Soil Hill; Isolation week 14

As July begins the feeling of autumnal bird migration gets stronger and stronger, especially due to the weeks weather which has ranged from drizzle to gales and torrential downpours. At times its been a struggle to motive myself to get out and go birding such has been the unpleasantness of the conditions.

There have been days when the weather has put me off a Soil Hill visit all together, but overall the week has been fairly productive for the Hill. Not least because of a cracking patch tick on the 02^nd July when I finally got a taste of the recent Crossbill action that has been ongoing throughout the country. A noisy flock of roughly 20 individuals flew over Taylor Lane towards Ogden, presumably heading for the sites pine plantations. At the same time there were also two Siskins, heading in the same direction. But the real highlight of the week was on the 01^st July when I finally got to see the Sedge Warbler young, with three fully fledged chicks still being attended to by the adults. It was a very proud moment for me, having been following these birds since the first arrived in early May. These records aside, a fresh clutch of Moorhens is nice and hopefully they will fare better than those that have gone before. A few more Whitethroat fledglings have started to appear and the male Blackcap continues to sing in the North Slope Treeline.

Whiteholme Reservoir has also been a destination of choice this week, fuelled by optimism after a swathe of inland wader records across the north of England. On the 29^th there were four Dunlin present in truly awful conditions, as well as single Ringed Plover and the usual resident wader species. Sadly on subsequent visits only these resident species were present, but on the 01^st July there was a cracking Hobby hunting over the reservoir during an impressive Swift passage. Sadly my camera was fogged from the rain and the bird had moved on before I was able to get it clean. A couple of fresh juvenile wheatears was also nice.

Fly Flatts has also been on the agenda with a couple of short visits during the week. There was also a Hobby here on the 29^th blasting across the road and down the bank towards the reservoir. Windy conditions have made scoping from the road difficult but I still managed to pick out the resident pair of Ringed Plovers which is always nice.

And finally, I also made a stop at Ogden to see what was around. Both Little and Great Crested Grebes were on the reservoir and there were a few Siskins in the woods but overall it was fairly quiet, not helped by the large number of visitors to the site. 

-Dunlin

-Sedge Warbler

-Little Owl

-Red Crossbill

Species List:

Soil Hill: Canada Goose, Mallard, Red-legged Partridge, Common Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Swift, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Common Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Western Barn Owl, Little Owl, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Sedge Warbler, Barn Swallow, Willow Warbler, Eurasian Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, European Stonechat, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, Common Linnet, Red Crossbill, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin, Common Reed Bunting, Western Roe Deer, European Rabbit, Common Shrew,

Whiteholme Reservoir: Canada Goose, Mallard, Feral Pigeon, Common Swift, Northern Lapwing, Common Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Eurasian Hobby, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Skylark, Barn Swallow, Sand Martin, Eurasian Wren, Northern Wheatear, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Siskin, Common Reed Bunting,

Fly Flatts: Canada Goose, Mallard, Common Swift, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Northern Lapwing, Common Ringed Plover, Common Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Eurasian Hobby, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Common Reed Bunting,

Ogden Water LNR: Canada Goose, Mallard, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Swift, Black-headed Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Cormorant, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Magpie, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Willow Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Blackcap, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Dunnock, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin,

Soil Hill; Isolation week 12

The weather became warm and humid during the week, normally with foggy start that restricted early morning birding but with pleasant conditions by mid-morning that would then give way to still, heavy and hot conditions.

As antcipated for the summer months, Soil Hill has continued to be fairly slow, but with a few interesting bits. A Bullfinch has been hanging around, seen twice, and there have been three flyover Siskins which were the first of the year. These Siskins coincide with a large national movement of the species. The Warblers on site continue to feed their young and there was a fledging of Stonechats which produced six offspring, all dotted along the walls. Insects have also been on the up, with good numbers of Large Red and Azure Damselflies still around, as well as Broad-bodied Chaser and Four-spotted Chaser adding to my Soil Hill dragonfly list.

In addition to my daily visits to Soil Hill, I also visited a few other local sites. I visited Gorple and Widdop Reservoirs for the first time, and there were a few nice bits there. At Gorple there was ample shoreline but only a handful of waders; 4 Redshank, 5 Common Sandpiper (Including chicks) and a Dunlin. A spotted Flycatcher was also present in one of the small plantations there. Widdop was fairly quiet but a couple of Little Ringed Plovers were excellent.

