Northeast India; Day 9 - Kaziranga National Park

  Today would already be our last day entering the Kaziranga National Park, with two more drives scheduled; one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Having seen Tiger the previous evening, we would be able to enjoy a much more relaxed pair of game drives, with few birds left that we wanted to target. 

  We did our morning game drive in the Western Sector of the park. It being Saturday, it was significantly busier than the drive the previous morning in the Eastern Sector. Still, we managed to make it work for us, and we had a few good bird species. The highlights on the bird front were in a small patch of woodland where we had a smart male White-tailed Robin, a nice Orange-headed Thrush and a male Kaliji Pheasant, the latter of which would not come out of the undergrowth for us. We additionally had our first Greater Adjutant stork, which was distant on the other side of one of the larger lakes we stopped out.

  On the mammal front we had our closest India Rhino encounters, with a few individuals standing right next to the road feeding away in the aquatic vegetation. Otherwise we had the same selection as we had the previous days, minus Indian Elephant and Tiger, but also gaining Asian Smooth-coated Otter of which we saw a group of four individuals at our first stop, before a single sunbathing on one of the lake islands!

  In the afternoon we returned to the Central Sector of the park where we had encountered the previous days Tiger, but there was to be no repeat this time, although we heard the alarm calls of deers. We enjoyed some brilliant Indian Elephant feeding in the tall grass, as well as more Indian Rhinos and a few nice Water Buffalo. This was our only drive where we encountered the Sambar deer, with two feeding in the woodlands at the far end of our drive. In one of the rivers we also added Assam Roofed Turtle to our trip list, a localised species we had hoped to find.

  On the bird front it continued to be excellent, although much the same species as our other visits to the park. We added Blossom-headed Parakeet to our trip list, which was one of our few target species for this site. Another target was Slender-billed Vulture, and after some putative flyovers, this time we drove under two active nests with adults sat in their respective trees, giving excellent views. Other goodies included our first Ferruginous Duck and Temminck’s Stints of the trip, giving a little flavour of home

Northeast India; Day 8 - Kaziranga National Park

  Today was our first full day, and only non-weekend day, visiting the Kaziranga National Park. One of Indias most famous national parks, with a large population of Indian Rhinos and also good numbers of Elephants and Tigers. Although we had some birds to target here, mammals were a key part of our reason for visiting, and we were excited to see what we might be able to find.

  Our first drive in the reserve was in the eastern section of the park, which has less tourists but also less chance of seeing Tiger. For us, this was an important destination as it hosted more of the parks waterbird species, and we wanted to try to find a few targets. The main water body here was full of wildfowl, mostly common species from Europe but also two drake Falcated Ducks that were a bonus for us. Along the waters edge we found a few common species of wader and heron, with Lesser Adjutant being another key target for us.

  In the woodlands around there were less birds, but there were a few species we wanted to try and find. We had some luck with Grey-bellied Tesia, although it was a nightmare to get out of the bushes when we could only look into the vegetation from the car. A few perched up raptors were also nice, especially a close Grey-headed Fish Eagle, and overhead we had a group of Spot-billed Pelicans and a mixed flock of Vultures, featuring Slender-billed and Himalayan Griffon.

  On the mammal front we easily saw most of the parks herbivores, with the iconic Indian Rhino being present in large numbers around the lake. For the most part they were distant but there was a single individual that was nice and close to the road. In addition, we had Water Buffalo, Hog Deer, Wild Boar and a few distant Barasingha. Only on our way out did we spot a distant Indian Elephant on the far side of the lake, badly obscured by the haze.

  After lunch, and a confrontation with some Rhesus Macaques that had entered the grounds of our lodging, we headed back to the park, this time to the busy central zone. There were many cars getting into the National Park, and the roads were busy. We did not make it far along the track since we wanted to target birds and these were difficult to see with cars passing by frequently. Still, we managed to find Swamp Francolin, our main target for the area, easily, and Chinese Rubythroat was a stunning bird that eventually came out of the reeds. Additionally, Red-breasted Parakeets flew by in a small flock, and in an open area we had a nice Rosy Pipit.

