You never know when

Had an eye test this morning and had arranged to meet my wife (separated) and go round the charity shops in Shipley
With a hour to kill I thought I would drive to the with and then pick her up
Pulling off the m62 lots of crows flying around seemed to be mobbing something,all of sudden a female sparrowhawk  is diving into the plantation
One of the most common raptors finally on the list

Hoping

Really foggy this morning, at times less than 50m visibility
2 meadow pipits
1 dipper
1 reed bunting
1 carrion crow

Chav city

This year I've been mostly going around dawn and it's been great, peace and quiet and birds but yesterday I visited around midday
Quad bikes and really vicious looking dog, I have a dog but still if you can only walk it in the middle of nowhere then it shouldn't  exist
So headed back to the van
So around the depot

Wren 1
Carrion crow 2
Kestrel 1

Learning

No sign of anything just a few pipits going sw. By the time I got to the pump house I was feeling deflated, after some coffee I headed back the mist was starting to set in,the tops where covered and for 15 minutes the birds came
56 lapwing
Bh gull 65
Herring gull 6
Gbb gull 1
Skylark 2

Yesterday's reed buntings where still present and made a move I watched as they all moved to the head of the valley fed on thistles before flying off over the moor amazing
Don't think of reed bunts migrating

Hard work

Took 40 minutes to get here!!
Before I'd parked up 2 jays went sw plus 1 redwing
From then it was bitty ....nothing along the track apart from 4 goldfinch heard a few reed buntings.
The res had 3 mallard all male, pump house tree had 2 wren. That was it walked back and decieded to do the m62 pool grey wag and 58 pink footed geese heading to Lancashire
Highlight was 27+ reed buntings in the bracken valley and more were dropping in as the mist came down the hills

Yesterday 15th September

Back to its usual poor visit, my own fault for not going at dawn due to copious beer drunk the night before!!
So just after midday very little not the usual masses of meadow pipits just 30+ heading sw a wheatear livened up the walk but she soon shot off sw a crow and red grouse made a brief appearance and 4 twite

This is why I love it up here

Arrived at 0750 first bird a male chaffinch sat on wires 2nd record for me here, this is why I love this place ... The previous month I found a yellow wagtail here again my 2nd record,so upto the moment I saw the chaffinch yellow wagtail was commoner up here! And that got me thinking
Because it's so bleak and high and the only bird that is resident up here is carrion crow everything else is good
More sightings of common scoter 3 records totalling 71 birds than tufted duck 1 bizzare!!
It really is a level playing field up here
Anyway

Chaffinch 1 male
Goldfinch 28
Twite 49
Meadow pipit 100+
Pied wagtail 2
Wheatear 7
Carrion crow 1
Kestrel 1
Swallow 4
Chiffchaff 3
Wren 1
Stonechat 2
Red grouse 2

Soaked

Got here for 6.50am misty drizzle  it's ok walking with your back to sw wind and rain but it gets you on the way back

Meadow pipit 80 +
Wheatear 2
Skylark 1
Buzzard 1
Carrion crow 2
Canada goose 11

Wheatears every where

Sunny and cold this morning clear blue skies
Wheatear in the drain then another and another on the dam plus another on the fence,not bad.
Then 7 went straight through chased by meadow pipits.
2 lbb gulls went west and 2 Canada geese dropped in
Twite are up to 40+ mainly  by the pump house , a kestrel over the ridge was nice to see.

I headed back and decided to check the pond, it's not a bad area always got something .... And it didn't disappoint 3 reed bunts 26 goldfinch 1 dunnock and a chiffchaff  a grey wagtail flew over

Love it

Up the with this morning

Carrion crow 2
Meadow pipit 40+
Wheatear 3
Buzzard 1
House Martin 1
Twite 26
Mallard 4
Shelduck 2

Green withens Twite

Me and the bear aka Jessie got there for 7 am.
Lots of meadow pipits in total approx 100 maybe more as they like the bracken. Wren and reed bunting calling, 2 wheatears along the dam plus lots of twite around 70 in two groups
They like the thistles along the track plus bracken and they like to settle on the wire fence. Nice to see  such large numbers.
A kestrel and a couple pied wagtails rounded off a nice walk

