Halifax birding; Week 3

With November drawing to a close there were only a few highlights on Soil Hill this week. There continued to be reasonable numbers of Common Snipe around, as well as the occasional Jack Snipe thrown in for good measure. On the 27^th 71 Pink-footed Geese flew south distantly in awful conditions, and on the 28^th 53 flew north. Also on the 27^th a female Goosander flew over the Hill, allowing me grab a photo of this species for the eBird illustrated checklist. Passerine wise the week was fairly uneventful, with a single Lesser Redpoll flying over on the 25^th and a couple of Ravens blogging on the 27^th and 29^th.
On the 26^th I had an afternoon birding around Walshaw Dean and Lower Gorple. Walshaw Dean was quiet except for a flock of 38 Pink-footed Geese that flew Northwest up the valley. Lower Gorple was nice, with 10 teal roosting on the back of the reservoir, which was a Halifax yeartick for me. 

-Grey Wagtail

-Northern Raven

-Goosander

-Pink-footed Geese

Species List:
Soil Hill: Greylag Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Goosander, Common Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Moorhen, Northern Lapwing, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Grey Heron, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, European Robin, European Stonechat, Dunnock, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, Common Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, Common Reed Bunting
Walshaw Dean: Pink-footed Goose, Mallard, Common Pheasant, Red Grouse, Common Wood Pigeon, Northern Lapwing, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Northern Raven, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, European Robin, European Stonechat, Dunnock, Common Chaffinch, Common Reed Bunting,
Lower Gorple: Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Common Pheasant, Red Grouse, Northern Lapwing, Common Buzzard, Western Barn Owl, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Common Blackbird, European Robin, European Stonechat, Grey Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch,

Halifax birding; Week 2

It being November the Hill was fairly quiet overall with only a few notable bits from the week. That said, there were some real standouts, most notable two different Snow Buntings; the first on the 16^th which was flushed from the summit before flying south not to be refound, and the second on the 22^nd which spent a bit more time circling the summit before flying north. A Jack Snipe was the only other notable bird, on the 21^st. Common Snipes continue to be around, although the locations they take up have been changeable and has often been tricky to find them. The 22^nd was a brilliant day; in addition to the Snow Bunting there was able a skein of 54 Pink-footed Geese, a small passage of 144 Woodpigeons and a flock of 52 Fieldfare. Was also good to see CK up there.

On the 18^th the weather truly was atrocious and I had no plans to head out at all, but made an afternoon visit to Ogden to look for a Wigeon and Teal that BS had found. Compounding the misery, I dipped on both. A handful of commoner woodland species was all I could muster.

On the 19^th I headed out for a full days birding, with a classic November winters day with bright sunshine but brisk conditions. My first stop was Derby Delph Quarry where there were two Twite perched on the wires that stretch above the feeding station. There could have been more in the quarry itself but I failed to pick them out. Continuing up the road towards the M62 I made my first visit to Green Withens Reservoir. The air was full of Red Grouse calls and, despite the overall lack of birds, I had a brilliant time there, with a flock of 56 Pink-footed Geese going over, a group of 17 Twite showing nicely and the highlight of the day, a Water Pipit by the boathouse. It initially showed well but after proved elusive. A quick stop at Ringstone Edge mid-morning produced a Whooper Swan, and an even quicker visit to Whiteholme produced a pair of Raven. I ended the day at Lower Gorple where I had a flock of 10 Whooper Swans fly SE. A brilliant way to end a really enjoyable days birding. 

