Soil Hill birding; updates from the week 3rd - 7th October

  This was the first week of the year where the weather really impacted the birding on Soil Hill. The week started with clear conditions and a brisk southwesterly which brough some lively passage, but as the week drew on the wind speed increased and the rain came, til the birding was relegated to a simple chase round to find the resident species for my lists, rather than hope to find something new or exciting. That said, I still managed a patch tick in these conditions, which was certainly something of a surprise.

• The only mega of the week, the aforementioned patch tick, was three Barnacle Geese that were at the front of one of the only Pink-footed Goose Skein that flew over on the 6^th. Frustratingly I did not see the birds in the field, only noticing them when looking at the photos I had taken to get an accurate count of the flock. The birds were moving so fast in the wind, with truly awful light, there was no chance I could have picked them up otherwise. 

-Barnacle Goose

The weeks VizMig started strongly but poor weather conditions soon brought it almost to a standstill in what has been a tricky week for birding the Hill. Still those early days gave me enough totals to be excited about.  

• On the 3^rd I had one of my highest counts of Meadow Pipits this year with 322 flying south. Sadly though this was the only count of the week, with movement so limited on other dates that I resorted to simply estimating the number of grounded birds. 

• The 3^rd also saw the only notable count of Redwing for the week, with 21 heading south and 36 heading north. Otherwise there were just singles on the other dates, again as a consequence of the weather. The first Song Thrush of the autumn did appear this week however, with two on the 4^th and a single on the 6^th although these birds were resigned to sheltering at the bottom of the North Slope and were not moving anywhere.  

• Sensing a theme, the 3^rd was one of only two dates where I recorded hirundines this week, with five Swallows and four House Martin flying south. The other date was a single Swallow that flew south on the 6^th.

• Finches continued to pass in small numbers, with all of the best counts unsurprisingly on the 3^rd. During the morning session there were 17 Chaffinch, six Linnet, two Lesser Redpoll, six Goldfinch and 12 Siskin heading south. 

• And finally, there were still a few Pied Wagtails moving during the week with the best count being 13 on the 3^rd, but also a nice count of 10 on the 6^th.  

Wildfowl passage was also affected by the weather, with much lower counts of geese moving, if there were any moving at all.

• There were just two dates where I recorded Pink-footed Geese, with a flock of 45 on the 3^rd and the aforementioned flock of 61 on the 6^th.  A single flock of 10 Greylag Geese were observed passing distantly to the north on the 3^rd. 

• It was a surprisingly good week for Goosander records on the Hill, with a nice close flock of seven heading northeast on the 3^rd followed by a personal record count of 31 dispersing early morning on the 4^th after appearing to get off one of the reservoirs, maybe TMR but possibly another further down the valley. Teal were present on the 3^rd and the 5^th, with two birds involved on both occasions, frequenting the usual ponds on Soil Hill. 

-Goosander

-Pink-footed Goose

  Migrant totals were once again low, with Chiffchaff being present daily with a high count of three on the 3^rd , Goldcrests present on the 3^rd and the 6^th and Stonechat being present on most days with a high count of three on the 6^th.

  Snipe were present daily, but all were common with six flushed on the 3^rd being the highest count of the week. The wetter weather probably helped disperse them around the site as new feeding areas were established by the downpours. The only other wader species this week was Lapwing, with individuals seen flying by on two dates; the 3^rd and the 5^th.

  And finally to wrap up the week with the last few bits, a single Raven was seen on the 4^th and small groups of Bullfinch were seen on the 3^rd (three) and the 6^th (four). Hopefully the weather improves a little next week and there is more activity on the Hill.

Species List:
Soil Hill: Greylag Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Barnacle Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Goosander, Common Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Northern Lapwing, Common Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Coal Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Common Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Redwing, Common Blackbird, European Robin, European Stonechat, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, Common Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin, Common Reed Bunting,

WWT Caerlaverock

As part of my continued tour around northern England with Lia I decided to take her to see the spectacular flocks of geese at WWT Caerlaverock in Dumfries and Galloway. The Barnacle Geese here are always impressive and once again they did not disappoint. On the drive into the reserve we encountered a flock feeding right by the roadside, and once in the reserve there were thousands more in the fields. The Whooper Swans as well were extremely close to the hides and we enjoyed masses of other wildfowl, as well as Merlin and Little Egret. A really fun afternoon out.

