Bradshaw - Soil Hill Top - Ogden Water - Bradshaw Farm Track

9:45 - 13:45

A cool sunny morning warmed up but clouded up a bit as I enjoyed a 4 hour birding walk today.

Pretty quiet on Soil Hill Top but Meadow Pipit were popping up all around and 3 Skylark were up there.

I enjoyed my Yorkie Bar and a coffee when I got to Ogden Water and I did one circuit of the water.

I fared a bit better today with a few birds 'saying hello.

The water remains stubbornly low but there is rain in this week's forecast.

Lots of Pinkies reported going west but I did not see any in my bit of sky - in fact the sky was very quiet.

Birds:-

Soil Hill Area:

Wren. Robin. c30 Meadow Pipit.

3 Pheasant. 3 Skylark.

Ogden Area:

Kestrel. Buzzard. 

F. Goosander.

c170 Gulls.

3 Nuthatch.

1 Tufted Duck.

1 Cormorant. 

1 Great Spotted Woodpecker.

2 Grey Wagtail. 

1 Pied Wagtail.

Chaffinch. Goldfinch. 2 Bullfinch.

1 Little Grebe,

1 Teal.

After Ogden - Just 11 Canada Geese worth mentioning on the way home.

An hour, before dusk,  up the local fields brought nothing worth a mention alas.

Little & Large.

Large Gull High Over the House This Aft.

 

Local Fields - This Evening

I picked Abby up from school on Friday and she stayed overnight 

It was good to have her company on Saturday and we had a short park visit where we lobbed a tennis ball at a baseball bat and tried to whack it as far as we could.

Later, on her way back to Wakefield,  we met up with her dad at Hipperholme.

There were very many pony and trap types coming up the road and I wondered if they were going to the Appleby horse fair - but checking the web-thing the fair happens in June.

This evening after a late tea I had a wander up the local fields where it was bright and sunny.

There were 20 or so bullocks in the fields further along, so I did not cross them.

Birds:-

Pheasant.

2 Little Owl.

Kestrel.

12 Canada Geese.

c20 Small birds way way off, on a telegraph line that I thought were Goldfinch - not sure now - the photo is rubbish.

Pied Wagtail.

Green Woodpecker called.

A Heron - way, way off on the Bradshaw Pond.

3 Starlings.

Goldfinch - or maybe not!!

Bradshaw - Soil Hill Top - Ogden Water - Bradshaw Farm Track Again (Wed)

11:00 - 15:15

After a very poor wet morning things brightened up leaving a warm sunny day.

I did my usual walk over Soil Hill etc.

It was very pleasant going around Ogden Water and I called at the 'cafe' on arrival and again on departure.

Birds:-

Home to Soil Hill Top.

Common Gull. 4 Pheasant. Kestrel. Pied Wagtail.

7 Skylark. c20 Meadow Pipit. c30 Goldfinch.

Ogden Water - Farm Tracks - Home.

4 Teal.

Pied Wagtail.

1 Tufted Duck. 

Coal Tit,

4 Cormorant.

3 Nuthatch. 

2 Buzzard.

Little Grebe.

Merlin reported a calling Yellow Legged Gull.

I've had a look through the many photographs that I have taken today , but the distance to the 'peninsular' and the bright sunlight plays havoc with the colours - so no Y.L.G. yet this year!!

2 Kestrel. 

An enjoyable outing.

Teal - North End saying ttfn.

Teal - above - Bread lobbers Area.

Teal - Below - North End.

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Kestrel Bradshaw Fields.

Bradshaw - Soil Hill Top - Ogden Water - Bradshaw Farms

8:45 - 13:00

A coolish, silent start to the day - got quite HOT by lunchtime.

I had a very enjoyable stroll up to and over Soil Hill Top around Ogden Water and home via Crabtree Hall Farm track.

Hardly a breeze on Soil Hill and it was quiet as a mouse with lovely scenery.

I enjoyed my obligatory coffee and Yorkie Bar ( No Twix on offer again!) with volunteers  Pat and Steve.

I did one circuit of the water eyeballing B.S's Widgeon pair , that he reported were here this a.m.

I'm either a rubbish birder or the earlier 8 Teal had left - probably the first option and I just didn't see 'em. 

I May have got one Teal , very distant on the west side - seen from the prom. but the photo is poor - see what you think.

Got home, made mesen a chicken salad, mowed the lawn then did a quick rendition of Danny Farrell as I made my coffee.

Sat roasting in the garden for a while.

I'm a bit late posting this .... someone forced me to go for a beer in The Fleece in Bradshaw this evening -  as  if.

