Shelf Woods / Soil Hill Walk / Local Fields

We enjoyed an exercise walk through Shelf woods after lunch today.

Another very cold day for so late into April.

A 'tad' muddy in places and not much to see really.

A Swallow and a Jay made an appearance with some of the usual crew.

On our way home, Sue dropped me at the Raggalds so I could take a nosy at Soil Hill via Percy Road.

2 Lapwing were on an ever dwindling Raggalds Flood.

It was quite cold along the north side of the hill but on the other side, amazingly quite mild.

I did not venture down Ned Hill Track just stayed on the top and went home via Taylor Lane.

Birds - Soil Hill  - Bradshaw Walk.

3 Buzzard, 3 Curlew, 3 Skylark.

2 Willow Warbler.

2 Pheasant, Pied Wagtail. Canada Goose.

1 Meadow Pipit.

Swallow.

Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Bradshaw Fields:

After tea I had yet another late evening stroll 'up the bog'.

The birds were kind to me this evening when  a Ring Ouzel hiding under a wall flew into a nearby tree and called a couple of times.

Birds:

Ring Ouzel.

Lapwing, Stock Dove, 3 Swallow.

Wheatear.

Chiffchaff, Pheasant, 2 Drake Mallard.

Barn Owl, 2 Little Owl.

 (Fox - "crying" ).

On The Buses / Bradshaw Fields Ring Ouzel

As the days grow longer we try to get some longer walk under our belt (before the belt won't fasten).

Today we caught the 9:30 502 Bus to Town followed by the 587 Rochdale bus as far as Littleborough.

We had a short (expensive) café break here before walking along the canal to Todmorden.

Lunch was at Todmorden Morrison's café, where we shared a toasted currant teacake (they had run out of T cakes - this is Morrison's where they sell oodles of T cakes!!) and a teeny, weeny Bakewell Tark each.

We continued along the canal to Hebden Bridge before catching the bus to Halifax.

It was quite cold and drizzly when we left the house this morning and I took a break from carrying anything 'optic' so we could get some miles done!

Birds:-

Song Thrush, 2 Moorhen, 3 Heron, 2 Pink Footed Geese, 5 Swallow, 2 Blackcap.

11 Miles walk today and we passed under 33 bridges -  started at bridge number 50 and finished at bridge number 17.

The construction of this canal must have been some feat of engineering.

Bradshaw Fields:-

After a later than usual tea I had a walk up the local fields.

First bird up was a distant Wheatear which was a bonus.

A very, very skittish Ring Ouzle landed in a distant tree and as I moved in that direction it immediately flew to hide in a second tree before leaving north (I think).

2 Little Owls were calling, just one seen.

A Barn Owl was hunting but very, very distant.

 A Green Woodpecker called from near the farm buildings,

2 Lapwing were in the horse field.

Female Blackbird.

Ring Ouzel photos below.

Looked like a 1st Winter bird?

 

Ogden / Raggalds Flood

Misty, rainy , cold and grotty for a lot of the day today.

Late afternoon the weather started to brightened a tad so I took the car over to Ogden.

With the poor weather at least the car park was quite quiet!

The dark tree canopy today was not complimentary to my poor photographic skills.

Just a lap of most of the water with a slight detour to look for Pied Flys where DJS found one. ( last year? ).

Further along  I headed up east through the woods at Ogden clough.

Nothing overly stunning seen to day , so, if you want to, carry on watching that interesting episode of Flog It! (I know you watch it - I just do).

Anyway .....  back at my interesting birding blog....

Birds:-

9 Willow Warbler.

6 Chiffchaff.

Green Woodpecker.

Great Spotted Woodpecker.

2 Oystercatcher overhead > N.

Curlews called from the moor.

"From the moor" they called or was it "Cur Loo".

Raven, possibly two, north end.

3 Greylag Geese , airborne, nearly made it to the water before heading back to disappear over Back lane.

2 Male Goosander were nice to see.

Pair Tufted Duck.

4 Nuthatch.

Mistle Thrush.

Usual Tit Species.

Mallard.

4 Canada Geese.

A solitary Lapwing was on a depleted Raggalds Flood.

A "Sky full" of Lapwing were seen from the car as I passed below the Shay Fields (North of Soil Hill) .

A Peregrine Falcon was seen earlier.

Pugneys seemed to be the place to be today with enough Artic Terns here to make an Artic Roll.

Ķ

Shibden Park / Bradshaw Fields

We took Emma out to Shibden Park this morning for some fresh air and some lunch in the café.

The park was very busy as was the café but we got a good table in the big pleasant room to the left of the loos.

Not a birding outing - just one circuit of the boating lake.

Mallard, Canada Goose, Moorhen, Coot (one nesting) and a Pair of Tufted Duck were seen.

Late evening I had my usual walk up the local fields where the weather turned decidedly chilly. 

It's still a major welly job along this path.

Mistle Thrush, Greenfinch, Swallow, Pr,. Mallard.

2 or 3 Meadow Pipit .

Red Legged Partridge.

2 Little Owl heard way down the bottom of the horse field - lots of scanning failed to find them.

Pheasant.

Top of the shop was a Wheatear on a fence near the big wall high up on the north side.

There was One fast moving 'gull type' high over the house this morning - tried for a photo - but messed it up 'slightly 👀 ".

On the buses with Stan Butler and Olive Rudge / Local Fields

A great day for a walk with bright sunshine as we left home around 9 this morning. The clouds were building during the day, but it remained dry. 

It came quite cool by 4:30 as we got home.

We caught a couple of buses - Bradshaw to Town and then Town to Todmorden.

From Tod. we walked along the canal to Luddenden Foot, catching 2 buses to Bradshaw cenotaph.

It was good to chat to JS and DJS who we bumped into near Brearley.

We called at a cafe in Hebden Bridge for a coffee and The Blue Teapot at Mytholmroyd provided our lunch of toasted currant T cake and a pop.

Not many birds moving skywards but we did eyeball enough to keep the interest ticking along nicely.

Birds:-

6 Large Gulls over Bradshaw looked like Lesser Black-backs.

A Song Thrush sang from the trees opposite our house.

1 Travel weary looking Swallow was on telephone lines opp. Bradshaw Cricket Club.

4 Swallow were seen together with 'another' four individual sightings as we sat outside the Blue Teapot noshing.

18 Chiffchaff.

4 Willow Warbler.

2 Nuthatch.

3 Blackcap.

Grey Wagtail.

2 pair of Goosander.

Buzzard.

Barnacle Goose.

Treecreeper.

6 Heron's nests - 2 Heron seen..

1 Heron was mobbed by a Crow as it moved from its perch.

Greenfinch.

1 Brood of 4 Mallard Ducklings and a second brood of 11 were seen.

Lots of nesting Canada Geese. 

Bradshaw Fields(p.m.):

Barn Owl, Little Owl, Green Woodpecker, Pheasant.

Loads of Rabbits.