-Barnacle Goose

-Whooper Swan

-Wigeon

Species List:

WWT Caerlaverock: Pink-footed Goose, Barnacle Goose, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Feral Pigeon, Collared Dove, Common Moorhen, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Snipe, Common Redshank, Little Egret, Common Kestrel, Merlin, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Redwing, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, European Robin, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Siskin,

Lake District

Since the weather was so nice as of late we decided to go into the Lake District for the day as a family. We started by going for a drink at the cafe at the Osprey Watchpoint at Bassenthwaite lake. The Osprey was very, very distant and nothing like the other views I have had this year, but it was nice to see one settled down. Also on site there was Gary the Biking Birder, who it was nice to see again after Spurn.

-Osprey

Post Osprey watching we headed onto a small village overlooking Bassenthwaite to grab a bite to eat. It sort of clouded over while we were there but was still unpleasantly hot. Here there were good numbers of Siskin flying around and calling, and a Lake District tick for me when a Red Kite came soaring over.

-Red Kite

Post lunch we headed out on a rowing boat on Derwent Water as per usual. It had really clouded over now but the wind had dropped a little making things a little easier. Out on the lake it was a case of the usual suspects still being around. Numbers of the probably feral Barnacle Goose population seemed to have dropped but it is possible they were within the trees on the islands in molt. We still saw around 10 individuals either flying around or lurking on the shoreline.

-Barnacle Goose

Also in molt were the Mergansers, or that's what I would presume since all those we saw today were brown birds, with no males seen at all. Its the first time I have taken my 500 lens to the lake district so I was able to try and take some nice photos of the Mergs. I got decent shots of one that was sat on the bank, and they were great to see as usual.

-Red Breasted Merganser

There had been a change in the dynamics of the bird fauna since last time I was here. This time there was a massive roost of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls on one of the island, and a few nests with developing chicks. I have never seen this many before and I have been here at this time of year previously, so the reason for this gathering is beyond me. There we well over 100 birds roosted on the island, whilst others we blogging about the lake. 

-Lesser Black-Backed Gulls

New to my Derwent Water list, as it were, was a Common Sandpiper that was on the shoreline of one of the islands. Its a patch tick for me, but I could not get a good photo as the boat kept rocking and the Sandpiper dipping in and out of the rocks. I did manage a solitary record shot which says more than enough.

-Common Sandpiper

After the boat ride we went for a walk around the side of the lake. It was getting dusky and the sun was now quite obscured, rain had started to fall and the Midges had come out in force. There were good numbers of commoner birds. The woodland area looked ideal habitat for lesser pecker but I saw none, only Great Spotted Woodpecker, of which there was an adult and a juvenile. The best bird of the walk was a nice Spotted Flycatcher that was in one of the more open areas of the woodland.

-Spotted Flycatcher

It was a lovely day out, only the heat was the downside but we can't complain given it will soon be back to the British summer we all know and don't love.

Species List:
Bassenthwaite Osprey Watchpoint: Osprey, Siskin, Grey Heron, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Stock Dove, Carrion Crow, Red-Breasted Merganser, Common Buzzard, Mute Swan, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Canada Goose, Graylag Goose, Mallard, Robin, Tufted Duck, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Woodpigeon,
Derwent Water: Barnacle Goose, Canada Goose, Graylag Goose, Red-Breasted Merganser, Common Sandpiper, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Oystercatcher, Black-Headed Gull, Pied Wagtail, Siskin, Woodpigeon, Great-Spotted Woodpecker, Coal Tit, Blackcap, Spotted Flycatcher, Jackdaw, Magpie, Mute Swan, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Nuthatch,

Mixenden Reser and Mooching over the Moors

Its been a crazy days birding for me. It all started this morning with strings of texts about Whooper Swans coming through in droves. With that in mind I decided to set up at my bedroom window, before church, to see if I could pick any up. It did not take long before I had a flock of around 150 birds. Thrilled with this Year and Garden tick it got even better as they began to descend and looked like they landed on Mixenden Reservoir.

-Whooper Swans

I put the news out that it looked like they had gone down on Mixenden. I did not have to wait long before this was confirmed, but church meant I was unable to get up for a while, so I had to pray that they would stick. There were 239 at count, which was a massive total for Calderdale.

