Bradshaw - Soil Hill Etc Saturday

12:15 - 15:40

Another very pleasant sunny day today when I was hoping for a visit from Granddaughter Abi - but she has had a fall at school and twisted her ankle badly and cannot walk on it at the moment.

This afternoon I did my usual birding walk through the fields and up to Soil Hill.

I braved the north slope and the morass area as well today - I'm going for a lie down soon.

(Some) Birds:

Bradshaw Fields Farms:

2 Curlew. Goldfinch. Buzzard.Song Thrush.

5 Linnet. 2 Pied Wagtail. Dunnock.

Probable Redwing. 

Soil Hill Area:

Curlew calling and mobile.

4 Partridge Sp flushed from east summit area.

Heron.

"Displaying" Dunnock pr.

4 Meadow Pipit.

2 Goldcrest - North Slope Treeline.

1 Common Snipe.

Lapwing.

22 Fieldfare - North Slope Treeline.

c40 Fieldfare > N - Taylor Lane.

"Dribs and Drabs" of mobile Fieldfare also.

Bradshaw Lane:

2 Little Owl.

2 Buzzard.

Probably a Redwing above.

Bradshaw - Soil Hill - Bradshaw

13:15 - 16:20

A thick mist hung around this morning finally shifting just after 1 p.m. when the sun came along.

The mist started to drift back in again this afternoon and the temperature dropped like a stone (or 6.35kg).

I went along the fields, through the farms up Ned Hill Road, up Soil Hill and down the north slope to the bottom tree line.

I hung around here for 30 minutes or so - the only unusual bird was one that was very, very high above the pylons, that seemed to go no where - but I could not get it in the camera viewfinder before I lost it - the bird not the viewfinder.

Home was via a cold Percy Road and Taylor Lane as the mist made a comeback.

Birds:-

Bradshaw to Ned Hill Track.

2 Curlew, Pheasant, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Chaffinch.

Lapwing, Buzzard, 4 Mallard, 2 Meadow Pipit, Wren.

60+ Jackdaw, Crow, Magpie. Linnet, Song Thrush. 4 Stock Dove.

Pied Wagtail, Mistle Thrush, Blackbird

Ned Hill Track to Soil Hill (+ North Slope).

4 Skylark, 2 Linnet, 4 Meadow Pipit, 4 Canada Geese, Blackbird.

Wren, Dunnock, Goldfinch. 2 Lapwing. Moorhen.

Unidentified bird very high as mentioned earlier.

Large Gulls calling probably Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

Percy Road to Home.

2 Pied Wagtail. 2 Curlew. 4 Greenfinch.

28 Fieldfare (Tylor Lane).

Mistle Thrush.

Little Owl.

2 Buzzard.

The Titch Does a Twitch

9:30 - 14:15.

Another sunny day today but a chilly NE breeze took the edge off the temperature early on.

A Calderdale Birder's WhatsApp from DJB (who was on the Soil Hill north slope) reported a scarce bird.

This sent me all a twitch, so I went up there (and down there) to look for it.

I had a long stand at the bottom of the north slope without any joy and at half eleven-ish I sloped off to Ogden frustrated.

Oh - The birds name - well I'm not saying but it reminded me of the time I messed up my "User Login".

(Alternate spelling per my big lexicon).

I did a circuit of Ogden and went home via the farm track.

Birds:

Bradshaw to Soil Hill:

Whoopers Swans just visible on Mixenden.

2 Mistle Thrush. 5 Pied Wagtail. 5 Skylark. 3 Curlew.

5 Meadow Pipit. Heron.

1 Buzzard,

2 Golden Plover > SSE.

Moorhen, Lapwing.

2 Grey Partridge flushed from west side.

3 Long Tailed Tit.

2 Linnet.

Ogden to Home:

18 Whooper Swan.

4 Tufted Duck. (3 Drakes).

2 Lesser Black-backed, 2 Black Headed, 2 Herring and 1 Common Gull.

Mistle Thrush.

3 Chiffchaff.

2 Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming.

Bullfinch,

3 Stock Dove.

3 Curlew.

Lapwing - Bradshaw Fields.

3 Meadow Pipit.

Buzzard over my house.

Bradshaw and Soil Hill

12:30 - 15:30

The sun shone all day today and I used some of it's solar power to 'dry me smalls' on the washing line this morning.

After my gruel and half beaker of water for lunch I walked along the Bradshaw Fields, through the farms, up Ned Hill Road, over Soil Hill summit.

