Whilst I was away in the news came through of a European Shag on the canal in Todmorden. While opportunities to increase my Halifax list are few and far between these days as a consequence of my spending most of my time away, this was a species I really want to see but had to anxiously wait to see if it would linger. There was a few days break in sightings about a week before I returned, before it was relocated further up the canal, before apparently going AWOL again. Fortunately on boxing day it was reported again, and so I headed down on my first morning back to try track down this Halifax rarity.
Unfortunately I misread the location of the bird, so I parked at the Haugh Street Bridge then proceeded to walk all the way to lock 21, instead of bridge 21 which was the complete opposite way. Once I realised my error and had walked all the way back to where I started, it became apparent that bridge 21 would mean another hour walk on the canal, but that I had no choice if I actually wanted to see the bird.
Fortunately as I passed under the Haugh Street Bridge, I spotted the bird sitting on the bank below Lock 16, right next to the footpath! It was completely unconcerned by my presence and I was able to get a fantastic look and photos as it sat there, alert but relaxed as people passed by. To my knowledge this is only the third Halifax Shag in my lifetime, and an excellent species to connect with for the area.
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