We raced back after church, I grabbed my gear and then off we went to the reser. Even as we drove along the top we could see the swans all down on the reser in the valley. As we pulled up my dad threw me out and I briskly walked down to get a look. I got to spend a fantastic hour with the birds. I set up under some trees on the far bank and waited. The birds went to and fro and came really very close to me as I sat there. I managed to get some reasonable shots as well as some truly fantastic views. The swans were very vocal, constantly calling, a sound I am really not familiar with on Calderdale reservoirs.

-Whooper Swans

After an hour watching the birds I decided to head off onto the moors to see what was about up there. On my up I spotted a Kestrel and multiple Curlews. My first stop was Cold Edge Dams, where I stumbled across a solitary late Fieldfare, 2 Redshank, 2 Oystercatcher and an array of usual moorland Species.

-Fieldfare

I then carried on to a site I knew about last year to see if its delightful residents were still present and indeed they were, looking lovely up against a wall. They were much closer to the road than last year so I was able to improve on last years shots. I was even able to show them to some walkers coming past. Smashing birds of real character, one of my favorites.

-Little Owl

After a bit I headed along the path to the moors to head back home and hopefully scope the swans from Soil Hill. On the way back it was very quiet, only a single snipe and plenty of Red Grouse flushed. It was also nice to see Oliver Crawford up there, great to see him again after so long, nice to catch up.

On the way down to Ogden I spotted a small group of 13 Swans flying north, but then found out these must have been the last of the Mixenden lot as it was around that time they chose to depart. I wandered along the the dam at Ogden and picked out the Barnacle Goose (presumable feral) among the canadas.

-Barnacle Goose

And that was that really, it was very late afternoon/early evening and most things had quietened down. I did flush a Pheasant on Soil Hill but apart from that it was as bleak as usual. But it was a fantastic days birding, and so nice to be back out at all the local sites, especially when you can get fantastic birds like these.

Species List:

Mixenden Reservoir: Whooper Swan, Canada Goose, Goldeneye, Great Crested Grebe, Mallard, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Kestrel, Robin,

Cold Edge Dams: Little Grebe, Redshank, Fieldfare, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Lapwing, Pheasant, Carrion Crow, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Canada Goose, Mallard,

Moors: Little Owl, Grey Wagtail, Red Grouse, Common Snipe, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Lapwing, Curlew, Mallard, Herring Gull, Golden Plover,

Ogden Water LNR: Whooper Swans, Canada Goose, Barnacle Goose, Mallard, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Common Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Great Tit, 

Soil Hill: Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Pheasant, Starling, Carrion Crow, 

Soil Hill

Today

Meadow Pipit - 27 Summit, ~50 Marsh 

Carrion Crow - 5

Woodpigeon - 1

Wheatear - 1 Summit

Snipe - 2 Flushed Summit

Dunlin - 1 Flushed With Snipe

Skylark - 4 Summit, 13 MarshSn

Goldfinch - 2

Pheasant - 1

Kestrel - 1

Magpie - 1

Pied Wagtail - 1 (North)

Common Gull - 1 (South)

Also of note was a Stoat that sat up not 2 meters from me near the marsh on the north side. 

On the way down from the hill I spotted a Barnacle Goose feeding in a flock of 10 Canada Geese across the road from the house. I assume it would be the same bird that has been at Fly Flatts grazing? Its not a bad garden tick! 

Barnacle Goose (Garden Tick!)

Yesterday

Black Headed Gull - 5

Common Gull - 1

Goldfinch ~50 (At least!)

Carrion Crow - 12

Feral Pigeon - 2 (South)

Meadow Pipit - 4

Swallow - 9 (South)

Skylark - 3

Magpie - 2

Thursday

Herring Gull - 1 (Juv)

Black-Headed Gull - 1

Carrion Crow - 7

Meadow Pipit - 9

Skylark - 3

Mistle Thrush - 2

Also of note were 2 Small Copper, 2 Common Hawker (Both Male) and a Common Darter (Also Male

Potteric Carr YWT

After our frankly disappointing trip to Old Moor we decided to call in at Potteric Carr. Since we have only ever been to this site once before we still don't really know much about it. When we arrived the species reportings was frankly very short considering, but we set off anyway. We headed for the field center initially, the only thing we saw along the way was a pheasant which was sat by the side of the path. We decided to go round the main area of the reserve, and area that we had not really looked at before and see what was around there. We tackled it in a clockwise direction since the first hide on the left was meant to have nesting kingfishers...