  Our progress was slow due to trying to find various birds, and as such we had not ventured far into the park. We had left the Rubythroat spot and were searching for Chestnut-crowned Babblers further up the road, which we did indeed find, when we glanced back to see the shape of a Tiger crossing the road, a distant orange shape that quickly vanished. Only three of our group of six saw it, and although I was one of them, it was still a very frustrating encounter. Our guide had a suspicion that it might cross a water body further up the road, but we waited there for more than an hour as the sun gradually set, and we never saw it.

  On our way out we stayed as late as possible, and were rewarded with a very nice Dusky Eagle Owl. However, as we were leaving, I spotted a orangy-brown animal moving through the grass ahead of us. I could not work out the colour scheme with any of the other animals in the park, until it finally clicked! TIGER! I called out and our driver quickly stopped so we could look properly, and confirm it was indeed a Tiger. It was walking towards the road, so Papu suggested we move forward and get ready to watch it crossing. Already jeeps were starting to assemble even in the short time frame, but we had the front-row seat to watch an absolutely massive male Tiger cross the road in the front of us! It then wandered into the trees, where we were able to watch it sniff at a tree and then scent mark! An absolutely incredible encounter, especially for a park where finding Tigers can be very tricky! 

Northeast India; Day 7 - Bompu Camp

 Today would be our final day in the Eaglenest Area of the Himalayas, as we would descend to lower altitudes in the afternoon ready for some warmer lowland days exploring the Kaziranga National Park. It was another glorious sunrise over the forested mountains and after some tea we headed out walking up the road in exploration for our remaining targets in this area.

Sadly, for the most part, none of our targets complied. We heard all of them at various points but none came in and showed well. We did manage a few new birds including the excellent Scarlet-cheeked Liocichla and a nice Broad-billed Warbler, but otherwise it was more of the same. Some other goodies included a female Golden Bush Robin, and a flock a 15+ Little Buntings around the camp.

At 10:00 we began our drive away from the main birding area, with a couple of scheduled stops along the way. The first of these was once again to try for the Fire-tailed Myzornis, which we saw once again easily, and then for one final attempt at Bar-winged Wren-Babbler, a species we had tried for every day but never managed to find. At the Eagles Nest Pass we finally had a bird come in to tape, but it was so fast I was never able to get on it, despite everyone else present picking up on it. Our guide persevered, even after it looked like the bird had long gone, and it eventually came back and I was able to get good views, albeit briefly.

The rest of the day was spent driving, with only a few hours spent in daylight and the rest after dark. In total we spent six hours driving, with only a single short stop where we managed to find two more Scarlet-cheeked Liocichla. 

Northeast India; Day 6 - Bompu Camp

  Today did not start well at all, as I awoke at 01:30 with stomach cramps and then had to endure my first bout of the infamous Delhi Belly! Despite this, I managed to get a little more sleep and so was able to make the most of the day, fuelled by energy drinks! We would spend the day birding the road down the mountain from the Bompu Lodge, with a number of targets to find in the stunning forest scenery, starting at 06:00.

  Just around the corner from the camp we picked up our first target species of the day, with a brilliant Rufous-throated Wren Babbler. It was very reminiscent of the South American Tapaculos, scuttling around the undergrowth and running along the floor like a mouse, but occasionally stopping and showing well. At the same location I had another new species, although significantly more common, with Yellow-throated Fulvetta. The morning continue apace with some excellent mixed-species flocks with a host of interesting birds and new species for me; Black-headed Shrike-Babbler, White-naped Yuhina and Black-crowned Scimitar-Babbler, as well as other good species such as White-breasted Parrotbill and Silver-eared Mesia. Away from the flocks I also added Crimson-naped Woodpecker. But the undoubted highlight of these flocks were two quite confiding and low down Himalayan Cutia! It was brilliant to watch this striking bird feeding along the branches, much closer than when I had seen it in Thailand.

  Around 10:00 the late morning lull started to take place, although this was offset somewhat by the first butterflies of the trip making an appearance. After an hour or so of very little activity there was a short rain shower, and things began to perk up again after this. This started with a spectacular show from a flock of in excess of 20 Rufous-naped Hornbillls, including males and females. Initially we were only able to see them flying, but afterwards we could pick them up in the trees in the distance, before they then came closer, even perching in the trees above us. It was absolutely fantastic to witness!

  The Hornbills brought me up to 3999 species for the world, and I was apprehensive as to what my 4000^th species would be. Fortunately I did not have to wait long, and of the options available to us it was undoubtedly the best on offer; the Beautiful Nuthatch! As its name suggests it was stunning indeed, but initially it looked like they would be sticking to the canopy, but fortunately our guide knew how to bring them down and we soon had a brilliant show! The timing was fortunate, as not even a minute after the first appearance of the Beautiful Nuthatch, a flock of Long-tailed Sibia passed through, bringing me to 4001.

  Over lunch we found a few more Rufous-naped Hornbills and even had some flyover Wreathed Hornbills. In the bushes near our picnic spot we tried hard for a few species, but the only one that cooperated at all was the Eyebrowed Wren-Babbler, which came charging out of the vegetation in response to our playback.

  With only a few hours of daylight left we drove back up the mountain to try a few final birds around the camp. On the way we had a couple of Kaliji Pheasant on the road, but they quickly scuttled into the undergrowth. There was hope that we might land our final key target species for the Bompu Camp area back at the campground, but they managed to elude us, except for untickable views of a Long-billed Wren-Babbler flying across the road. We did manage to finally get views of Scaly-breasted Cupwing, another Tapaculo lookalike that showed nicely after frustrating us for a few days prior. A Chestnut-headed Tesia was also nice, but brief and difficult to see well. 

Northeast India; Day 5 - Lama Camp

  We had the morning to bird the area around the Lama Camp, before we would drive over the mountain and to the Bompu Camp. This meant that we would only have the morning to find one of the most important birds on our whole itinerary; the Bugun Liocichla. This rare laughingthrush is only found in a small elevational window at this altitude, with a population estimated to be less than 100 individuals.

  Our guide had a plan, and that was to try and locate flocks of Rusty-fronted Barwing which the Liocichla would be associating with at this time of year. Fortunately it did not take us long to find this species, which was also a lifer, and with this flock were two Bugun Liocichla! They did not show for long, always in deep cover and difficult to track so we did not get prolonged views, but to see this species so early in the morning (06:17) was a huge relief.

  With the pressure now off, we explored the track in a more relaxed fashion. There were some excellent mixed-species flocks on offer with mostly common species but a few new birds for me as well, with White-bellied Parrotbill, Red-tailed Minla and a female Scarlet Finch. Away from the flocks we also added Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon, which were feeding discreetly in the canopy of fruiting trees. Additional good species included Himalayan Bluetail and a Himalayan Shortwing.

  At around 10:00 we packed up and headed up the mountain from Lama Camp, with a few stops planned along the way. Initially we struggled to find the birds we were targeting but eventually we started to make some progress, despite the generally slow birding. The first new bird that we picked up was a Collared Owlet, which responded to the mobbing tape we were using and eventually showed nicely. Continuing up the mountain we then finally found another of our key targets after trying all morning, with a Yellow-rumped Honeyguide staking out an abandoned comb on a cliff face. This was a stunning bird, and it perched in a very exposed way that allowed for fantastic views. We even briefly saw it visit the comb itself for feeding, but it did not stick around for too long.

  Continuing down the mountain, with the Honeyguide now under our belts, we switched targets to the Wards Trogon. It took many stops but we were able to find a stunning male during mid-afternoon, who performed fantastically well, sitting right out in the open at times! Our last stop was to try again for the Fire-tailed Myzornis, since only I had seen it on our first day, and we were rewarded for our efforts with two individuals which were mobile and erratic and difficult to follow. This was our final birding stop, but we struck lucky on our remaining drive, with a Chestnut-breasted Partridge scuttling across the road in front of us.

  We arrived at Bompu Camp just before dark, and settled in for the next two nights. Once again we were able to do a short night walk, although not too much due to the risk of Elephants. Probably because of this, we did not see anything of note on our short walk and we were soon back at the camp. 

Northeast India; Day 4 - Manadala Road & Rupa

  From our hotel in the village of Dirang, today we would travel back along the Mandala Road to hopefully connect with some of the species that we had missed, before continuing on our way and to our next destination; the Lama Camp in the Eaglenest protected area.

  The day started well, with Black-tailed Crake at a site not far from our hotel. The birds took a little effort, but soon we had three birds out in the open, with two showing fantastically well feeding away without any concerns in the world. And so, satisfied with that sighting, we continued up the road stopping for targets along the way. Next we called off for Black-throated Prinia, which we got at our second stop, and there we also had our first pair of Hodgsons Redstart.

