Monday 11 March 2024

Ogden Water

   The jetlag was finally begun to reside a little, which meant today I was able to get out birding. It helped that the poor weather had eased a little and it was actually nice to be out birding again. Yesterday there had been a flock of Whooper Swans on Ogden, and since the weather was still quite dull it followed that they would still be present.

  I headed to Ogden at around 08:30 to find all 21 birds from the previous day still present on the water. They were not particularly vocal, leading me to think they may have moved on whilst I walked down to the waters edge. Once there however the birds were quite happy and would swim near to the sides at times as well, allowing for some nice shots of them.

  After Ogden I headed to Soil Hill for a look round, where I had a flock of 15 Whooper Swans flying north. It is impossible to know if these are some of the same birds from Ogden, but it is certainly a possibility. A nice return to Calderdale birding after six weeks away. 

Whooper Swan

Monday 29 January 2024

Thailand; Day 1 - arrival

   So begins the first day of the next birding trip, and the first in 2024. This time I was travelling with a group of friends from Spurn; Paul Collins, Sarah Harris, Rob Hunton and Kate Fox. We had fancied heading to Thailand for some time, and we finally got it arranged for early this year, with the hope of visiting some of the northern national parks and then heading to the south for a few other birds.

  We left Manchester on the 28th, departing at 08:00 in the morning, and arriving at our change in Bahrain early in the evening. After a four-hour wait there, we then continued on to Bangkok, arriving in Thailand at 09:00 in the morning. Here we had a six-hour wait before we would take an internal flight up to the city of Chiang Mai in the north, so that gave us some time to bird around the airport. We had plenty of Painted Storks fly over, and had even a few new birds with Great Myna, Asian Palm Swift and House Swift.

  Late afternoon, around 15:00, we boarded our flight north and finally reached the end of our travels. We quickly picked up the car, a Nissan X-Trail we reserved through Europcar, and set off out of the city to a small homestead to the south, halfway between Chiang Mai and the first national park we would visit in the morning, which Paul had reserved through booking.com. We were absolutely exhausted at this point so showered and crashed, ready to get started with the birding the following day. 

Species List:
Suvarnabhumi International Airport: Feral Pigeon, Red Collared Dove, Spotted Dove, House Swift, Asian Palm Swift, Painted Stork, Little Egret, Great Egret, Red-rumped Swallow, Common Myna, Great Myna, House Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, White Wagtail, 

Monday 22 January 2024

Sandbeach Outflow twitching Red-breasted Goose

   After our success with the Northern Waterthrush we continued on to the Essex coastline where there had been a Red-breasted Goose seen among the rafts of thousands of Brent Geese on the arable fields there. So we spent the rest of the daylight hours here enjoying some very pleasant birding, with a wide variety of species on offer.

  Sadly, despite searching through over 5000 Brent Geese during the afternoon, we failed to find the Red-breasted Goose. It was reported at another location around lunchtime so we headed there, but ultimately failed in our quest. Still, it was very enjoyable and we still had some rare goose action with a Black Brant and a Pale-bellied Brent Goose at the second location we checked. 

  In addition the birding was excellent, with flocks of Corn Buntings being the highlight, a species I see so infrequently in the UK. There were also groups of waders around, especially Golden Plover in the fields. Despite the dip, it was an excellent afternoons birding. 

-Dark-bellied Brent Geese & Marsh Harrier
-Black Brant & Dark-bellied Brent Geese
-Corn Bunting

Species List:
Sandbeach Outflow: Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Pale-bellied Brent Goose, Black Brant, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Common Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Pied Avocet, Grey Plover, European Golden Plover, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Common Snipe, Common Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Grey Heron, Western Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Cetti's Warbler, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, European Robin, European Stonechat, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, European Rock Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Chaffinch, Common Linnet, Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer, Common Reed Bunting, 

Saturday 20 January 2024

Heybridge Creek twitching Northern Waterthrush

   I headed down to London for a weekend of visiting David Darrel-Lambert, and on the Saturday we decided to spend the day out birding in the adjacent county of Essex, where there were a few interesting birds on offer, the most notable of these of course being the Northern Waterthrush that turned up about a month prior. Since its initial discovery, it had become more erratic in its sightings in the small creek it had frequented, and we did not know how long we would have to wait before we might actually see the bird.

