Bradshaw - Soil Hill - Bradshaw

14:25 - 16:25

Abi and Emma today but I did get out late afternoon for a couple of hours birding.

Tough going today, with a short lived hailstone shower early on.
But the feature of the weather was the NW Soil Hill gale force wind making it difficult to stand up.

Good to chat to the 'GI brothers' parked up on Ned Hill Track end.

Birds:

Not many!
2 Mistle Thrush near the farms.
Chaffinch in Ned Hill Conifers.
Pheasant flushed from Soil Hill.
c30 Woodpigeon.
Stock Dove.
A few small Gulls.
A Wagtail sp. landed in the Taylor Lane midden,10 feet from me and swiftly disappeared!

Curlew / Woodcock:

The Curlew sighting I reported a few days back has had me thinking (a dangerous thing when you have a small brain like mine).
I have come to the conclusion that the bird was a Woodcock.

The bird, with a very long bill, bigger than Snipe,flushed from rough ground high on the north side of the Soil Hill within 10 yds or so of me.
It flew low downhill sweeping left in a semi-circle to land in rough ground lower down.
It was definitely neither of the 2 Snipe species, so I am happy with Woodcock which is a very rare sighting for me.
I'll be hoping to get a picture of one up there,before the week is out (hoping is the operative word).

Fore Lane Area:

I had a walk up Fore Lane area this morning while Sue was getting Emma, ready for the off,at White Windows.
I was hoping to take another look for the possible Barnacle Goose. I seem to have remembered the location of the water works incorrectly.
I though it was seen from just above White Windows, but my memory of my earlier viewpoint must be haywire because I did not have time to get far enough up the road to see it in the time I could spare -must my age!!

We stopped the car above Mixenden Reservoir on our way home, hoping for Whoopers,  but nothing came of it except a Cormorant.

Sue and I like to have a conversation at 12.59 most days - we like that one-to-one time.

Looks like we are in for a blizzard this evening.

Loads of potential