Bradshaw Fields and Soil Hill

A strenuous day for an old geezer today.

A cracking mild-ish bright day,

Sue's cough from hell still persists and today she had a second appointment with the doctor.

It seems like there is a lot of this nasty bug floating about.

This morning I had a short walk up the local fields to the 1st farm and back.

This afternoon I intended to do the usual Bradshaw - Soil Hill - Farms route but things ended up slightly different.

Going up Soil Hill main track I bumped into DP and enjoyed some reminiscing.

Later along the east - west path I met DJB coming the other way.

We stood sky watching and chatting about Rocket Science for a while before I headed off towards Ned Hill track and DJB towards the North Slope.

However, during a call of nature (an age thing) my phone rang and DJB invited me to return to see him on the north slope where , he had flushed a Woodcock and I had flushed... well lets no go there!

I took him up on the offer and legged it back , and , down the north slope but we were unable to relocate the bird.

Undeterred DJB invited me to come with him to 'claggy clay land' further down, to search for Snipe with his radar gun (or whatever it is).

We had more joy in bog land where we managed 4 Common and a Jack Snipe.

Both species new to me in 2024 and the Jack Snipe rarely makes it to my birding yearly list.

I don't normally venture this far into the wasteland and as I ran back up the hill I realised why. 

(OK I didn't run).

A couple of 2024 ticks was well worth the effort though making 79 so far this year.

Cheers Daniel.

Birds:-

4 Common Snipe.

1 Jack Snipe.

Possible Great Back Backed Gull.

2 Little Owl.

Pheasants.

4 Curlew.

5 skylark.

30+ Meadow Pipit Bradshaw Fields plus 60+ on The Hill.

Lapwing defending territory.

1 Buzzard over the garden + 1 Bradshaw Fields + 2 Buzzards Soil Hill,

2 Lesser Black-backed Gull.

2 Stonechat.

3 Stock Dove.

Moorhen.

Heron.

2 Red Legged Partridge.

and a few others,

Fox.

What have I got above?

3 Photos below of a very very distant Gull.

I put it on the grapevine as a Great Black-backed.

But looking at the photos I think a Great Black-backed

should have some white at the end of the wings.

This bird may not have that?

So maybe is a Lesser?

See what you think.

But it was BIG!

Jack Snipe.