A Fair Old Clog

13:15 – 18:00

Sue was kind enough to drop me at Union Lane Ogden and I enjoyed a tough hike around and about.

Leaving Union Lane I took the middle path that contours around the hillside towards the golf club. The ferns here were above my head in places (Yeh! 3 feet tall – I know). Seriously not a path I’d recommend.

It reminded me of Tarzan coming home from a hard day at work and saying “Jane, It’s a jungle out there” .

At the Golf Club I took the Mixenden path passing along side the golf course before turning left to cross the rough ground to the stile that leads towards Hunter Hill. 4 Wren,2 Bullfinch were heard but not seen. Also here there were  1 Meadow Pipit and 2 Linnet.

I retraced my steps and went on to Ogden water. A Great Crested Grebe, 1 Cormorant and c120 gulls were dotted around the water.

I was enjoying the walk , although the birding could have been better, so I decided to give Giant’s Tooth a good looking at.

It was very windy up here. There was 2 Nuthatch in the pine trees and a Meadow Pipit and skylark were also seen. Also an unknown probably a Chaffinch but the photo is poor.

Near the top stile I flushed 12 Red Grouse, they flew out of sight over the moor.

Retracing my steps towards the Tooth, I had a good old clump about in the tufted grass humps and soon wished I’d stayed on the path. However, just below the tooth in the pine trees, there was a lot of bird activity.

All the birds seemed to very flighty today and hard to see. I spotted a couple of  Chaffinch and a couple of Coal Tit and then what looked like a Willow Warbler or Chiffchaff.

Taking a closer look a juv. Spotted Flycatcher showed itself, but only very briefly.

There were at least 3 Spotted  Flycatcher there, and, usually they sit patiently and allow a photo – not today, they were behaving more like Coal Tit no sooner landing than taking off again.

I managed a few pics anyway, and the experience put a smile on my face.

I left the Tooth and returned to Ogden briefly before heading off towards the plantation, Coal Lane and Soil Hill.

As I trekked along Coal Lane I could see a well know figures’ silhouette patrolling  long the top of Soil Hill!

18:40

I was waning now so I gave Soil Hill a cursory looking at. Just c10 Swallow, 4 Meadow Pipit and c30 Starling on the Mast was all I could come up with.

As I was leaving Soil Hill I was greeted with the lovely sight of a Wheatear . one of my favourite birds, running about on the main track.

On the way home via Taylor Lane (no Cuckoo) a Magpie scared off a pigeon sized bird. At first I thought it might be a Merlin but I now think it was either a juv. Woodpigeon or a Stock Dove – it did not seem to fly like a falcon.

Just a Kestrel and 6 or so Common Gulls in the fields as I came down Bradshaw lane.

The Spotted Flycatchers really made my day – not a bird I see often, locally.

My first pass through Giant's tooth - Chaffinch??

Chiffchaff or Willow Warbler. I think Chiffcahff

Difficult to get the camera to focus quickly enough before the bird moved on

Hey Up Bri!

A couple of pics of a large gull, taken from Soil Hill looking towards Ogden