  Slightly further up we tried the same area we had the previous day for the Fire-tailed Myzornis, but this time we had no sign at all. That’s not to say that we did not enjoy some excellent birding, with White-browed Bush Robin being particularly good, as well as Gray-sided Laughingthrush which was more difficult and elusive! There were a few mixed species flocks as well, with one being very lively with our first Yellow-cheeked Tit and White-tailed Nuthatch of the trip. A pair of Besra that flew overhead were another nice addition to our trip list.

  After breakfast we passed over Mandala Top but the birding ground to a stop after this, with very little species activity. A flyover Mountain Hawk-Eagle was probably the highlight on the bird front, but more Araunchal Macaque was probably the best of it. Otherwise it became more frustrating, but as we began descending we picked up a few more birds like our first Bhutan Laughingthrush and a flyover group of Common Crossbill. Along the bottom of the valley, on the way to our lunch desintation, we passed low through the valley and had a good stop with Capped Lutang monkey. Sadly they did not show well, but I managed a few shots before they vanished into the forest. Fortunately this stop also yielded a good flock, which contained two lifers for me with Nepal Fulvetta and Sikkim Treecreeper.

  For lunch we stopped in the village of Rupa which borders one of the rivers descending the mountain. Our guide informed us this was the place to search for Long-billed Plover and Ibisbill. The former we found quite easily, with a group of 11 roosting together with a Common Sandpiper in the middle of the river, but the Ibisbill proved far more difficult and after half an hour of scanning we decided to cut our losses and go to the restaurant.

  Although viewing was limited, the restaurant did still overlook the river from a distance, and whilst waiting for our lunch I had a quick scan and couldn’t believe it when I was able to pick out an Ibisbill walking in the middle of the river. We headed down with our guide, and were stunned to find a group of 10 Ibisbill all dotted along the edge of the river, providing excellent views and undoubtedly the highlight of the day. Here we also had Long-tailed Shrike and Brown Dipper, rounding off a good day, despite the quite late morning period. After lunch, we continued our drive to Lama Camp, arriving after dark.

  This was the first location where it was possible to do a night walk, so we headed down the hill from the camp to see what we could find. It turned out to be a very productive walk, with another tick with a roosting Barred Cuckoo-Dove. On the mammal front we found a Himalayan White-bellied Rat, before a brilliant Particoloured Flying Squirrel and then finally a very distant Bhutan Flying Squirrel. It was a fantastic night out! 

Northeast India; Day 3 - Sela Pass

  Today we would head up to the Sela Pass, a high montane area about two hours drive from our lodging in Dirang. Today was forecast to be cold, and so it transpired with fresh snowfall upon our arrival. These perishing conditions were combined with fog for much of the day, although once we passed into the north side of the pass the sky was clear blue and much of the snowfall had already cleared.

  The first part of the morning was spent exploring the conifer woodlands on the south side of the pass, where there was a nice covering of snow and infrequent patches of fog moving through. There were three game birds we wanted to see here, and we started well hearing Blood Pheasant in the woodlands but ultimately failed to locate them. While we were stalking these pheasants, a male Himalayan Monal flew over us calling, allowing time for a few quick record shots but nothing more. Dissapointingly this was our only Monal of the day! Finally there were the Snow Partridges. These too were heard only for a good hour, as they refused to approach us, but eventually we were able to track down a group of four individuals right by the side of the road, and they performed extremely well.

  In addition to the gamebirds we also had a few other goodies here. Our mornig started with a Large-eared Pika on the side of the road, which was a mammal species we had hoped to find and were extremely relieved to do so this early in the day. As we moved up the mountains we picked up a few more birds along the way, including Himalayan Buzzard, Himalayan White-browed Rosefinch and finally, for me, Alpine Accentor! One of the European birds I had still never connected with until this morning. Despite the difficulty with finding the galliform targets, other species were slowing being found and that meant it was time to pass over the mountain and down the other side.

  It was already late morning when we went through the pass, and we had a few species we wanted to find here. First was Solitary Snipe, for which we headed to a small boggy area not far from the pass. Fortunately it did not take us long to pick out the snipe and we had some brilliant views, although we found out that the bird was not at all approachable. Despite this early success, we found this area generally quite birdless and hard going, with a flock of around 40 Snow Pigeons and two Red-billed Chough, as well as a few Eurasian Wrens being all we could find.

