BRADSHAW RAMBLER:
A report on the birds seen by an amateur birder on his regular rambles
through Bradshaw, Halifax, West Yorkshire and beyond.
A short walk, late afternoon today, up the local fields where a heavy shower joined me for company.
Birds:-
2 Raven, 2 Kestrel, 2 Little Owl.
1 Common Gull, 1 Black Headed Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull.
[ Two very large Fungai ]
Not bad for a 30 Minute outing!
An hours garden watch this morning just brought Gulls and Corvids.
I had a run out to Ogden, after lunch.
I was accompanied by heavy rain and strong winds as I made a circuit of the water today.
I was hoping that something special might have dropped in and a couple of Teal broke the normal pattern of my recent visits here.
I shouldn't complain about the rain - we certainly need some.
Birds:-
25 Gulls.
1 Tufted Duck.
2 Teal.
Mallards.
A very distant Duck with what looks like a large bill in the poor photo could just be a Shoveler but is probably a Mallard. The photo in the rain isn't much help.
Bits of birds calls around the circuit bit nothing much moving about.
Elsewhere a Pr. Peregrine were seen.
A few days away this week to the west coast at Lytham, Nr. Blackpool.
Some mega heavy downpours each evening which we avoided, except for one.
The downpour that got us was during our bike ride from the pub - so we hardly noticed it at all!
Day 1.
Monday 26th September 2022.
Sunshine with strong winds and heavy showers.
A good journey to the west coast and I had an hour or so walking along the promenade and pebbles near the white windmill.
The tide was just on the turn – going out – and a few Waders were present.
Turnstone (80+) on the shoreline.
4 Ringed Plover were difficult to photo with the glare of the sun on the wet pebbles.
Redshank were calling but in flight and distant.
2 Great Black Back Gull nearby.
Cormorant.Wheatear.
Linnet.
Also many Waders too distant to ID with any confidence.
Day 2.
Tuesday 27th September2022.
Torrential rain during the night accompanied by strong winds but the heavy showers that arrived during the day were kind. Either arriving when we were shopping at the Fleetwood Shopping Outlet
or in a café.
As we went through north Blackpool the sea was a dark grey with the waves crashingin onto the shoreline walls.
On our way back from Fleetwood we stopped again near the Lytham Windmill and had another look along the shoreline.
The sea was going out and it was a bit further out than yesterday.
A few more birds were added to my list with a Shelduck, Little Egret, Oystercatcher.
A possible Dunlin but I guess there will be 100's hereabouts?
The Wheatear was still present and a greedy Cormorant was having difficulty digesting it's dinner.Redshanks in good numbers were on the shore today.
Day 3 Wednesday 28/09/22.
A beautiful sunny cool day today and a trip to Stanley Park.A walk around the park after the obligatory Café break.
After a circuit of the lake here, we set off and walked to Marton Mere (not Marin Mere).
The mere was suffering from lack of juice with the circular path a long way off the water!
Afterwards I had another look along Lytham beach.
Birds:Stanley Park:
Mute Swan, Moorhen, Widgeon, Shoveler, Gadwall , Pochard.
Coot, Mallard, Cormorant, Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull.
Marton Mere:
Possible Cettis Warbler – nothing out of the ordinary.
Lytham Coast.
Tide just going out – soon out though.
Usual birds as previous days with a Dunlin a bit closer that I've tried to turn into something special - but failed.
Many Ringed Plover that I took a lot of interest in but could not find 'a special'.
2 Little Egret and a Heron.
A 'boatload'of Turnstone.
Pinkies overhead from 6am to 8am and again late evening at 7pm ish.
Probably 2,000 right overhead – but so many in the sky that I could only get asmall amount in the camera.We called at Boundary Mills - Colneon our way home, one of my least favourite places.However today it was an enjoyable experience with the place having had a face lift since ourlast time here and I found a rite nice pair of walking boots.Just a few of the many photos:-Day 1.1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Day 2:
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.Pinkies.
Day 3:15.
16.
17.
18.Boatload of Turnstones.
19.
20.
21.
22.Pinkies.
Some gardening this morning with one eye on the sky, but not a lot seen alas.
This afternoon we enjoyed quite a cool circular walk from Shelf Hall Park.
Birds:
Garden:
Raven, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, 8 (2+6) Swallow.
Shelf Woods:
3 Jay, 5 Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, 2 Swallow,
Abi is 12 on Monday - what happened to the previous 11 years!!
She wanted some chicken bites for lunch from Wetherspoons Sowerby Bridge, as part of her birthday present! so we took her and Emma there this lunchtime.
Not much birding today, obviously, but I manged to get into the bathroom first this morning, and had an hours sky watch while the ladies got ready.
Nothing much over Bradshaw but a Green Woodpecker flew into the trees opposite me.
A couple of Swallows were seen in Bradshaw later.
A very high, distant, slow moving Raptor was seen over White Windows, Sowerby Bridge - probably a Buzzard or just maybe an Owl sp.
A cold evening jaunt up the local fields was spoiled a bit by a tractor with a chain harrow in the horse fields. (No Little Owls) just a few large Gulls in a mown field here.
A late evening cold garden sky watch had a small distant Raptor zooming south mobbed by a single Crow or another Raptor?
3 Photos of Sowerby Bridge Raptor:-
I was not free 'till after lunch today when I opted for a local walk about, up Bradshaw Lane then Taylor Lane and along Percy Rd and back.
I made a short detour along some of Ned Hill Track and Soil Hill main track to the quarry top.
Back home, and after a coffee, I had a look at the local fields.
(Late morning we enjoyed some exercise along Thornton cycle track and the obligatory Toasted Current T Cake and coffee in the excellent outdoor café (sitting in on of their huts).
A warm sunny day with quite a breeze on the top of Soil Hill.
Birds:-
Cycle Track:-
Buzzard seen, Nuthatch called.
Local Soil Hill Walk:-
Raven, Buzzard, 3 Kestrel sightings.
A few Meadow Pipit.
A Large 1st or 2nd cy Gull that the Crows were unhappy with.
Local Fields:-
6 Swallow plus one over the house later.
2 Little Owl, Kestrel.
One ??? on a line miles off.
A small flock of 25 presumably Goldfinch on a line miles off.
We had to visit Soyland this morning and afterwards we had a short diversion to Hollingworth Lake for some exercise.
The water here is so low that the receding shoreline has made viewing the now distant birds difficult.
A chilly, windy sort of day with rain arriving as we got home.
On the way there was stopped to have a look over Baitings Reservoir from the west side road bridge. The gale coming down the valley nearly blew you over.
The water here, like most local reservoirs, is really low.
On the way home we had a 5 mins stop to look at Blackstone Edge Reservoir - just a pr. Pied Wagtails seen here.
Birds:-
Nothing out of the ordinary at Hollingworth Lake as far as I could see:-
Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Cormorant.
Many Lapwing and many Teal, including one with what looks like blue in the wing pattern - however this is probably a trick of the light.
A large flock of Starling? airborne (going) and a large flock of Starling c200 on our return both flocks near Pavement Lane.
A Peregrine was seen later.
