Saville Park Area:
An hour out and about around the Saville Park area.
A stroll along the 'one-way' road off Birdcage Lane kept my interest, even though it was a wind tunnel here.
I found the potential Great Spotted Woodpecker nest hole from my last visit (my chalk marks were still on the wall) but there was no activity in the 10 mins or so that I watched.
A couple of Nuthatch were seen and 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers were heard from different areas.
Then a third GSW called and I managed to locate the bird.
I went along the path below Albert Promenade (Scarr Wood LNR) and heard a slight knocking sound - soon a GSW flew from nearby into a tree.
I managed a few photos of this bird also.
There were a few Chaffinch (where are all the Chaffinch?)
and Long Tailed Tit.
Saville Park was very windy and cold with some snowy stuff.
There were the usual Small Gulls then a BIG Gull landed with them - I though immediately Great Black-backed Gull but I was too slow to get a decent picture before it left.
It is most probably a Lesser Black-backed Gull.
Lots of Corvids about including a few Rooks.
5 Reservoirs:
With the extremely cold wind, I chickened out on a long walk today, opting to get the car out and have a look at some water.
I had high hopes of Whoopers but these soon turned to low hopes and then no hopes.
Watersheddles Reservoir - Colne Road out of Oxenhope.
I had a scenic drive out to Watersheddles to find the reservoir devoid of birds.
Ponden:
Next up was Ponden - here again not a lot happening:-
Moorhen, Mallard, Black Headed Gull and a few 'domesticated' duck types.
Lower Laithe:
I bumped into BV here but not many birds.
4 Canada Geese and a few Black Headed Gulls was about it.
Leeshaw:
I had 5 min. stop at Marsh to look for Golden Plover but the usual 5 or so fields were bereft of all birdlife.
A small flock of Canada Geese flew overhead here.
I bumped into BV again and as we counted the Oystercatcher , in the fields, across the water I came up with a few more than him (I'd included some Lapwing!).
We settled on 12 Oystercatcher in the end.
Thanks for putting me straight Brian.
My photo shows 13 - a group of 4 and a group of 9.
Overhead 38 Lapwing.
Also over 21 Curlew - my first of this winter.
Also about a small flock of Starlings overhead,2 Greylag Geese, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull and a few small Gulls with a Cormorant on the water.
I left Brian in the cold and headed off to Leeming.
Leeming:
I seem to like Leeming the best of all - it's not as bleak as Leeshaw.
You can walk around it and there is usually some shelter, regardless of the wind direction.
6 Red Legged Partridge were seen in a distant field.
A couple of Canada Geese and a Lesser Black-backed Gull were here and Black Headed and Common Gulls came and went at regular intervals..
Not a bad outing and it always a pleasure to bump into another birder.
We all seem to remember exactly where we were, when we recall some of our more 'exotic' sightings.
Walking:
If Sue and I went astray (which was not very often) on our long distance walks ;Sue reckons that I would know where 'nasty dogs' were or a certain bird was seen, but exactly where we were on the OS map, the OS map that I was holding - I could not say.
You can't be looking at a map, all the time,when there is a potentially lurking mega, can you?
Sue used to keep hold the OS map quite a lot as I recall.
Saville Park Area:
'Oxenhope' Reservoirs:
Watersheddles:
Lower Laithe:
Marsh Area:
Leeshaw:
Leeming:
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