Cromwell Bottom NR (1st Winter Caspian Gull)

It was a grotty morning  in Bradshaw with fog and drizzle, fed up with waiting for it to clear I drove down to check out Cromwell Bottom NR where I knew the weather would be a lot clearer.

I parked near the fishing ponds and headed off.

A quick look at the river for my target bird, Little Grebe, paid dividends with a Little Grebe diving early on, in the river opposite the canal and river trust small stone building.

Further along there were a couple of Siskin in the trees.

I had a look at the lake through the railings and trees before looking at the lagoon and then walking along the side of the river.

A Calderdale Birders WhatsApp from JB stopped me in my tracks with a report of a 1st Winter Caspian Gull on the ski-lake.

I texted JB to find out that he was scoping the lake from below Casa, so I legged it back to the car and parked opposite Casa.

JB had the bird in his scope - it was about as distant as possible - perched on a post at the far end of the reservoir.

Caspian Gull  is a Calderdale first for me and I personally would not have been able to ID it.

I did get a 'photo' but at the distance it is pretty rubbish.

The bird left the post soon after though.

Birds:-

1st Winter Caspian Gull.

Little Grebe.

2 Siskin.

Mute Swan.

Heron.

3 Male Goldeneye.

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

Tufted Duck.

Coot, Moorhen. Goosander. Cormorant.

Something to brighten your day or possibly not:-

The teacher says to Johnny: Johnny I want you to the word exaggerate in a short paragraph..

Johnny: Ok Miss:

My mate Billy was telling me that he had some tummy problem.

I asked him what he'd   had for breakfast and he told me that he had had Bacon and Eggs.

I said you tummy problem might have been caused by those exaggerate.

Caspian Gull Above.

 

Cold Edge Dams - Wainstalls

After lightening my wallet at Queensbury Tesco's this morning-  "The friendliest shop in town"  I drove over to Wainstalls.

I managed to get a parking place on the main road above the school and then legged down to and  along Castle Carr Road for a short distance.

After crossing a stile on the right I followed a good path up the moor , that crosses he Calderdale Way path at a wooden bridge, to the dams.

This path can be quite boggy but today it was as good as it gets really with just the odd boggy bit.

It was a glorious day for a walk and the moorland scenery and views made up for the lack of birds.

As usual its "muck of nettles" here a saying I don't really get - both muck and nettles are unpleasant!

I enjoyed the views as I sat, out of the draught , on a bony rock eating my curds and whey sandwiches  for lunch.

Birds:-

3 Red Grouse. 

3 Common Gull.

C30 Black Headed Gull looking pristine in the sunshine. (Just 2 first winter birds).

5 Meadow Pipit. 

2 Wren. 1 Crow. 1 Magpie. Jackdaw.

Canada Geese calling from somewhere (in french).

2 Starling.

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: