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, 

Cambridge Holiday day 5: Himalayan Wildlife Watching and going home

Last day of the holiday, so we headed to a National Trust property, Angelsey Abbey, same as last time we were down this way. I did not expect to see much but it turned out to be the best wildlife filled day of the holiday. Probably as a consequence of the weather, which was the nicest it had been so far on the holiday. As last time, as soon as we arrived I headed straight to the wildlife area in the hope that there may be something good on the feeders or in the woods. However, I thought we had arrived too late, and that most things would have been scared off by rowdy kids.

As I was crossing the lawns I spotted a Green Woodpecker. Its crazy to think I have seen more of these birds in the past 3 days that I did in the whole of last year but now I managed to get a photo of one too as it perched up in a tree in a reasonably photograph-able position.

-Green Woodpecker

I got to the hide but there was not much there. A lovely moorhen sitting on a nest in front of the hide was a highlight, and when we returned in the evening I could see 2 eggs under there too, so that was nice. There were also some smashing views of Blue Tit and Chaffinch as well as a couple of Long-Tailed Tits coming through. As a results I stayed about half an hour before leaving.

Now I was at a loss as to where to look for stuff, so I headed around the house, to the second hand bookshop, and then off into the gardens along the river. The river was dead, with no vegetation on it at all. However, there was a Grey Wagtail on it, though that was the sum total of all the bird species. 

As I entered the garden though I spotted a Brimstone butterfly flying along the borders. This was quite exciting, my first of the year and a species I do not see as much as I would like. In the end I found up to 8 of these butterflies around the borders. I was lucky enough to find one that had landed in an ideal position so could grab a few record shots for the year.

-Brimstone

It was then that I got a text saying to be back for lunch. Of course it was at this point that all the wildlife appeared. I was walking down a wooded alley with conifers on both sides, and importantly no people, when I spotted a female pheasant crossing the path in front of me. At once I could see that this was not an ordinary pheasant with striking plumage and a black eye mask on an orange face. I realised pretty quickly that I must be looking at a female Reeves Pheasant, though I knew nothing about them, the mask on this bird matched the males very nicely. I proceeded to follow the bird round for about 20 - 30 mins before deciding it best to go to lunch. I also found it after lunch, though it was much harder to refind after lunch, and managed to get some reasonable shots, though it being under the trees the light was poor. However, I got enough shots to show the spangly plumage and striking head pattern. Sadly, this was my favourite of the pheasant encounters of the holiday but its the one I can't tick!

-Reeves Pheasant

As I was following the pheasant before lunch I also spotted a Muntjac Deer in deep bushes. I tried for a photo but it was too thick in, and when it bolted it was on the far side to me, so my only effort was blurry and not particularly clear. Having said that, it does show the difficult nature of seeing these animals.

-Muntjac Deer

I also spotted a Common Buzzard overhead at this point as the thermals were picking up. I decided to leave it and go for lunch, but returned after lunch. After lunch I failed to pick up the pheasant for a couple of hours and there was no sign of the deer. There were other bits and pieces though, including a pair of Goldcrests, a couple of other butterfly species; Comma and Peacock and got smashing views of Sparrowhawk and Treecreeper.

As the afternoon drew on my parents and I decided to re-try the wildlife area to see what was there. Just as we approached my dad spotted 2 Muntjac Deer deep in the undergrowth, and I tried again for a photo. However, once more I failed pretty badly. We also had outstanding views of up to 4 Jays together!

-Muntjac Deer

It was late afternoon at this point so I did not see much more. On the feeders we were joined by a Great Spotted Woodpecker, though it was on the more distant feeders. That was about it though, and after that we left to head off home. It had been a fantastic day, and to finish with here are a few photos of other wildlife seen through the day, showing just how fantastic a days birding it had been...

-Bee Fly

-Sparrowhawk

-Comma

-Great Spotted Woodpecker

Species List:
Angelsey Abbey NT: Green Woodpecker, Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Rook, Jackdaw, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Common Pheasant, Moorhen, Mallard, Woodpigeon, Chaffinch, Long-Tailed Tit, Common Buzzard, Grey Wagtail, Magpie, Treecreeper, Black-Headed Gull, Sparrowhawk, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Goldcrest, Greenfinch, Reeves Pheasant, Muntjac Deer, Rabbit, Grey Squirrel, Comma, Peacock Butterfly, Brimstone

Cambridge Holiday day 4: A days dipping

As promised I returned to the Lady A site in high hopes of a feeder and some photos. Perhaps I should have hoped for the pheasant since I got none of the above. The landowner, or one of his minions, drove round the inside of the fence in  a 4x4 to make sure we were not trespassing, before saying he hoped to have the feeder up by tomorrow. If he had just driven up there now, why not put it up now? That was about the highlight except for a brief Sparrowhawk. Probably saw more species of bird last time I went to Soil Hill. Here, have a look at the ride that I spent 4 hours watching today.

-Lady A Woodland Ride

At 1.00 I decided I had had enough. I had now put in 10 hours and seen the bird for less than 10 seconds, hardly value! I arrived back at the caravan for 3.00. My dad said that we would go up to Weeting Heath that evening for me to try and get stone curlew and woodlark, as evening and morning were supposed to be best.

