Sunday, 13 November 2022

last few weeks

 struck down with gastric flu for a week left me feeling weak and tired 

30th october 


st aidens 


hard work walking this large reserve but managed to the osprey showing really well over astley lake 


osprey




 i heard a water pipit call as walked down the track between the reedbeds and north ings managed to see it flying towards middle ings 

after an hour i was fucked and headed home after seeing great egret osprey and water pipit 


early november was a washout so nothing 

 yesterday was family stuff but started the day at cromwell bottom lnr which i still call elland gravel pits 

what was once a beautiful area for birding with 2 lagoons a marsh and scrubland has now after 30 years just become a wood between the river and canal 


elland gravel pits 
around 1990 when the fence put up which stopped access to the ski lake 


i first visited in 1987 and it soon became my local patch from 1988 to 2000 i was obsessed by the place just 10 minutes away on the push bike sometimes i would visit 3 times a day 

it would never rival the places further east like fairburn or wintersett but for me it was heaven 

seen and found birds 


bittern

little egret

egyptian goose

barnacle goose

scaup

honey buzzard

caspian gull

glaucous gull

iceland gull

little gull

little tern

arctic tern

sandwich tern

short eared owl

redstart

tree sparrow

spotted sandpiper

grey headed wagtail

siberian chiffchaff

water pipit 

rock pipit

firecrest

smew

slavonian grebe 

lesser spotted woodpecker

jack snipe 


happy memories 


12th november 

cromwell bottom 


sparrowhawk 1

g s woodpecker 1

redwing 13

cormorant 6

bullfinch 5 

siskin 12

kingfisher 1


and just 23 miles down the motorway...........st aidens 


different world stunning place 

arrived at 11 spent nearly 2 hours before dads 80th birthday meal 


cetti's warbler 12

bearded tit 5

great egret 1

little egret 2 

stonechat 4

black necked grebe 1 

pintail 2

and t-shirt weather in november unreal 

great egret




a meal at the cross keys in hillam was really good a little gem 


and the bird of the day a long eared owl which flew across the road above ripponden a nearly hit the van 



No comments: