elland gravel pits retrospective

 this morning had my first ever walk around scamonden res despite the rain it was nice felt wierd to be walking under the M62

soaked to the skin i checked west yorkshire birding and bri had done a post on elland gravel pits a place i really enjoyed from 1987 to 2001 14 years wow 

i first visited in may 1987 i was still at school so dad took me , remember machines still working in the lagoons which are now overgrown 

it really was a great place.......the following year i started working and had a bike so i would make the 15 minute ride down the valley, inspired by bill oddies "gone birding" which i used to get from the libary, until i could afford my own copy 

the lagoons were still a work in progress and just pools of water  with no vegitation but the autumn of 88 was great wader year so apart from little ringed plover which tried breeding i recorded ringed plover, redshank,green sandpiper,greenshank,dunlin it was stunning 

the place was usually quiet of people just the odd fisherman on the canal or the fishing lake 

many sedge warblers used to be here and the odd lesser whitethroat 

in 1989 

the lagoons in summer used to get lots of lesser black backed gulls bathing in the late afternoon and within a week pull in little gull and little tern and proberley a yellow legged gull but back then it was just herring gulls 

i did find a pair of lesser spotted woodpeckers displaying and nest building stunning sight 

sadly overtime my memory has become hazy old age i guess 

but elland gravel pits for a brief time was great 

best birds 

bittern 

smew

slavonian grebe

scaup 

red breasted merganser

redstart

siberian chiffchaff

little gull

little tern

sandwich tern

arctic tern

iceland gull

short eared owl

tree sparrow 

honey buzzard

spotted sandpiper 

grey headed wagtail

waxwing

egyptian goose

lesser spotted woodpecker

green sandpiper 

greenshank

black tailed godwit 

jack snipe 

sadly today the area is overgrown in many places, i still go a few time every year but its not what it used to be.

i always hoped a group would form for the site as the RSPB once had its offices in the mill by avocet 

there is a group now running the site but sadly its self serving 

a sad end to once great site