I returned the same way as I came - walking backwards obviously.

I was garbed in "Heat Wear" hoping for an 'anagram' of same - but even  lots of looking failed to find any anagrams.

Birds:

Bradshaw Area:

Little Owl. Canada Geese.

3 Meadow Pipit. Starling. Herring Gull.

Greenfinch, 2 Mistle Thrush, 2 Wren, Blue Tit. Great Tit.

2 Dunnock. Blackbird. Song Thrush.

Jackdaw. Crow, Magpie.

3 Pheasant. Robin. Goldfinch. House Sparrow.

Coal Tit. 2 Mallard. 1 Skylark.

Pied Wagtail. Feral Pigeon. Woodpigeon.

2 Curlew. Robin.

Ned Hill and Soil Hill Area:

3 Pied Wagtail. Feral Pigeon. Woodpigeon.

Wren. Pheasant. 5 Skylark.

Starling. 2 Curlew. c7 Meadow Pipit (not as flighty as sometimes).

4 Lesser Black-backed Gull. 

A Partridge that flushed early and flew quite silently from Soil Hill summit was prpbably a Grey Partridge but I did not get enough on it.

2 Red Legged Partridge ran along Ned Hill Track.

2 Mallard. Moorhen. 

Large birds on Mixenden ,miles off in the shimmer,seen from Soil Hill top were probably Canada Geese.

and no doubt a few that I've not written in me little note boooook.

Ogden Plantation/ Water - Soil Hill (Summit) - Bradshaw

A beautiful sunny day today with quite a strong wind - espicially on Soil Hill Summit (where birds were hard to come by).

I enjoyed a 'late' breakfast and a long chin-wag with Sue's best friend Geraldine in Wild's cafe at Cross Roads above Keighley this morning.

Geraldine kindly dropped me off at Back Lane Plantation on the way home so I could 'go-a-birding'.

I had actually had my porridge at 8:00 am, so the second "small" cooked breakfast at 10:30am (and a big bun) filled my calorie bucket list for the day.

A good nosey at the plantation revealed half a dozen or so calling Goldcrest and a Buzzard but little else.

Leaving the plantation a Red Legged Partridge called from the undergrowth and a tad later a second Red Legged Partridge scurried along the field edge into undergrowth - my 1st Red Legged Partridge this year.

Ogden was poor again with just a few Gulls with lots gone elsewhere to have babies,

Soil Hill Summit in the wind had a few Meadow Pipits flitting about.

I thought I'd struck gold along Taylor Lane with an unusual bird was way distant in a field corner.

I could not ID it in my bins and  having only size one legs I had to climb onto the wall to get it in my huge zoom camera's view finder- where it morphed into a Fieldfare - which was 'ok' I guess.

It was good to swap insults with RH who I met loitering with intent at the end of Syke Lane.

His missus soon moved him along smartly though! 

(Some) Birds:-

Goldcrest. 2 Buzzard.

2 Red Legged Partridge. 2 Mistle Thrush.

5 Meadow Pipit. Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Nuthatch. 1 Drake Tufted Duck.

5 Herring Gull. 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull. 1 Common Gull. 4 Black Headed Gull.

Kestrel. Greenfinch.

2 Fieldfare. Starling.

Disappearing Red Legged Partridge.

Jay House Lane Area

10:00 - 12:15

I was hoping to enhance my yearly Calderdale Bird List this morning by taking a few hours moseying around the Jay House Lane area.

The enhancement alas was not forthcoming.

I parked in the layby opposite the Golf Club on the AI! and walked to the bottom of Jay House Lane to the ford and back.

It was good to have a quick chat with JM who was on a leg stretcher here abouts.

It was a tad windy and cool with the odd spit of rain but ok really compared to Bradshaw.

Lots of birds calls and bird song here today but no mega for me.

Birds:-

4 Chiffchaff. Little Owl, House Sparrow.

2 Curlew. 2 Buzzard.

Nuthatch. 2 Song Thrush.

1 Grey Wagtail. Pr. Teal.

2 Mistle Thrush, Goldcrest.

Pied Wagtail. Kestrel.

6 Greenfinch, Dunnock,

Rook. 2 Pheasant.Blackbird. Starling.

Woodpigeon. Magpie. Wren. Robin.

Goldfinch. Chaffinch,

Blue Tit. Great Tit. Long Tailed Tit.

Crow. Magpie. Jackdaw.

Herring Gull.

Mallard.