A 'Tick' at last

Sue's friend Geraldine came for a visit this morning and I took the opportunity to have a local birding walk.

As I left I said to Sue "It's Redstart Day" 

Her reply

"You've being saying that for the last 3 outings".

(Got to live in hope).

My walk took me along the Bradshaw Fields through and past Crabtree Hall Farm and up Ned Hill Road, over Soil Hill and down Taylor Lane to home.

The weather was ideal for a walk today with a light breeze and not too warm.

The 1st stretch of the walk from Ward's View to Crabtree Hall Farm was 'swarming' with birds.

A slight drawback was that they were to the north of me and under the hillside mostly in silhouette.

Mistle Thrush, Starlings and Goldfinch were plentiful and it looked like there were quite a number of Chiffchaff as well.

I've plumped for Chiffchaff rather than Willow Warbler mainly because of the dark looking legs - although the photos are not great so they could be Willow Warbs.

Could of course have been some of both species.

Top of the shop was a flash of red, to my right,  just after Ward's View.

A (Common) Redstart dropped into the undergrowth there.

It flashed out again onto some bilberry plants for half a second and flashed back in again!

It took 30 minutes or so to get a half decent photo of the Redstart - then of course - it landed on a fence post and relaxed for a while!

With my 1st Calderdale tick in a while, it was hard to supress a smile as I walked on - even a miserable old sod like me, has to smile now and again.

The large ploughed up top of Soil Hill is beginning to show some green stuff - lots of thistles and other 'weeds'.

Birds:-

Redstart.

Chiffchaff  / Willow Warbler.

Meadow Pippit.

Great Spotted Woodpecker.

8 Canada Geese.

Whitethroat scolding.

c10 Mistle Thrush near the farms with ones and two flitting about later.

c20 Starlings.

50 (30, 20) Goldfinch.

Song Thrush.

6 Stock Dove.

2 Pheasant.

A 'Grey' Raptor, Stock Dove sized fly past me on Ned Hill Road bottom - I just saw the back end of it and it was away alas.

Lesser Black-backed Gull.

3 Kestrel.

Swallow.

Coat Tit.

A few Rook with (too) many Magpie and Crows on Taylor lane fields.

A short late afternoon sky watch brought with it a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls, A calling Red Legged Partridge and 2 Heron.

Chiffchaff Below:-

Meadow Pipit Below:-

Juv. Meadow Pipit - Soil Hill Grass.

Kestrels