-Snow Bunting 1


-Snow Bunting 2

-Lapwing


-Water Pipit

-Pink-footed Goose


-Twite

-Whooper Swan


-Whooper Swans

Species List:

Ogden Water LNR: Mallard, Common Wood Pigeon, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Eurasian Nuthatch, Eurasian Treecreeper, Eurasian Wren, White-throated Dipper, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Eurasian Bullfinch, European Goldfinch,
Green Withens Reservoir: Pink-footed Goose, Red Grouse, Common Kestrel, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Pied Wagtail, Water Pipit, Twite,
Ringstone Edge Reservoir: Whooper Swan, Mallard, Common Moorhen, Northern Lapwing, Black-headed Gull, Mew Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Eurasian Magpie, Rook, Carrion Crow, Common Starling,
Lower Gorple Reservoir: Greylag Goose, Whooper Swan, Mallard, Common Pheasant, Red Grouse, Stock Dove, Black-headed Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, European Robin, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, 
Soil Hill: Greylag Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Common Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Northern Lapwing, Common Snipe, Jack Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Little Owl, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, European Robin, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Snow Bunting, Common Reed Bunting, 

Halifax birding; Week 1

Having returned from Brazil and now fully quarantined it was back to the patch to try and boost my patch list during the end of the Autumn migration. While the start of the week was bright and sunny the end was unsurprisingly wet and windy which hampered the birding a great deal.
There were good numbers of migrant Pink-footed Geese earlier in the week, and I also managed a single Whooper Swan which I was fortunate not to miss. Skeins passed over on two days, one in particular was very low. Always a fantastic sight at the end of the autumn, really enjoyable birding. Passerine migration was much slower, with a handful of Chaffinches being the best of it. Meadow Pipits have clearly already finished, but there were a good group gathering at the bottom of the North Slope. Thrushes and Woodpigeons have also been moving on some mornings, but not in massive numbers.
Grounded birds have been somewhat hit and miss, with some days feeling very lively and other days extremely quiet. Blackbird numbers did seem to build up towards the end of the week, with a couple of very smart 1^st winter males in the North Slope Treeline. Fieldfares and Redwings have been present most mornings, often flying over in large groups but sometimes around the bushes as well. A smart ‘Icelandic’ Redwing was on Taylor Lane one foggy morning. A single Song Thrush has been lingering in the North Slope Treeline. A very nice treat was a day roosting Tawny Owl perched right out in the open, allowing my to get some pictures of a species I have previously only heard on the hill during a night visit. I left the bird there, but it had gone by the time JJL came up to look for it.
Despite being the end of autumn I still managed two patch ticks this week; Long-tailed Tit and Woodcock. The Long-tailed Tits was in the North Slope Treeline and numbered around 15 birds, but it was difficult to get an accurate count due to them constantly drifting back and forth. Woodcock was a long overdue species for me, and after JJL had one, I knew that they were on their way. The first one I flushed flew far and into the quarry, taking me by surprise, but the second dropped down only around 50 meters from where I first flushed it. This gave me time to gather my camera and set myself, resulting in a couple of crappy flight shots.
And finally, it was nice to find three Jack Snipe earlier in the week, although I have been unable to find them since. A flyover Lesser Redpoll was also a bonus, and a flock of seven Dunlin that flew past was something of a surprise. Overall a quality week in inland birding during November. Hopefully a few more bits will appear before the winter sets in. 

I did also have a venture to a couple of other sites, first Ogden to see a smart male Mandarin that was there, and the Mixenden Reservoir where I had three of BS 6 Ring-necked Parakeets, plus a yeartick of Goldeneye. 

-Tawny Owl

-Pink-footed Goose

-Whooper Swan

-Long-tailed Tit

-Woodcock

-Mandarin

Species List:
Soil Hill: Greylag Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Canada Goose, Whooper Swan, Mallard, Red-legged Partridge, Common Pheasant, Grey Partridge, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Moorhen, European Golden Plover, Northern Lapwing, Dunlin, Jack Snipe, Eurasian Woodcock, Common Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Mew Gull, European Herring, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Grey Heron, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Little Owl, Tawny Owl, Long-eared Owl, Great Spotted Woodpecker, European Green Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Redwing, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, European Robin, European Stonechat, Dunnock, House Sparrow, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, Common Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch, Common Reed Bunting,
Ogden Water: Mandarin Duck, Mallard, Goosander, Common Wood Pigeon, Black-headed Gull, Mew Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Magpie, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Dunnock, Common Chaffinch, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin,
Mixenden Reservoir:  Mallard, Common Goldeneye, Black-headed Gull, Mew Gull, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Great Tit, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Common Chaffinch, European Goldfinch,