We did not see a kingfisher, but there was plenty of stuff in the hides, though in smaller quantities than those at Old Moor. However, after a short while of watching I got a big surprise when a Barnacle Goose decided to swim out from behind the reeds. It was my first of the year but it does seem rather late, the reason for my surprise. Either way, it was a good surprise and a stunning bird to add to my year list. 

-Barnacle Goose

Other significant birds at this pool were a family of young Canada Geese and a singing cettis warbler, but as per we did not see it.

Following on down the path we reached the first hide that overlooks the main, central, lakes and scrapes. There was a small selection of birds, including Teal, Gadwall and Redshank. As we watched however my dad noticed 2 small waders along the near island, and called them as ringed plovers. However, when I got down to look I realised that they were Little Ringed Plover, a charming little bird that I am really starting to see a lot of I now notice.

It was during this time that we were joined by another birder. We got chatting and he mentioned that there were a pair of black necked grebe at the far hide, the last one we would reach. It was in this moment that my second year tick appeared in the form of a Common Sandpiper which flew across the pond and alighted on the bank right where we could not see it. After we left the hide we back-tracked in order to get a better view and check that it was indeed a common sand. It was indeed.

We skimmed over the remaining hides, partly due to the BNG's and partly due to the fact that we were running out of time regarding the car park closing time. We eventually arrived at Duchess hide, having only really picked up Little Egret and a booming bittern, seen but not heard, along the way.

And so I began my search for the BNG's. After an initially excitement and disappointment in the form of a female pochard I tracked them down to the reeds at the far side of the pond. They epitomize the term 'stunning bird'. They really were, with their yellow ear tufts and stunning black bodies. They were a joy to watch as they drifted in an out of the reeds and fished around the back. I only really wish that they would have come closer, as my photos were really poor. Not only are they a year-tick but they are also a Life for me, how exciting is that?

-Black Necked Grebes

We decided to finish off our walk along the top of the reserve. There was not much going on there, but a couple of shellduck did drop onto the reserve pools while we were there. They seemed to have beef with the shoveler as the male bird would not relent in his pursuit of the male shoveler. However, his efforts were in vain, as there seemed to be an increase in the numbers of shoveler for his efforts, not a decrease.

-Shellduck

I was very impressed with the reserve, more than what I had expected. 1 lifer and 2 other year-ticks is a great result for the day, bringing my total up to 137 for the year, surpassing all the other years that I have records for, and its still only April. What a year I am having.

Species List:

Potteric Carr YWT: Pochard, Gadwall, Blue Tit, Graylag Goose, Barnacle Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Coot, Black-Headed Gull, Magpie, Tufted Duck, Carrion Crow, Pheasant, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Shoveler, Starling, Mute Swan, Lapwing, Woodpigeon, Long-Tailed Tit, Redshank, Teal, Common Sandpiper, Sand Martin, Little Ringed Plover, Cormorant, Great-Crested Grebe, Herring Gull, Moorhen, Little Egret, Black-Necked Grebe, Blackcap, Grey Heron, Dunlin, Reed Bunting, Shellduck, Robin, Magpie,

Lakeland-A day out at Derwentwater

Since it was my parents 24 wedding anniversary we decided to go for a trip up to the lake district. The day started badly when I dragged myself out of bed at 6.30, only to realise half way through breakfast that it was 5.30. However, once we got to Derwentwater the day picked up considerably. First we went for a walk around the side of Derwentwater to get the day started. We did not go far, only as far as the first field. On the walk through the woods we encountered only a nuthatch, though a woodpecker was calling somewhere around us. 

At the field we stopped to have a rest and a look around. I explored the small marsh next to the reeds to see what there was about. There were a lot of common blue damselflies, including some in tandem. 

-Common Blue Damselfly

As I sat down after the exploration of the marsh the woodpecker was heard calling in the tree directly behind us. It then flew over us and into the wet woodland for about 5 minuets before flying back and landing again in the tree behind us. There we saw that it had a chick, which it called to, before flying back to the flooded woodland, where the chick followed it.

