Bradshaw Area

A cooler dullish kind of day today and just a couple of birding walks for me.

One this morning and one this afternoon to Ned Hill Road and back.

A few birds were seen but not the one(s) I was hoping for - better luck tomorrow perhaps.

Birds:-

Mistle Thrush. 2 Meadow Pipit.

3 Curlew. Little Owl. 2 Kestrel.

6 Stock Dove. 2 Chiffchaff.

2 Pied Wagtail. 6 Linnet.

Song Thrush. Coal Tit, Greenfinch.

2 Mallard. Long Tailed Tit. Heron.

c40 Fieldfare calling > N

and a few others.

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.