Bradshaw & Ogden

9:30 - 15:00.

A longer than usual, five and a half hours, birding outing today with birds at Ogden difficult to come by.

I did two circuits of the water, two cafe visits and a trek up to Giants Tooth to try and eek something out !

The "new" non-disabled six toilets at Ogden are now down to one usable one with the other five having been vandalised in one form or another.

Its a pity the vandals don't have to pay for the repairs they will cost hundreds of £££££.

Chris was driving the Christmas tree taxi around the circuit, so the lack of birds is all down to him! 

Nothing at all to do with my poor birding skills.

There was a watery greyness about the place after the early brightness disappeared.

Perseverance did pay off eventually with a few birds on offer though.

Birds:-

Little Owl.

4 Stock Dove.

Wren.

Buzzard.

4 Pheasant.

80 + Jackdaw.

At least 4 Raven.

c30 Small Gulls at one point.

1 Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Long Tailed Tit.

Kingfisher.

Red Grouse.

2 Treecreeper.

And a few others.

Bradshaw Fields Late Afternoon Outing

I did not get free until later on today and just managed to squeeze in a short birding walk along the local fields to Ned Hill Road and back.

It was a cold day today but it stayed dry - snow tonight????

Birds:-

Greenfinch.

Three  Raven.

2 Bullfinch.

2 Stock Dove.

Two Little Owl.

Buzzard.

8 Ling Tailed Tit.

3 Coal Tit.

and a few of the usuals.

Ringstone Reservoir (Wet!) a.m. / Local Fields (Dry!) p.m.

As I went outside early morning to deposit some recyling in the bin, I heard the faint call of Pink Footed Geese and managed to see three Geese heading WSW in the dark sky.

A bit later on I had another run over to Ringstone.

Obviously, I had had insufficient disappointment here yesterday so I went to have a disappointment top-up.

The weather was very wet and breezy as I legged it across the banking to shelter behind the bird hide.

I spent most of my short visit scanning from here, but seeing very little.

After lunch the rain stopped so I had a walk along the local fields to Ned Hill Road and back.

I got a few more 'ticks' ✓✓✓ today which was comforting.

Birds:-

Garden:

3 Pink Footed Geese.

Ringstone:

7 Fieldfare > South.

2 Herring Gull over the water.

Common & Black Headed Gulls in the fields.

(Just 3 Common Gull on the water).

A "mass" of Canada Geese.

Greylag Geese.

Local Fields:-

Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Herring Gull.

Common Gull.

Black Headed Gull.

2 Stock Dove.

Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch.

Blue, Great & Long Tailed Tit.

Robin, Blackbird, Magpie, Crow, Jackdaw.

3 Pheasant.

Little Owl.

Ringstone:

Bradshaw:

Ringstone Reservoir Barkisland

I made the longish trip over to Ringstone reservoir mid-morning.

It was very, very windy here with the threat of rain that did not materialise during my short stay.

There were no birds at all on the water and many birds in the  fields were hunkered down.

A disappointing visit really but yesterday's cobwebs, that had formed on my lug holes, as I sat in all day doing crosswords , were blown to blazes.

At least the Greylag Geese gave me a yearly tick.

Birds:-

1 Meadow Pipit.

c10 Lapwing.

 c20 Starling.

12 Greylag Geese. (One with prominent orange eye ring).

28 Canada Geese.

Black Headed and Common Gull.

One with prominent orange eye ring above.

Bradshaw - Soil Hill etc

A cold icy day again today but bright and sunny for a lot of it.

I had a visit to make to B&Q this morning to get some G9 led lights.

It might be me but I find that there so many different light bulbs nowadays - they are really confusing and expensive. I had a cupboard full of all sorts of them but you can be sure that the one that fails isn't in the cupboard , when you look for it in the first place, but somehow, miraculously, they turn up just after you've bought some more.

Anyway at least I got to see the Peregrine down there.

This afternoon I had a walk up Taylor Lane, over Soil Hill Summit, down Ned Hill Road and through the farms to home.

Nothing on the deck on Soil Hill summit and just 2 Common Gulls flew past as I was eyeballing the tundra hoping for a S.B. or L.B.

It was pleasing to see 7 Meadow Pipits on the west sloping fields as I left the hill - they were very very flighty.

It looks like I'll wake up to a garden full of snow tomorrow - hopefully it will melt before teatime.

Birds:-

Peregrine Falcon - Dean Clough Chimney.

2 Raven.

Heron.

7 Meadow Pipit.

2 Stock Dove.

Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch.

Kestrel.

3 Starling.

Little Owl.

Plus a few others.

Soil Hill Summit.

Taylor Lane.

Bradshaw - Ogden Water (Saved by the Alarm).

I was busy, busy, busy this morning sticking bedding into the big white box with a port hole that sits looking menacingly at me in the kitchen.

Using this big box makes the washing a wee doddle.

The dashing away with the soothing iron afterwards though, well, it's just impossible.

CLICK - dashing away with the soothing iron

Especially that big white thing with a rubber band around it's edge - who designed that?

I now know why its called a fitted sheet - you can't iron the thing without having a hissy fit.

Anyway, after lunch I walked over the fields to Ogden Water.

Looking from the promenade, I could see 8  Tufted Ducks, way off on the north east end of the water (and nowt else)  so I decided to walk around to see if I could get a photo.

The circuit path was well dodgy sending me into the woods to walk against the wall path,  or as near as I could, so I could still observe the barren water!

Real good exercise this is, with not much path at times. 

When I got to the north, east end there were now 6 Tufties and they  had moved into the middle so the photos are not great.

Then ..... just as I was bout to get my 1st 2026 lifer , my telling bone rang.

A man asked if my alarm maintenance, which was due in 2 weeks, could be done this afternoon - in half an hour from now!

I tried to explain that my lifer was imminent but in the end I softened and legged it home.

I arrived 10 mins before Mr. A. Larm so I could probably have got that lifer after all.

With all this guff - you guessed it - not many birds.

Birds:-

Buzzard.

Kestrel.

c25 Gulls at one point.

8 Tufted Duck.

2 Pheasant.

2 Stock Dove.

A small flock of Goldfinch and Chaffinch along the farm track.