A good mornings birding

Arrived at 07:50 it looked good sw wind and heavy cloud on the Pennine ridge. Nothing in the valley . First bird seen was a meadow pipit along the track/drain, more mpipits by the boathouse plus 28 twite, this is proberly the only flock in Calderdale...cool no sign of colour rings on them.
A distant bird flying sw in the low mist proved to be a buzzard. The rest of walk was livened up by 3 swallows going west. A skylark was by the track and more mpipits at the rear of the depot along with a wheatear

Green withens by accident Saturday

We'll off we went in the camper van, as we got to junction 22 it made a funny noise so parked up where I usually park the weather was shite
Whilst the wife phoned the RAC, I put the kettle on got out the bins and watched a lull in the weather saw 2 wheatears head sw towards rockingstones. I headed up the depot track 3 goldfinch feeding on thistles they brighten up a dull wet day then what happened next was really amazing a dozen swallows flew up the valley struggling in the wind and rain 2 nearly hit me, I heard a crow looked round a HOBBY going full pelt chasing the swallows!! Amazing
Eventually we were back on the road and soon got to Pilling where the weather was not much better! I was chatting about the hobby and how you just have to be in the right place at the right time.

How on earth we put this up is beyond me 

Up the with

Great birding this morning 

Arrived at around 07:20 

As soon as parked up the van I could see loads of meadow pipits darting about around 30, this looks good.
The small valley by the parking spot had a juv willow warbler juv blue tit (scarce up here) I hears the tack of a blackcap but never saw it, 3 swallows flew south a adult grey heron flew low down east
After a good while I set off the the res 
The track held more meadow pipits and a couple of pied wags, a bird calling overhead got my attention a faint "tsst" yellow wagtail get in ! Second record , eventually it doubled back and landed in the drain. It was very flighty saw it few more times but always briefly 
Cormorant went east high up 
More meadow pipits around the dam walls along with 3 wheatears on the dam fence and 4 twite on the overflow bridge 
6 swallows went south and 2 ravens went north

A good mornings birding

Green withens

up at dawn but fannying about meant I got there around 830
Great selection of birds today

Wren 1
Meadow pipit
Skylark
Pied wagtail
Red grouse
Swallow
Carrion crow
Mallard
Canada goose
Dunlin
Common sandpiper
Curlew
Little ringed plover
Wheatear
Reed bunting

Cloughton

a lovely visit this weekend
Parked the van up opened the chairs and sat

Peregrine 1
Yellowhammer 2
Blackcap
Whitethroat
Willow warbler
Sand Martin 23
Swallow
Fulmar 6
Gannet lots
Grey partridge 2

Jessie bear happy

Sunrise at cloughton  

Thorp Arch

Work has brought me to Thorp Arch near Wetherby
Today my first singing chiffchaff of the year which caught me off guard cos it was so cold, plus 3 red kites 4 buzzards 1 curlew and lots of pied wagtails

Foggy

Foggy but mild here this morning
I was joined by a nice guy called boothe my memory is lacking so cannot remember the chaps first name sorry

Kestrel 1
Red grouse 7
Meadow pipit 1
Carrion crow 3
Twite 9 still at the far end
Goosander male and female circling just disappeared into the fog good 2nd record

No sign of the water pipit 

Water pipit

first light still cold but a pleasant morning
A kestrel as I pulled up was a good start then a meadow pipit flew over, a dipper in the channel was a surprise, usually a November bird
6 red grouse and the usual crows
At the boat house a pipit flew off no call and striking white outer tail feathers and wing bars, it flew off behind the containers and lost to view. Soon found it feeding on the banking by the boats, a brilliant water pipit! A couple of dogs appeared and it flew off out of sight
The twite were still by the pump house so put some seed down for them

Freezing cold

absolutely freezing up here this morning 

After Tuesdays visit it seemed back to a normal winter up here with only 1 carrion crow seen after half hour 

Nothing on the res , got to the pump house tree nothing then 2 small birds flew up and landed 2 twite after a while they flew and fed on the ground brilliant views one was ringed red above white and orange above a bto ring a quick investigation revealed it was ringed in 2014 nearby that’s quite a old twite! Then 7 more joined so 9 in all 

Also 2 raven over and a b h gull 

New Year’s Day up green withens

Very mild but windy at dawn
Many years ago I recorded no birds on New Year’s Day how things have changed!

Peregrine 1 male
Red grouse 2
Fieldfare 1
Redwing 3
Reed bunting 1 male
Meadow pipit 1
Wood pigeon 22 west
Herring gull 16 east
Gbb gull 2 east
Carrion crow 6