  We arrived on site at 07:25, just as the visibility started to improve. Maddeningly, it turned out the bird had briefly visited at 07:18, and as such we had just missed it, although seeing it in the near darkness would not have been a particularly exciting. Still, that meant we had to wait around, and in the end we endured two and a half hours in the freezing cold waiting for the bird to return, which fortunately it eventually did.

  The bird returned at around 10:00, calling loudly as it flew in. It then spent about 5-10 minutes moving up and down the creek feeding on the edge of the frozen waterway before flying into a nearby tree and then off again at height. During its short stay it offered absolutely brilliant views jumping across broken reed stems and walking along the edge of the ice, well worth the long and painful wait. 

-Northern Waterthrush

Species List:
Heybridge Creek:
Canada Goose, Egyptian Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Tufted Duck, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Moorhen, Northern Lapwing, Common Snipe, Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Cormorant, Little Egret, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Cetti's Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Chaffinch, Common Reed Bunting, Northern Waterthrush, 

Tuesday 16 January 2024

Rishworth Moor

  It was a stunning winter day, with frosty ground and clear blue skies. After a walk around Soil Hill in the morning I decided to take the car out and try to work on my Calderdale year list, checking out a few locations with resident species that I could see nicely and easily. One of these that I was especially keen to see were the Twite on Rishworth Moor.

  The previous week I had visited with Harry Coghill, and although we did see three individuals at one location, they quickly left and we had no further sign. Consequently, today I returned hoping to get some better views and hopefully some photos in nice light. It took a few hours of checking different locations before I eventually found them, back at the first site I had checked. Here there were only two individuals, but they were busy tucking into seed that seemingly kept them occupied, allowing me to approach reasonably close without disturbing them. 

  It is sad to see the decline of the species even during my time in Halifax, with this now being the last site to find them, having previously seen them at several different spots in years gone by. How much longer the colony here lingers, only time will tell. 

-Twite


Species List:
Rishworth Moor:
Common Goldeneye, Stock Dove, European Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Wren, White-throated Dipper, Mistle Thrush, European Stonechat, Grey Wagtail, Twite, Common Reed Bunting, 

Wednesday 10 January 2024

Soil Hill

  Having searched almost every day since my return to the UK at the start of November, it's hard to believe it's taken until the 9th of January to find my first Soil Hill Jack Snipe of the winter. But fortunately, it was worth the wait with a grand total of three individuals being flushed when searching through their usual haunts. Presumably, this apparent arrival of Jack Snipe is a product of the cold front moving through, with seriously cold temperatures on the continent. Whatever the reason, it is good that they are back.

-Jack Snipe

  Buoyed by my success with finding Jack Snipes the previous day, this morning I went up again in the company of Harry Coghill, and using the thermal whilst patiently moving through the marsh, we managed to locate an individual before it flushed, offering absolutely unbelievable views as it relayed totally on its camouflage. This is only the third time I have found an individual this way, and hopefully, it will not be the last. 

-Jack Snipe

Species List:
Soil Hill: Canada Goose, Mallard, Common Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Jack Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Common Buzzard, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, Redwing, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, European Robin, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Bullfinch, European Goldfinch, 

Friday 29 December 2023

Soil Hill

  It's been a steady old month of birding. The weather has been shocking, and it is largely a consequence of the horrendous weather that I have found myself giving the Hill a wide berth. Today, however, despite the gales and the passing rainstorms, I headed up and was rewarded with probably the best views I've ever had of the local Grey Partridges. They were feeding near the Taylor Lane turnoff from Perseverance Road, on my walk, and were still present on my return, so decided to drive back up, and using the car as a hide I was able to approach the birds nice and close. Presumably, the same family group that has been around since the summer, indicating another successful breeding season at this site.

