard,

2 raven.

Blue, Great, Coal and Long Tailed Tit.

Soil Hill:

Kestrel.

Pied Wagtail.

Pheasant.

Raven

Buzzard.

Bradshaw Fields

8:40 - 10:15

With a deteriorating weather forecast this morning I thought I'd have a short walk along the fields to Ned Hill Road and back before the wet stuff arrived.

A gloomy, moody, damp sort of day as I looked over Halifax from my higher view point.

It was pleasing to hear Pink Footed Geese calling and when I got my brain sorted out I picked them up, lower than expected, heading WNW ish.

I was reporting this sighting on my mobile phones'  Calderdale WhatsApp , when my phoned pinged - DJS had just put his sighting of this skein on the app.

A tad later BS reported the same skein over Ogden Water.

It's somehow satisfying when a few local birders  synchronise views on a group of birds.

On my return, something upset the Crab - applecart near Crabtree Hall Farm and several birds came zooming out of the trees. An unseen Green Woodpecker gave a large sharpe call as well.

A tad further along the path the Green Pecker called again as it flew out of sight.

Nearing Wards View House 2 Stonechats were on a very distant wall.

 

So all in all an enjoyable couple of hours.

Birds:-

Pheasant. 

Green Woodpecker.

c120 Pink Footed Geese - from photo.

C100 Gulls in the fields - mostly Common Gulls.

2 Stock Dove.

2 Stonechat.

Pied Wagtail.

and the usuals.

Pink Footed Geese.

Local

14:05 - 15:20

A busy morning, a lot of it spent in a dull and quite wet Halifax.

This afternoon I just had a short meander along the local fields to Ned Hill Road bottom and back.

Not a lot happening in my neck of the woods.

Birds:-

2 Little Owl (1 seen 1 heard)..

Kestrel.

Meadow Pipit.

Pheasant.

Rook.

a few Gulls over.

Ogden Water and Bradshaw

12:17 - 13:00

A sunny cool outing today.

A slight change to my usual routine with a walk down to Bradshaw Church after lunch to catch the 502 bus to Ogden.

The bus duly arrived on time but instead of turning left at the Bradshaw church it went straight forward - but not too far - before the driver realised his error and reversed back.

It looked, to me,  like he was making his route up, so I asked him for a ride out to the seaside.

" I drive both the 526 Queensbury bus  (no Sunday service) and the 502 Keighley bus" he said.

He dropped me at Blackpool - or so he said as I got off - he must have thought I was born yesterday - it was obviously Ogden - tut.

Ogden Water was reasonably quiet for a Sunday and after a coffee and a Twix I did one circuit of the water before heading home via the farm tracks.

Same birds as usual here today -  but if I keep plugging away - something tasty will turn up.

Some Birds:-

Bullfinch, 2 Cormorant, Long Tailed Tit, Coal Tit.

7 Teal, Buzzard, Goosander.

2 Nuthatch. 2 Raven, 2 Pied Wagtail.

c180 Gulls.

3 Stock Dove.

Local Fields

 16:25 - 17:35

A bit of a different routine today as I wanted to do some walking without carrying anything weighty (except me belly).

I caught the 526 bus to Queensbury and walked down the disused railway line to Queensbury station and then carried along to near Thornton where I had my lunch in the great outdoor cafe there.

Roast beef sarnie with onions and gravy and a cup of tea - yum yum.

I waked back up the Queensbury (phew!) intending to catch the 526 bus home.

However my timing was not great and with a half hour to wait for the bus I decided to walk home instead, just beating the bus home.

6 1/2 miles or so today, which, a few years ago would have been a wee doddle, was a lot tougher nowadays.

After a good sit down I had a late evening birding walk up the local fields.

There were more birds here than usual with 6 ish Blackbirds a sizeable flock of Goldfinch and a nice Green Woodpecker flushed by some angry Jackdaws.

Birds:-

Green Woodpecker.

Goldfinch 35+, Greenfinch, Chaffinch.

Long Tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit.

2 Stock Dove, Dunnock, 3 Wren, Robin.

Common Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Jackdaws. Pheasant.

Mistle Thrush.

Bradshaw - Ogden Water

 10:50 - 14:15

I had my usual walk to Ogden and back , going and returning on the low route along the farm track / fields.

It was pleasing to see a Stonechat along the Bradshaw fields.

It seems to be my week to get soaked with a second deluge on me 'ed after yesterdays soaking.

After a Kitkat in the Cafe (where I chatted to  Julia and  Will ) I set off along the promenade and then bumped into some close friends from Bradford.

I retraced my steps to the cafe, so we could have a chin wag and I could up my chocolate intake with a Twix!

As I left the cafe again the heaven opened and it pelted down for three quarters of the way round the water.

One consolation was seeing a Kingfisher flying in the sluice area seen from the prom. (it wasn't there on my earlier gawp).

Once the deluge passed over the sun came out to dry me stuff.

Birds:-

4 Pied Wagtail.

Little Owl (Bradshaw)

Kestrel.

Stonechat.

Kingfisher.

Treecreeper.

2 Cormorant.

Not as many Gulls today - C100. 

Yellow Legged Gull.

3 Tufted Duck.

Goldcrest.

Raven.

Plus the usuals.

Both photos above of the same Tufted Duck in different light.

The lower one looks very dark.

and two more very distant at the north end.

Mallard enjoying the rain.