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,