-Grey Partridge

Species List:
Soil Hill: Pink-footed Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Grey Partridge, Common Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Grey Heron, Common Buzzard, Western Barn Owl, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Redwing, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Dunnock, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Bullfinch, 

Monday 18 December 2023

Arden Road twitching Waxwing

With Waxwings continuing to inhabit various suburban districts of Halifax, I decided to head down and have another look, this time a very nice flock of 42 birds on Arden Road. Upon arriving, there was not a sight or sound of any, only a very tasty-looking berry tree on the edge of the school. Fortunately, no sooner had I got out of the car, than the flock arrived and after perching up for a few minutes, they nervously descended to gorge themselves. It is a pleasure to enjoy these fantastic birds once again, with hopefully more to come this winter.
-Waxwing

Species List:
Arden Road: Feral Pigeon, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Redwing, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Bohemian Waxwing, Pied Wagtail, European Goldfinch,

Friday 1 December 2023

Skircoat Green twitching Waxwing

  I was sat at home organising my papers from Madagascar before starting again for Thailand, when the Calderdale Birders WhatsApp group pinged with a message from DJS about Waxwings in Skircoat Green. Finally, after seemingly turning up everywhere, these stunning birds have reached Halifax. Huge thanks to DJS for checking all the old hotspots in order to turn them up.

  After a twenty-minute drive I arrived and in the company of DJS we enjoyed watching the birds move around between the tall trees. In total we counted 15 individuals, sticking together. Sadly the light was already failing, but perhaps more enjoyable was simply listening to the birds as the noise did not stop the entire time we were there.

  In the end they flew off towards Saville Park and with the light almost gone, I decided to head home. Still, they will no doubt remain in the area for a few days, so I may well pay another visit before too long, to maybe get some photos in better light conditions.  

-Waxwings

Species List:
Skircoat Green: Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Mistle Thrush, Redwing, Common Blackbird, Bohemian Waxwing, House Sparrow, European Greenfinch,

Wednesday 29 November 2023

Soil Hill

  The days of regularly wintering Snow Buntings on Soil Hill are now a distant memory, even as little as 10 years ago. So it was very nice to find this very attractive male feeding away on the North Slope this morning, giving excellent close-range views, especially considering the other two birds I have personally found here were both flyovers.

  I was walking down the North Slope track when I heard a distinctive ‘pew’ call, which did indeed recall a Snow Bunting, but with just one note I figured it could have been any number of species. After a few seconds, however, I then heard a distinctive trill which can only have been a limited number of species, and my heartrate began to increase. But after a wait of around 10 minutes, it was clear that I had not heard enough to be sure, and that if it had been a Snow Bunting, it must have been a flyover which was already long gone, so I continued my walk, a little disappointed.

  Fortunately I wasn’t disappointed for long, as about twenty metres further down the slope I flushed the bird from the path in front of me. Panic ensued as I grabbed the camera for some kind of record shot, but fortunately the bird returned to the path quite quickly and carried on feeding. It stayed here for a short time, before deciding it had seen enough of the Hills lush pastures and flew off south. Although it looked to be dropping in, an hours search failed to refind it, despite the efforts of myself, DJS, JJL and DP.

  This is my 100th species for Soil Hill in 2023, a landmark I have only previously reached in 2020 and in 2022, so not bad going at all. And this is certainly one of the Hill highlights this year, an excellent species to see. 

-Snow Bunting

Species List:
Soil Hill: Canada Goose, Common Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Northern Lapwing, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Western Barn Owl, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, European Stonechat, Dunnock, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Chaffinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch, Snow Bunting,