Birds:-

Taylor Lane to Ogden Water.

c30 Common Gull and 1 Black Headed Gull on Percy Road.

Kestrel.

A few Meadow Pipit and Linnet.

8 Goldfinch and 6 Skylark on Soil Hill Top,

Chaffinch and Long Tailed Tit.

Ogden Water to Home.

c80 Small and c60 Large Gulls.

4 Cormorant, Raven, 2 Nuthatch, Buzzard,

Little Grebe,

3 Chiffchaff. Siskin.

Pr. Wigeon.

A Kestrel was being plagued by a pair of Jackdaw nearer home.

 

Skylark.

Maybe a Teal - Maybe a Mallard??

Bradshaw Fields

18:00 - 19:00

I enjoyed a late evening walk along the Bradshaw Fields (but not far).

The rain had packed in and the low bright sun shone in me face.

Later it became cloudy and gloomy and I followed suit with not much happening.

Birds:-

c20 Meadow Pipit.

2 Little Owl.

5 Herring Gull.

1 Lesser Black-backed Gull.
Not a lot else.

Thornwick Bay Carvan Park Hoilday.

This week I have been on holiday with my niece, Vanessa in a huge caravan with all mod. cons. at Haven Holiday Park - Thornwick Bay.

The weather was really good for late September.

Monday 21st September 2026.

Nice and sunny today.

Got here at 4 ish and settled in - went to the Viking Inn for tea.

Tuesday 22nd September - 2026.

Nice and sunny today.

Flamborough Head.

......

We drove down to park in the Flamborough Head car park where the dreaded cash-less carpark machines sat looming over us.

Fortunately Vanessa is 'with it' so she downloaded the "MIPermit" app. and managed to pay for parking via Apple Pay - all clever stuff (Or not very clever if you are me!).

Many senior people were baffled or annoyed (or a mixture of both) with this new arrangement. With many saying - let's go somehwhere else.

I wonder how many different carpark payment apps are in existence?

.....

We enjoyed a butty for lunch and a walk along the cliffs.

Thousands of Starling were on lines.

Seals. Gannets. Linnets. Meadow Pipits.

Little Egret. Oystercatcher. Kestrel.

Guillemot. Cormorant.

Tree Sparrows on the turquoise feeding bucket here.

There was a couple of "feeding frenzy" areas, way out to sea that someone said were caused by Dolphin rounding up fish into a large shoal?

Thornwick Bay Bird Hide.

(Not much juice in the pond)

Teal. 1 Snipe.

Greylag Geese. Linnet. 

Singing Chiffchaff.

House Martins.

Pied Wagtail.

Wednesday 23rd September 2026.

A dull morning here and I decided to have a walk down to the bird hide.

Thornwick Bay Bird Hide.

I had the place to myself and the cold wind was blowing through the open viewing 'flaps' brrrrr. but the weather improved nicely as the day progressed.

Much the same as yesterday but a Dunlin did drop in.

A bit later many very distant calling Geese, which I wrongly  assumed to be Pink Feet circled and landed on the pond - 184 Greylag, give or take a gander or two.

Later on we walked to the north side cliff path and turned right along the cliff to meet the road at "The Viking Inn".

Gannets, a Kestrel and over 100 Rock Dove were seen along the walk.

Someone dragged me inside and I was handed a "Marry me glass".

Funny that  - the letters on the glass - when messed about with, read the same as its contents "Sammy's Lager".

Thornwick Bay Bird Hide.

A late evening look at the bird hide had the addition of 2 Wigeon Duck and the Dunlin was present.

Leaving to walk back to the caravan I met 6 local birders on a serious hunt for a reported possible sighting of a scarce "Rufous Tailed Robin".

I joined in the hunt (which meant walking back and forth over 100 yds or so) but no one saw the bird and at 19:10 we left -  by now, it was quite a cold dark evening.

Thursday 24th September, 2026.

Another sunny day after a chilly night.

Today we drove to Filey and enjoyed some relaxed shopping.

We walked along the sea front and I did a short birding stint along the beach to Filey Brigg.

The place was packed, given this great weather.

Short Filey Birding Walk.

2 Sanderlings were on Filey beach, everything else was distant on Filey Brigg rocks.

Thornwick Bay Bird Hide.

Late evening I headed down to the bird hide where there were 3 Snipe a Dunlin the usual Teal and Linnet and a bonus of a Corn Bunting

Not a mega serious birding outing but a really enjoyable few days away on the beautiful East Yorkshire Coast.

FILEY.