-Little Owl

-Azure Damselfly

-Four-spot Chaser (f. praenubila)

-Broad-bodied Chaser

Species List:

Gorple Reservoirs: Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Common Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Northern Lapwing, Little Ringed Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Common Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Common Kestrel, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Eurasian Skylark, Barn Swallow, Willow Warbler, Eurasian Wren, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, Spotted Flycatcher, European Robin, Northern Wheatear, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin, Common Reed Bunting, 

Widdop Reservoir: Canada Goose, Mallard, Little Ringed Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Common Sandpiper, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Barn Swallow, Willow Warbler, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Dunnock, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin, Common Reed Bunting,

Soil Hill: Canada Goose, Mallard, Red-legged Partridge, Common Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Swift, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Common Snipe, Black-headed Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Little Owl, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Sedge Warbler, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Willow Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Eurasian Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, European Stonechat, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, European Greenfinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin, Common Reed Bunting, Western Roe Deer, European Rabbit, Broad-bodied Chaser, Four-spotted Chaser, Azure Damselfly, Large Red Damselfly, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Common Blue, Large Skipper,

Fly Flatts

My mum was passing Fly Flatts this morning so I got a lift up to see what was about. Usual moorland suspects around, but my first drumming Snipe of the year was fantastic, always a real treat and 3 Wheatears 2 male and a female made for an excellent mornings birding.

I then moved onto to another location which is good for Little Owl. Its my first time checking out the site this year and I was unsure what to expect, but just going past I picked one up perched on the wall top and after that the other bird did not take much finding. Such smart little birds, really nice to see.

-Little Owl

It all made for a pleasant mornings birding.

Species List:

Fly Flatts: Meadow Pipit, Common Snipe, Northern Wheatear. Canada Goose, Lapwing, Mallard, Grey Heron, Jackdaw, Greylag Goose, Red Grouse, Carrion Crow, Pheasant, Redshank,

Soil Hill 13.08 - 19.08

Highlights from the past week have been surprisingly numerous, with quite a few patch ticks around.On the 13th I spotted a group of Canada Geese feeding on the fields near the marsh. This is my first record of them here, though I probably have seen them before in my armchair birder days.

On the 15th August I patch ticked Sand Martin with a nice individual blogging with the swallows on the west side of the hill. It moved off north though and I was unable to reconnect with it.

The 16th was a superb day. When walking along the west side I was pleasantly surprised to spot 2 Little Owls resting on the wall. It looked like an adult and a well developed juvenile. I was pretty thrilled with that, a patch tick!

On the 17th I had two really good birds, but neither of them were in the area that I record as Soil Hill. The first was a Spotted Flycatcher which was down the track left of the Koi Shop. It alighted on the wall in front of me, but we both recognised each other at the same time and it dived over the wall. I raced over to see where it had gone but it obviously saw me again and I had to watch it fly on up the valley away from me. The next birds would not have been patch ticks, so I did not feel so bad them not being on the site. As I was walking down Taylor Lane I heard a jangling finch call which I realised might be Twite again. I go them landed on the wire but they did not stay long and flew off, though they did bank back round and appear to come back to that area, though I was unable to confirm it. A quick refresh in the Collins App confirm my suspicions that they were Twite, possibly 2 of the 3 birds I had seen earlier in the year.

13.08.2015

Species List:

Soil Hill: Woodpigeon, Greenfinch, Swallow, Feral Pigeon, Meadow Pipit, Carrion Crow, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Magpie, Starling, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Common Gull, Stock Dove, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Canada Goose, Skylark,

15.08.2015

It was also nice to bump into Nigel Kerwin today, who showed me a new area of Soil Hill that I have never been to, so that will be something to keep an eye on in future. 

Species List:

Soil Hill: Willow Warbler, Magpie, Swallow, Starling, Linnet, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Sand Martin, Kestrel, Blackbird, Whitethroat, Dunnock, Rook, Pheasant, Skylark, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Stock Dove, Meadow Pipit, 

-Willow Warbler

16.08.2015

It was also nice to bump into Brian Sumner up there, who was arriving just as I was leaving. Glad you got the Owls Brian.

Species List:

Soil Hill:

Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Swallow, Stock Dove, Swift, House Martin, Black-Headed Gull, Common Gull, Kestrel, Linnet, Jackdaw, Little Owl, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Sparrowhawk, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Rook, Magpie, Wheatear, 

-Wheatear

-Swift

-Little Owl

17.08.2015
Of note today were the Spotted Flycatcher (Plus Willow Warbler) down the track near the Koi Shop and the 2 Twite that flew over Taylor Lane. The Twite are probably still in the area so worth looking for. Perhaps the real highlight however, was when two Weasel kits emerged from the vegetation along the edge of Taylor Lane, ran past me and then started play-fighting in the middle of the road. It was incredible to see, simply superb.
Species List:
Soil Hill: Magpie, Starling, Kestrel, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Linnet, Swallow, Woodpigeon, Black-Headed Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Wren, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Whitethroat, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Stock Dove, Skylark,

-Weasels

-Twite

Soil Hill

Not been much going on recently as I have been mainly birding Soil Hill, where there tend not to be many birds. However, there was a little bit today so I may as well do a round up of the last few days.