-Greater Spotted Woodpecker

It was lunchtime by the time we returned, so we set up in the park and then me, brother and dad went into town to pick up lunch. When I got back my mum pointed out a juvenile blackbird feeding on berries in the tree above our picnic site. 

-Juvenile Blackbird

After a bit, when I had wandered off to get my drink from the car and returned, my dad pointed out a male blackbird sunbathing on the opposite side of the lawn. Since it was so open, I decided to commando crawl towards it to get quite close. I managed to get quite close before it was scared off by some people asking me about it. Either way, its the most spectacular sunbathe I have seen from a blackbird. 

-Blackbird

Through lunch the juvenile blackbird we met earlier also started sunbathing at the bottom of the same tree it had been feeding in. It was much more flighty and difficult to approach, but its sunbathe was just as spectacular.

-Juvenile blackbird

The other birds during lunch were sparrows, chaffinches, a willow warbler, song thrush and a few baby blue tits. 

After lunch we decided to wander into Keswick (the local town) to see what was about. Through the park getting there I spotted a small bush crawling with bees, most of which appeared to be what I know as tree bumblebees, because I have kept an eye open for them since my dad mentioned that he would like to see one. Apparently, tree bees are the fastest spreading bee in the UK, and are one of the "Big 5" (one of the 5 species of bee not in decline), so it was nice for my dad to see one, since the only other time I have seen one was in our garden when he was at work.

-Tree Bumblebee 

Needless to say, town was pretty void of wildlife. I did however manage to find a book I was looking for in a charity shop, which was a bonus (the Silmarillion) 

After town we decided to get on the boat and go for a row around the lake, as we usually do. The first bird I saw was a Red breasted merganser female, which was nice. It also reminded me that I couldn't remember if they were mergansers or goosanders that lived on the lake, but if you read on you will see how I was reminded. 

Next we rowed to the reeds to see what was about. There was not much, only a family of graylag geese whit 3 chicks, as well as a couple of oystercatchers. On the jetty of one of the houses around the lake there was also a pied wagtail.

-Pied wagtail 

The island opposite the marsh is where we found ample barnacle geese last time, but this time we only found one pair and they were on an island further over, which is sadly more accessible than the one previously. One the island we found a pair of barnacle geese, with the female seemingly sitting, or one of the birds sitting under a tree seemingly on a nest. The other bird was watching from the beach. 

-Barnacle Geese

Just next to the geese was an oystercatcher. There was another oystercatcher round the far side going bezerk at a gull perched nearby. At first it was unclear why, but as we watched we noticed that the none calling bird had 2 well grown chicks, which we hadn't noticed before.

-Juvenile oystercatcher

We then decided to go the rocks in the middle of the reser to get a look at the gulls and cormorants settled there. On the way there another female merganser appeared in front of us.

-Red Breasted Merganser

The rocks were full with gulls, herring, lesser black backed and greater black backed, more than I can ever remember before. There were also 3 cormorants on the rocks.

-Cormorant 

We slowly made our way across the lake, made slower because I tried rowing. We made it to another of the rock piles in the lake. On the largest we thought we heard a common sandpiper, but it turned out to actually be a pair of red breasted mergansers, and there was a male here which reminded me what species they were. We were able to get quite close before they moved off, so I was able to get some reasonable photos

-Red Breasted Merganser

We then made our way to the marsh on the far side of the island to see what was going on there. From a distance we noticed that there was a flock of graylag geese and a grey heron there. We managed to get quite close to the heron before it moved off, did a loop-de-loop and came back. There was also another male merganser there too...

-Red Breasted Merganser and Grey Heron 

-Grey Heron 

We then finished our rowing trip and made our way back. After our rowing exploits we went for a coffee in the cafe opposite. While we were there I spotted that another of the same plants from the park were in the cafe, and that they were crawling with tree bees here too. So while my family settled down for a civilized cup of coffee, I sat down and photographed the bees. I have to say that I don't remember bee photography ever being as difficult as these bees seemed to want to make it. For that reason my photos were not very good.

-Tree Bumblebees

After our coffee we went for a short walk the other way around the lake. It was early evening so there was not much wildlife around, but the flowers were still out and there were lovely groups of ragged robin along the lake shore. On the bird front there was also a sand martin among the swallows in the sheep field.

-Ragged Robin

And so after that walk we started to head off home. It was a lovely day, and not just because of the splendid weather but all the lovely weather as well.