Soil Hill

    With sightings of Ring Ouzel across the Calderdale area this week, I was hopeful that Soil Hill might get to join the party at some point. And so it transpired today, with three individuals seen on the Hill.

  As I was walking up Taylor Lane early morning, my scans of the fields picked up two bright white gorgets glowing in the sunrise, from two male Ring Ouzels feeding together in one of the frosted fields. I could not find them again on my walk back, but could easily still be present in one of the other fields which are more difficult to view from the road.

  I completed my circuit and was walking back up the north slope when I heard the tacking call of another Ring Ouzel, and was delighted to spot a female perched up in the North Slope Tree-Line. Having already checked this area, the bird had presumably just dropped in. She was quite mobile, moving around the various bushes at the bottom of the North Slope.

  In addition, there was a Fieldfare on Ned Hill Track, a Jack Snipe was flushed from a wet area on the summit, and at least nine Willow Warblers were present today.

-Male Ring Ouzels

-Female Ring Ouzel

Species List:
Soil Hill: Canada Goose, Mallard, Common Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Jack Snipe, Common Snipe, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Little Owl, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Skylark, Barn Swallow, Willow Warbler, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, Ring Ouzel, European Robin, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Common Reed Bunting,

Undisclosed location

  Had a morning away from Soil Hill to check some of the other sites around Calderdale. I took some time to visit one of the Twite feeding stations high up on the moors. Given the catastrophic decline of this species on the Pennines it is always good to make sure to see them while I still can. Upon arrival I could only see Linnets enjoying the Nyjer seed, with up to 12 gorging themselves, but after a 20-minute wait three Twite dropped in and began to tuck in. I spent a short while watching them, and listening to their jangling calls, before I left them to it.

-Twite

Species List:
Undisclosed Location: Canada Goose, Mallard, Eurasian Curlew, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Skylark, Eurasian Wren, Northern Wheatear, Meadow Pipit, Common Linnet, Twite, Common Reed Bunting, 

Soil Hill

    A lovely day for my first Soil Hill visit of the Spring, with a few migrants around and a few lingering winter species. The highlight was a new personal record count of five Jack Snipe which were all present in the same small area of marsh. My previous record was three individuals, which I have reached on several occasions. 

  In terms of spring migrants, five Willow Warblers were back on territory, with at least six Swallows blogging around and a single Sand Martin which flew southwards over the Hill. 

-Jack Snipe

-Willow Warbler

Species List:
Soil Hill: Canada Goose, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Common Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Jack Snipe, Common Snipe, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Eurasian Blue Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Willow Warbler, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Common Reed Bunting,