Nothing happened yesterday, though I bumped into Nigel up there and we had a chat about the remarkable lack of wheatears up on the hill. Was there anything else up there? Nope! Just the usual suspects, though there was a reasonable fall of Mipits and Skylarks, better than any of my previous visit.

Species List:

Soil Hill: Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Lapwing, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Grey Heron, Kestrel

Today was much better, probably as a result of the weather, which was very warm. Still no wheatears but plenty of Mipits and Skylarks and other usual suspects. I had hoped to maybe pick up an osprey moving but no joy. However I did pick up a raptor moving over Ovenden moor. It was soaring and appeared to have broad, rounded wings with a short, rounded tail. Sadly the haze meant I could get nothing much on it, but on profile and giss I put it down as a Buzzard, which is a patch tick for me (Somehow).

Also, on the way up I spotted my first caterpillar of the year though I seem to recall this species (whatever it is) that I have seen it before in November, so I am familiar with this species in odd seasons.

-Caterpillar

Species List:

Soil Hill: Sparrowhawk, Curlew, Lapwing, Meadow Pipit, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Common Buzzard, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Skylark, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, 

We also had a fantastic day in the garden with the warm weather. We must have had about 15 frogs in the pond, and they spent all day singing. I took a few shots but not as many as usual. We have no frogspawn yet but it shouldn't be long, that's for certain.

-Common Frog

While waiting for dinner I set up the scope in the back yard on the decking and scanned the horizon for stuff. I picked up a Grey Heron flying over the hills, as well as a descending Skylark, which is a garden tick technically. There remained Mipits flying overhead, which has been a regular feature of the recent time at home.

In the evening when I was outside I heard the local Little Owl calling. I decided to get up my new scope and see if I could find it. I spent a while looking before I picked it up in a tree on the far hillside. The scope more than rose up to the challenge, though the view was not exceptional I did manage to get a very poor record shot. Still, its great to have seen it again, since its always around and I have only ever seen it twice before. Fantastic!!

-Little Owl

So its been a pretty good day, and have got some really nice birds to show for it...

Species List:

Garden: Grey Heron, Little Owl, Chaffinch, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Blue Tit, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, 

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, 

Return to the Owls

After yesterdays success today my mum wanted to go up and see the Little Owls, since it was not too far. So we turned up in the pouring rain and while she waited I tried to track down an Owl. I did only manage to find one, though progress was hampered due to me initially checking the wrong wall. It Owl was sat in a hole in the wall to try and shelter from the rain, but we got decent views of it through the scope. Once more due to the distance the photos are not great.

-Little Owl

Species List:

Undisclosed Site: Little Owl, Lapwing

Wandering the Moors and an Undisclosed location

 After our walk at Wycolle I decided to head off to an undisclosed location that Dave Sutcliffe had told me about where I stood a good chance of seeing little owl, a very charismatic bird that I hardly ever see. As a result, and seeing as I was doing a yearlist and was taking my birding more seriously I decided to try and track some down, and Dave had kindly provided me with a location where I would be able to see them.

To get there we headed to Ogden and up onto the moors via the Golf Course. Ogden was pretty quiet, a pair of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls on the buoy being the highlight. The golf course was similarly quiet, though we did stumble across a mixed tit flock feeding on the edge of the woodland.

It was as we left the golf course that things started to look up. As soon as we reached the old Withens pub did a Sparrowhawk fly past us hunting the fields there. The view was brief but was very good. From there we headed down to Cold Edge Dams. There we stumble across a Wheatear, a really nice one, though for most of our time watching it it had had its back to us.

The dams themselves were not very busy bird-wise, but had some stuff on them, such as Tufted Duck and just as we were leaving an Oystercatcher flew over, which was a bit unexpected. The highlight was a House Martin that flew over the dams. Its only me second of the year, and the first one I got a proper view off.

Continuing we wandered onwards to the site. When we arrived we immediately began hunting the walls for the Little owls. It did not look promising after 10 mins, we searching the walls going down the road, my dad searching those going up. However, soon I stationed myself so that I could scan properly and drew out the scope so I can get a proper look. It took about 5 mins but my eyes finally settled upon a lovely pair of little owls. I heralded my dad through a series of waves and gesticulations. Together we watched the owls for some 15 mins, first from the wall where I had originally spotted them and then from the road. They were really nice to watch, and through the scope we got great views, though they were not as bold as little owls often are (or so I'm told). As a result when we tried to get a little closer, we were still not even that close, they startled and left. This was unfortunate, and unexpected as we had hardly left the road and were still in the field opposite from the owls. We still got a great view but as a result were unable to get any decent photos, those being record shots.