  Around midday we headed up a U-shaped valley leading off from the main road to track down some of our remaining targets. Although it looked like the lack of birds would continue, we had a burst of form and managed to find all the remaining passerines we wanted. First a female White-throated Redstart, followed by three very showy White-browed Tit-Warblers and finishing off nicely with some Plain Mountain Finches. Before descending back down the mountain we also had a quick look at the garbage dump in the village of Sela Pass itself, where we found around 15 quite confiding Alpine Accentors, and another Large-eared Pika.

  Our descent back down the mountain was hampered badly by thick fog, and the stops we made felt more like gratuitous effort by our guide, who was doing his best to find us the Blood Pheasant, despite the conditions. Still we persevered and we were ultimately rewarded at almost the same location on the mountain that we had started our mornings birding. Here a pair of Blood Pheasant responded to our tape and then came up to check us out, giving brilliant views. After all our effort, we managed to leave the mountain with all of our targets.

  Sadly the altitude and the sun had taken its toll on a couple of our party and after a late lunch at 14:30, we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon recovering. We returned to our hotel at 16:00 ready to sort ourselves out for the continuation of our trip!

Northeast India; Day 2 - Mandala Road

 For our first full day birding in India we headed to the Mandala Road, a stretch of road leading into the Himalayan Forest. It starts at the small village of Dirang before ascending the mountains. By the time we reached its summit we were already over 300 metres, and we could tell by the temperature, with a thin ground frost early in the morning and a light snowfall around lunchtime. The scenery was stunning throughout however, and we made several stops during the day for birding.

We arrived on the road before first light so we were in position as soon as the birds woke up. Our first stop was about halfway up the roads altitude, and despite the cold there was decent activity from the start. The bushes along the road had a few Brown-flanked Bush Warblers and a stunning male Golden Bush Robin, one of my all-time favourite birds after the individual I saw during my last visit to India. This individual was not as showy, but just as glamorous. As the morning wore on we picked up a few mixed species flocks, mostly containing species I had seen on my last visit to the Himalayas, but also a few additional species including finally seeing my first Red-billed Leotherix, or Pekin Robin!

We finished this stretch of the morning with two more bush warblers; Humes Bush Warbler and Grey-flanked Bush Warbler, as well as a lively group of Streak-breasted Scimitar Babblers and a flyover group of Speckled Woodpigeons. We made another short stop about halfway up where we had a Southern Nutcracker, our first Black-faced Laughingthrush and a nice group of Brown-throated Fulvetta. Then we headed for the top, where we would spend the remaining two hours of the morning and then some of the afternoon as well.

The Mandala Top had more pine trees than the lower birding locations, and as such the species composition was much changed. Here we had our first Grey-crested Tits, the local race of Coal Tit and even a Goldcrest. There were once again a few Black-faced Laughingthrushes and these were joined by two very impressive Spotted Laughingthrushes, which showed nicely. A pair of elusive Dark-breasted Rosefinch, a female Red-headed Bullfinch and a small group of Grey-headed Bullfinch and a mobile flock of Yellow-billed Blue Magpie rounded out the new birds for me. But the undoubted highlight of this stretch of the birding was a brilliant Eurasian Wren that our guide found after I had asked about them. This local race is much darker, and is an altitudinal migrant, but this particular individual had a liking for sitting on the tyres of a parked car and calling angrily!

The afternoon was more challenging as the snow and cloud began to move in. Activity dropped markedly, as we continued to bird Mandala Top with only one more mixed species flock found. Although it had another new bird with Green Shrike-Babbler, most individual birds in the flock were too mobile to get enough to identify them. There was a group of Arunchal Macaque Monkeys feeding on the road before a passing car moved them on, which was an excellent bonus for the day.

At the end of the afternoon we returned to birding the lower altitudes, looking for the Fire-tailed Myzornis. We did manage to find a single individual but it was very elusive and only showed up briefly for a couple of us present. I was one of the fortunate ones, but it would have been nice to had better views. A small group of Golden-breasted Fulvetta rounded out our first day, seeing us back at the hotel in the dark at around 17:30, after and exhausting but productive first day! 

