Bradshaw - Soil Hill - Ogden Water - Bradshaw

8:30 -15:00

A very long outing on a very pleasant day for October.

I think I overdid it a bit today - I'm feeling my years - I'm over thirty now you know and today I'm  definitely over "The Hill" - ho ho ho.

I went up Taylor Lane and around Soil Hill Top.

As I was just about to leave DJS called me - he was behind me on the hill.

That makes sense as it's approaching Panto time "He's Behind You".

Anyway, I went back over the hill to join him and we had very enjoyable couple of hours up here.

Things started very slowly with very few birds seen but in the end we actually did quite well,

When DJS left I went down to Ogden Water to have a needed coffee and a Twix before doing a circuit of a very busy Ogden Water.

After a second hot drink I opted to have some poor grub for lunch, rather than go home, so I had a packet of crisps and a Kit-Kat - diet tomorrow.

I was hoping to catch up with The Chaffinch flock so I did a second slow circuit of the water.

I did get a flock of about 20 Chaffinch along the west side, but with the large amount of foot traffic  they were very high in the trees, with just the odd bird within bins range in the side bushes - no Brambling alas.

Home was via a very quiet farm track through the Crabtree Hall Farm ruins.

As I was cleaning my boots 6 large white birds flew east-ish towards Queensbury, by the time I had got my camera they had gone. I put them on the WhatsApp group just in case anyone was in the area and could put me out of my misery.

Birds:

Soil Hill with DJS. (9:00 - 10:50).

Greenfinch,

2 Pied Wagtail.

95 Pink Footed Geese.

c10 Meadow Pipit.

Stonechat.

5 Linnet.

3 Stock Dove.

Skylark.

2 Snipe.

c120 Fieldfare.

Kestrel.

2 Sparrowhawk.

2 Raven.

c90 Woodpigeon.

4 Redwing.

Ogden Water - Bradshaw (11:00 - 15:00).

Green Woodpecker.

Pied Wagtail.

At least 4 Teal.

2 Nuthatch.

2 Treecreeper.

4 Tit species.

Buzzard.

Possible Yellow Legged Gull.

Probable Wigeon Asleep.

Plus usuals.

Soil Hill with DJS. (9:00 - 10:50).

Ogden Water - Bradshaw (11:00 - 15:00).

Poss. Yellow Legged Gull.

2 Photos above - Probable  Wigeon.

Herring Gull ?

Ringstone Reservoir

12:45 - 13:45

After a visit to Sowerby Bridge this morning I took the opportunity to have a quick shufti at Ringstone Reservoir, Nr. Barkisland.

It was very windy and quite dull as I walked  along the reservoir wall,  and the water level is very high now.

I did not find much here in the hour or so I was looking.

Birds:-

3 Pied Wagtail (2 doing some sort of amusing jig together, over the water,  in the very strong wind).

1 Cormorant,

8 Greylag Geese.

c45 Canada Geese.

6 Mallard.

Gulls strewn out along the north field.

c15 Mistle Thrush very flighty in a nearby field as I drove down the hill towards Ripponden.

Bradshaw and Ogden

8:35 - 14:30

A sunny but windy start to my birding walk along the Bradshaw fields to Ogden Water this morning.

Ogden Water was quite pleasant,  sheltered and calm mostly.

It was good to chat with B.S. who was just leaving as I arrived here.

I did two slow circuits of the water today - still lots of shoreline but some of the muddy bits that were in the middle are now submerged - with water flowing in.

I also bumped into PG who came into the 'cafe' as I was leaving, but I stopped for (another) hot drink and we swopped insults for a while with Cheryl and Pat the volunteers wondering about our sanity.

DJS and Js had a real good find here this afternoon with a Med. Gull.

I have checked through all my Gull photos but I can't find the Med. Gull in there alas.

I did quite well birding wise today, nothing spec-tack-ular but some decent birds to keep me occupied.

Birds:

Bradshaw Area:

Little Owl. Partridge species. Kestrel. c15 Goldfinch.

A Song Thrush acting quite strange.

Ogden Water:

2 Cormorant, Wigeon, Pied Wagtail. Nuthatch,

2 Teal. 2 Lapwing, 2 Bullfinch. 4 Tufted Duck.

Heron. Jay. 15 Canada Geese,

Great Spotted Woodpecker. Buzzard.

I was hoping to catch up with the Chaffinch flock, but I only managed to eyeball a few Chaffinch!

Hoping the middle Gull might be a Med.

Bradshaw - Ogden - Soil Hill Top

11:30 - 16:10

Pre-porridge this morning I stood on the doorstep for 10 mins to see if anything was passing and I was rewarded with two small groups of Redwing (c20 and c15).

I thought the weather forecast was for an improving picture as the  morning wore on so  I went to Tesco early on - in the sun.

Late morning I set off across the local fields to Ogden with dark cluuds and some drizzle - oops!

I called at the cafe and had a good laugh with the 3 lady volunteers before heading across the promenade.

I then bumped into PG who was on his way back from scaling the Eiger.

We returned to the cafe for a chin wag, a laugh  and a coffee before going our separate ways.

I did a circuit of the water and then headed off to scale my own Eiger - Ned Hill Road,

It was a tough climb today for some reason.

I just crossed Soil Hill along the right hand side before going along Percy Rd and down Taylor Lane home.

Birds:

Bradshaw Area:

35 Redwing.

Little Owl.

Raven,

Ogden Water:

2 Cormorant (at least).

2 Great Spotted Woodpecker.

1 Wigeon.

2 Nuthatch

Kingfisher.

Teal.

Tufted Duck.

Buzzard,

2 raven.

Blue, Great, Coal and Long Tailed Tit.

Soil Hill:

Kestrel.

Pied Wagtail.

Pheasant.

Raven

Buzzard.

Bradshaw Fields

8:40 - 10:15

With a deteriorating weather forecast this morning I thought I'd have a short walk along the fields to Ned Hill Road and back before the wet stuff arrived.

A gloomy, moody, damp sort of day as I looked over Halifax from my higher view point.

It was pleasing to hear Pink Footed Geese calling and when I got my brain sorted out I picked them up, lower than expected, heading WNW ish.

I was reporting this sighting on my mobile phones'  Calderdale WhatsApp , when my phoned pinged - DJS had just put his sighting of this skein on the app.

A tad later BS reported the same skein over Ogden Water.

It's somehow satisfying when a few local birders  synchronise views on a group of birds.

On my return, something upset the Crab - applecart near Crabtree Hall Farm and several birds came zooming out of the trees. An unseen Green Woodpecker gave a large sharpe call as well.

A tad further along the path the Green Pecker called again as it flew out of sight.

Nearing Wards View House 2 Stonechats were on a very distant wall.

 

So all in all an enjoyable couple of hours.

Birds:-

Pheasant. 

Green Woodpecker.

c120 Pink Footed Geese - from photo.

C100 Gulls in the fields - mostly Common Gulls.

2 Stock Dove.

2 Stonechat.

Pied Wagtail.

and the usuals.

Pink Footed Geese.