-Little Owl

Having lost the owls we continued our way and ended up on the moors on the top of Luddenden Dean. We followed the top path as though going to Fly Flatts. It was along this path that I spotted our find of the day, and possibly my personal rarest ever complete self find. A dark thrush landed on a fence post in front of us. I pulled out my bins, but the bird had already taken off. I followed its flight and saw the striking white mark along its chest, making it a stunning male Ring Ouzel. Sadly it was already departing when I identified it, but was unable to re-find it, the only thing re-found was 3 mistle thrushes. Having lost it was a little disappointing but it was still enough, and I was well happy.

We continued along the path until we reached fly flatts. However along the way the weather turned on us and as a result the number of birds dropped rather quickly. On fly flatts there was not much happening besides some red grouse. Along the road we stumbled across 2 wheatear making stonechat noises, as well as a redshank that flew over us. 

The walk down the golf course and then back to the house produced absolutely nothing of note, and so the story of the walk pretty much ends here. It was a long walk and I was dead by the end, though we we had seen loads of stuff and had a good time. The only thing left to do is to give a complete species breakdown...

Species List:

Ogden Water LNR: Goldfinch, Carrion Crow, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Mistle Thrush, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Feral Pigeon, Jackdaw, Pied Wagtail, Starling, Skylark, Chaffinch, Magpie, Canada Goose, Mallard, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Meadow Pipit, Coal Tit, Kestrel, Jay, Lapwing, Swallow, Curlew

Cold Edge Dams: Sparrowhawk, Swallow, Meadow Pipit, Lapwing, Skylark, Canada Goose, Mallard, Curlew, Tufted Duck, Wheatear, Reed Bunting, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Starling, Pied Wagtail, House Martin, Black-Headed Gull, Oystercatcher, Willow Warbler, Pheasant

Undisclosed location: Little Owl, Meadow Pipit, Lapwing, Carrion Crow, Starling

Warley Moor: Ring Ouzel, Mistle Thrush, Magpie, Red Grouse

Fly Flatts: Red Grouse, Redshank, Wheatear, Lapwing, Meadow Pipit, Curlew, Canada Goose, Swallow

Little Owl

Walking home from the bus through bradshaw park I spotted a little owl flying between telegraph poles. It landed on one and stayed there, and its where I left it. It looked pretty commical hunched there, even though I could only make out its outline due to the limited light. Even so, it was great to see, and pretty exciting since its the closest I've ever been to one.

little owl

i caught up with the little owl whilst rolling a snowball this evening. it flew straight up and landed my house roof.. all my little owls have been this year. becuase it was dark i could not see it clearly but the sky was slightly red and when it sttod there it stood out really bold with the dark of the roof.

sledging opposite my house

3 feildfares went over one at a time. i think they are the same birds that were in the garden 2 days ago. it is quite possible that all three are roosting in the small copse near that feild as i have seen them going there multiple times.

however as we were sledging a little owl flew over. it was a real surprise as this bird sits in the vally and calls all the time and we have never seen it so to see it in such unlikely circumstances was great. this is only my second time and its my little nemesis. having said that this will probably be the last time i will see it since he has haunted me since i was seven and i have never seen it. Grrrrrr

cold edge, yesterday

got a text about a cuckoo at cold edge yesterday at around 3.30pm. i asked my mum if we could go and so we did. as we arrived the phone died cvauseing problems and we got lost. my mum dropped me off at the bottom of the track and then drove off to find somewhere to park. when i got there dave sutcliff was there but the cuckoo had done a runner. sean jhonstone and then nick dawtrey arrived but still no cuckoo. Sean showed me a whinchat through the scope which was quite special as i have never seen one before. then he showed me a cute ball off fluff juvenile little owl-my first confirmed sighting off one. it was a realltreat off a day and it had only just begun. as we waited paitently for the cuckoo nick did some prowling around and then, going up to the barn called us over about a black redstart. this bird was amaing. one minuet it was there the next minuet it had gone. it flew out off the barn where nick found it and flew into a tree where we lost it. it then re-appeared on the roof off the old barn. sean went to try and find it with his camera and it appeared on the lowest barn building where we were stationed waiting for a cuckoo. it then flew off up to the top barn building and then i lost it. i managed to get these rubbish pics for the brif seconds it stayed about.

it really was a cracking afternoon also preasnt were 1 grouse flushed on the farm track and the usual mipits, swallows and woodpigeons plus a magpie.

p.s. one m,inuet after we left the cuckoo came out and flew over the road-talk about timing