Northeast India; Day 1 - travelling

  Well my next adventure begins. Once again I found myself traveling with my friend Max from Germany, as well as his dad and schoolfriend. Our destination was northeast India, a classic birders destination, but usually in the spring and not so often in the autumn like we were doing. It gives us a chance to hopefully pick up on a few oddball species that others don’t get.

  That was all to look forward to however, as our first day (days really) only involved traveling. I awoke at 03:00 in Manchester at my friend Phil's house, before arriving at the airport at 03:30. My first flight went to Munich, where I then had a three-hour wait which should have been very peaceful, except that I did not know if the others, travelling to Munich from Frankfurt would a.) make their connection and b.) even be allowed on the plane since it was apparently overbooked. Fortunately neither of these worst case scenarios transpired, and our plane left Munich at 12:30.

  After six and a half hours in the air, we arrived in Delhi just after midnight local time. It was dark and smoggy, and we had to then wait four hours again to pick up an internal flight to the city of Guwahati in the Indian northeast. This flight was another two hours! Once we arrived we were met by our guides and drivers, and then we commenced a 10-hour drive to finally reach our first birding destination. All in all we finally got to our lodging Hotel Pemaling at 18:00 local time, absolutely shattered.

  Very little birding was done, and few birds were seen between naps. A short stop near a river picked out Little Forktail and Spotted Forktail which were both obviously fantastic to see, even if a little distant. And outside a restaurant that we ate at we had a group of 10 Black-chinned Yuhina, which were my first lifer of the trip. We also had our first mammals as well, with a group of Long-tailed Macaque on the side of the road.

  But with everything now in place, we have three weeks of hopefully excellent birding to get stuck into. 

Shelf twitching Scarlet Tanager

   Sunday night saw quite the development in the Halifax birding year, when a Scarlet Tanager was found in Shelf. At first the news broke as being at an undisclosed location somewhere in West Yorkshire, which was interesting enough on its own, but when it was confirmed as being in Halifax it suddenly gained new importance.

  I arrived on site just after 07:00 but spent the first hour looking in the wrong place, I had clearly missed out some of the information at some point. However, I only missed two brief showings of the Tanager. Once I had found myself in the right place, I joined the crowd that was in place, which was already around 70 people, including many familiar faces from across Yorkshire.

  At around 09:15 the bird finally came out of the garden it had been frequenting and perched in the top of a birch tree in full view. It sat here for a few minutes before flying into another garden where it remained in view. Once again it sat here for a few minutes, including trying to catch a November insect that flew too close. However, it then flew away and landed back out of sight. In the next three hours that I waited it did not show again.

  The bird was a 1^st winter male, meaning it did not have the striking red plumage on individuals that I had seen in Canada, but certainly does its credentials the world of good, as a wild bird as opposed to a fence-jumper. It was a shame that it did not show more consistently but it was nice to catch up with so many birders, some of who I have not seen for years, whilst we were waiting.

  Other birds in a Shelf suburb were obviously limited, but there were two skeins of Pink-footed Geese and two Whooper Swans flew southeast, as well as good numbers of common finches blogging around.

-Scarlet Tanager

Species List:
Shelf: Pink-footed Goose, Whooper Swan, Mallard, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Northern Lapwing, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Jay, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Eurasian Nuthatch, Eurasian Treecreeper, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Redwing, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, European Robin, Dunnock, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Chaffinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, European Greenfinch, Redpoll, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin, Scarlet Tanager,

Lee Dam, Ringstone Edge & Cromwell Bottom

   Today turned into an excellent day out birding across Halifax with Matt Broadbent. The day started off well with a pleasant morning of thrush migration over Soil Hill, but it only turned into a day out when news broke that the Salvonian Grebe which had been seen on the canal at Todmorden a couple of days previously, but had then gone AWOL, had been relocated on Lee Dam just above the town.

  I headed down there and upon arrival we had the grebe absolutely no problem at all. The reservoir is not large at all, and the Grebe was quite happy to come in close in shore in order to chase fish, sometimes feeding almost directly under us. In the hour we spent there we saw it catch at least two Perch, although it also spent a considerable amount of time asleep in the middle of the albeit small water body. Having seemingly missed out on this bird when it couldn’t be relocated on the Canal, it was a very pleasant surprise to bump into it again here.

