Bradshaw - Soil Hill circular A.M./ Bradshaw - Holdsworth P.M.

It was bright and sunny this morning with the clouds appearing at lunch time but it stayed dry.

There was a sharp cold breeze on Soil Hill summit with the ground frozen and nothing up there today.

It was pleasing to see 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers as I neared home, one a fly past and the second perched on the very top of a conifer near Bradshaw Hall buildings.

After lunch I thought I would not waste a dry afternoon so I headed off down Bradshaw Lane to Holdsworth and back.

This is a pleasant walk following The Calderdale Way for a good part.

Here, again, It was pleasing to see another Woodpecker this time the Green variety.

I noticed ,the other day, that Crows were burying food(?) under some soil as I went up Ned Hill Road.

Birds:

A.M.

Usual Gulls in the fields as far as I could tell.

1 Mistle Thrush, 2 Little Owl, 2 Kestrel, 2 Raven, 2 Stock Dove, 2 Buzzard.

2 Great Spotted Woodpecker.

P.M.

2 Stock Dove, 2 Jay, Buzzard, 5 Greenfinch. 3 Rook.

3 Herring Gull, Common and Black Headed Gull.

Usual Finches in Bradshaw Park bushes.

1 Green Woodpecker.

Photos in random order.

Great Spotted Woodpecker 😊

Bradshaw - Soil Hill - Ogden Water - Bradshaw

I enjoyed my 'usual' circular birding walk today.

Taylor Lane's black ice needed some care for this old codger!

Bright and sunny and even the bitter breeze on Soil Hill summit didn't spoil things.

It was good to have a coffee, Twix, Sit Down and chat with the Ogden Water lady volunteers before doing the circuit.

I also enjoyed a  chat with The "Crow Man" who was here today.

I also had an enjoyable chat with Geoff the farmer along Ogden Lane.

The only chat that I didn't have was a stone chat.

Gritting Bradshaw Lane this afternoon - must be something cold on the way.

Birds:-

Two Little Owl (1 -  Bradshaw Lane, 1 -  looking north from Taylor Lane bottom).

10 Starling.

Soil Hill.

Crow, Magpie, 

Probably a Buzzard (for an instant by NK pond).

Kestrel mobbed by a Common Gull.

c40 Starlings.

Herring Gull, Common Gull, Black Headed Gull.

Ogden Water.

Dipper ('pond' near Ogden Clough sign).

Raven. Goldcrest. Treecreeper.

Long Tailed Tits are thriving here by the look and sounds of it!

c40 Small Gulls on the water.

Ogden water has been disappointingly quiet since the weeds have been submerged - no Goldeneye Duck yet?

Ogden Lane to Home.

4 Stock Dove.

Buzzard.

Common Gull. Herring Gull. Black Headed Gull.

Not much else seen along here today.

Soil Hill Buzzard

Bradshaw Farm Tack Buzzard

Ringstone Reservoir - Barkisland

Went out to the car this a.m. - turned the ignition - and the 'tyre pressure' light came on and did not go off. 

It's going to be one of those I thought!

Any how I got out my trusty blower-upper and all 4 tyres were low, so I guess it's to do with the lower temperature rather than anything serious.

After giving them a blast, the pressure light flashed then after driving down the road a bit, it went back into it's box and fell asleep. 

So not as bad as I thought.

After 2 days of really rubbish wet weather , where I just managed a 3 mile dry! non-birding walk along the roads  near home each day, it was good to get out and about.

A fair bit of running around in the car was interrupted with lunch in my car at Ringstone Reservoir.

After my take away caviar and chips I ventured out of the car and along the very windy and cold reservoir wall to the north end.

Just a few Gulls on a very rough reservoir but the north field held a mass of birds, until something flushed the lot!

I had a good scan about but I could not pick out a Raptor anywhere about that might have cause the 'panic'.

Birds:

11 Greylag Geese (West Field).

200 plus Lapwing - difficult to count as they were very active flying hither and thither.

156 Golden Plover - give or take a couple!

Starling.

Gulls - mostly Black Headed.

Soil Hiil - Bradshaw etc

Another cracking sunny, crisp day today.

I decided to give Soil Hill another go for a "scarce Bunting"

It was good to bump into DJS (who had been up here a while) along the mast track.

We enjoyed a chat as we scanned about.... hoping.

After Dave had left I did a circuit of the summit "tundra" before dropping down to Ned Hill Track and through the ruins and farms to home.

After lunch I had another walk along the track to Ned Hill  Road and back.

Birds:-

Soil Hill Area:

No rare/scarce Buntings today, but one day there will be!

Usual Gulls floating about.

3 Wren, 1 Kestrel, 1 Meadow Pipit.

2 Rook and a Green Woodpecker (heard) (Taylor Lane).

1 Kestrel bottom of Ned Hill Road.

Bradshaw Area:-

14 Magpie.

4 Stock Dove.

Buzzard.

c10 Starling.

Chaffinch. Greenfinch. Goldfinch.

7 Meadow Pipit.

c10 House Sparrow.

10 Common Gull.

Not much else.

Good to be out in the cold sunshine today even if nothing special was seen.

Soil Hill Summit with Oxenhope Reservoir in the background

Cromwell Ski-Lake / Bradshaw

I had a lunch appointment with some friends at The Golden Hind ,Brighouse ,chippy today and I took the opportunity to first park at at the fishing ponds rush along to the Ski-lake and rush back to park up in Brighouse.

Another cracking winters day , very cold but bright and crisp and even.

Late afternoon I had my usual walk along the fields to Ned Hill Road and back again in my leaking wellies.

It was good to meet  Will G. at the ski-lake although I was in a rush!

Birds:-

Ski-Lake.

(This short visit did not do it justice really).

4 Goldeneye Ducks - 2 Drakes.

5 Cormorant.

2 Red Head Goosanders.

1 Heron.

3 Mute Swan.

2 Tufted Duck.

1 Redwing.

1 Pied Wagtail (Avocet Buildings).

Bradshaw Area:

A small flock of Finches and Tits were moving through the many trees near Ned Hill Road bottom. Always keeping to the back, mostly giving poor views.

They included:-

Siskin. Chaffinch. Goldfinch. Bullfinch. Long Tailed Tit. Blue Tit. Coal Tit.

Also about.

Great Spotted Woodpecker.

1 Mistle Thrush.

Most of the Gulls have left , the fields are mostly frozen , just 1 Common Gull was seen.