  With the weather pleasant, and with no work on the horizon, we then headed off to check some of the other sites around Halifax. A check of Whiteholme for Water Pipit failed to yield any birds, at all, but Ringstone Edge was a little more exciting with a drake Gadwall feeding with the mallards under the trees on the south bank. Presumably this is the same bird that was originally found by PD two days earlier.

  It was already mid-afternoon, so we decided to head to Cromwell Bottom last thing to see if the Scaup found by DJS the previous evening were still on the Ski Lake. From the Italian restaurant we could not see anything except Tufted Ducks and a few Goldeneye, and a bonus pair of Shoveler right at the far end, but we decided to persevere with the Scaup and see what viewing we could get from the canal towpath.

  Once on the canal, and once we had found an opening through the vegetation, we had a another scan of the lake and this time easily picked out the two Scaup. They were now swimming with the group of Tufted Ducks that we had seen before, so where they had been lurking who knows. Viewing remained difficult from the towpath so we returned to the restaurant and from here we had excellent views of both birds showing nicely below us.

  A brilliant day out birding in Halifax, demonstrating the best that this area has to offer! 

-Slavonian Grebe

-Greater Scaup

Species List:

Lee Dam:  Mallard, Common Moorhen, Slavonian Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kingfisher, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Eurasian Treecreeper, Eurasian Wren, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Pied Wagtail, Eurasian Chaffinch, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin,

Ringstone Edge: Gadwall, Mallard, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Little Grebe, Great Cormorant, Common Buzzard, Rook, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Wren, Mistle Thrush, Redwing, Fieldfare, European Robin, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit,

Cromwell Bottom: Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Goosander, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Common Kingfisher, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Nuthatch, Eurasian Treecreeper, Eurasian Wren, European Robin, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin, 

Ringstone Edge

  At 15:50 PD messaged out that there was an excellent assemblage of Wildfowl on Ringstone, including Gadwall which would be a Calderdale tick for me, and Pochard which would have been a yeartick. Given that the light was already fading, I decided to race up there and arrived with just enough time to scan the reservoir. 

  The bulk of the ducks were easy to pick out, with the water calm their shapes stood out conspicuously. The drake Gadwall and Shoveler were very easy, nestled into a flock of 8 Wigeon. There was also an Athya sp. in the flock, but it wasn't a drake (like PDs Pochards) and with the bird remaining asleep almost the entire time, and struggling with the light, I could not confidently ID it. From what I could make out it was probably just a Tufted Duck. I was unable to pick out the Pochard, but they could easily still be there somewhere in the gloom. 

  A brilliant selection from PD, and Gadwall is my 130th species in Calderdale in 2024.

-Shoveler & Gadwall

-Wigeon, Gadwall, Shoveler & Athya sp.

Species List:
Ringstone Edge: Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Eurasian Wren, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Dunnock, 

Ogden

   After an enjoyable but also frustrating morning on Soil Hill, with fog badly restricting my ability to count the rafts of thrushes coming through, I found myself at home for lunch when a WhatsApp message came through that BS had found a drake Shoveler at Ogden. Since it would be a yeartick, and I only have a week to consolidate my list, I jumped in the car and headed over. At the start of the road to Ogden I picked up JJL so we could search for the bird together.

  We parked up and headed down to the reservoir, where a quick scan picked up the Shoveler on the east side of the reservoir, so we headed down to get a closer view. On the way I was sifting through the various gulls present and picked out a bird in the middle of the reservoir which had the impression of a Black-headed Gull with no black in the wings. I remarked to JJL that I thought I might have a Mediterranean Gull, and then took a few record shots. Zooming in on these quickly confirmed that the bird was indeed a Med Gull. The bird was washing itself and occasionally receiving grief from other gull species, but generally drifting closer all the time, so JJL and I followed it and were able to get some nice views.

  After a short while it took off and flew to the west bank where the majority of the other gulls were roosting, so we walked round. Initially we couldn’t pick it out, only to then spot it right in front of us nestled among the Black-headed Gulls there. From here we got some excellent views and both got some nice photos. After about twenty minutes or so it took off and flew off south towards Mixenden Reservoir and did not return while I was there.

  After it left I decided to head back home, and JJL continued on his way. Hope you got something good John! 

-Mediterranean Gull

-Shoveler

Species List:
Ogden: Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Goosander, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Magpie, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Eurasian Nuthatch, Eurasian Wren, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, European Robin, Eurasian Chaffinch,