To continue this fantastic trend we arrived at 5.00 to see no curlews. I was so fed up with it all that I decided not to trek for the woodlark and just sit and wait for my parents to come back to pick me up, as they had gone to a local RAF site. The best bird I had seen was a Willow Tit on the feeders, the first time I have confidently identified the species based on call.

Then, when all seemed lost I finally got a bird worth writing home about. In the gloom under the trees I could see a small crest moving around. It was difficult to follow but it came down to the shrubbery at my level so the light was better. I raised my bins, and froze, seeing the stunning eye mask and red crest! Only my second ever Firecrest and showing much better and more consistently than the first one I saw that's for sure. As a result I decided to try and get some photos despite the poor light. However, my parents soon returned and, so far as I knew, my photos were terrible, my initial effort being the best and, well, you can see enough about that...

-Firecrest

But then, trawling through my photos I came to the first shot I had taken. I don't even know how I shot it, or where or anything. I think I was maybe testing the camera for the set up, but regardless. There it was in the top of the camera, almost as clear as could be. It was still a little obscured but was a fantastic shot and more than the best record shot than I could have dreamt in the conditions. The photo says enough about the bird than I could ever.

-Firecrest

So that was that. The night fell completely and we finished our full day in Cambridge. To be honest, until the Firecrest this could have been one of the worst days birding I have ever had, but the firecrest redeemed it and I actually ended the day feeling pretty pleased, despite all I had missed!

Species List:

Lidlington: Sparrowhawk, Green Woodpecker, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Rook, Jackdaw, Magpie

Weeting Heath NWT: Rook, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Firecrest, Willow Tit, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Common Pheasant, Woodpigeon, 

Cambridge Holiday day 3: Fowlmere RSPB

For today my family were going to Duxford air museum. Having seen the pheasant yesterday and th weather being windy today I did not fancy going back for that, and all the other nature reserves that I wanted to go to is that I could not get to by public transport. There was an RSPB reserve near to Duxford and so that seemed like the best option.

It was a small reserve and I did not fancy spending all day there, even less so when birds were at a premium that would make soil hill proud. There were odd bits though having spent all day there so I gathered up around 25 species by the end of the day.

The first two hides had no birds in at all… but the third hide had a little bit more to offer, including Graylag Geese in good numbers, a few Canada Geese and a couple of Mute Swans. 3 Reed Buntings made an appearance too. The reedbeds were alive with the squealing of water rails but I did not see any.

-Graylag Goose

There was a Barn Owl box there which I could see a pale blob inside, presumably an owl, but could not make it out properly first time. Having said that, the second time round the bird had moved and now its face was clear through the hole, clearly making out that it was indeed a Barn Owl, happily dozing away.

-Barn Owl

I spent most of the rest of the time waiting for a Water Rail to appear from the reeds in one of the hides. I got a singing Chiff-Chaff and Teal added to my list. The real highlight of the afternoon was a Muntjac Deer that strolled along the hedge as I left the hide. I got a fantastic view of it and it did not even flinch when I got the camera out. However, I had it on auto-focus so failed to get it through the vegetation, and in the meantime it saw me and bolted, which I was a little gutted about for the missed opportunity but it was still a fantastic view.

-Muntjac Deer

That was about it though. It was nice, but most were species I could easily see at home, so it did feel a little like a day wasted. However, news broke in the afternoon that the Pheasant was now to fed with seed from tomorrow onwards, so I guess that’s tomorrows plans sorted…

Species List:

Fowlmere RSPB: Graylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Mallard, Teal, Barn Owl, Little Grebe, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Common Snipe, Long-Tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blackbird, Robin, Wren, Woodpigeon, Moorhen, Coot, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Reed Bunting, Sparrowhawk, Chiffchaff, Muntjac Deer, Goldfinch, Dunnock,

Cambridge Holiday day 2: Lidlington for the last Lady A

So our first full day in Cambridge I decided to tackle the Lady Amherst’s Pheasant to try and see it before the species goes extinct in the Western Palearctic. I’m sure my family were thrilled when I arose at half 5 in the morning to set myself up and then be on my way.

I had worked it out, so I had a 50 min walk into Cambridge itself, followed by an 80 min coach journey to Bedford, followed by a train to the village where the bird was supposedly residing. I did not know if I would see the bird, or how long it would take. I envisaged that I may have to spend most of my holiday given the patchy nature of sightings but since time was running out I really wanted to see it before it died.

I arrived on site for 9.00 and recognised it immediately from the photos I had seen of the site. I then set up for my long, lonely watch. At around quarter past 9 I was joined by another 3 birders which helped pass the time and give another 3 pairs of eyes for the watch.

At 25 past 9 the unthinkable happened. The bird put in an appearance. On the back of the ridge that we were looking down the birds head appeared, clearly showing the large white on the back of the head. It moved to show the red on the rump but the tail remained obscured. It did not last long as the bird quickly moved away down the far side of the ridge, running away from us. It was probably spooked by our rapid reactions to its presence, but it all happened so quickly that there was not much we could do.

It all happened much too quickly for a photo, but we knew we had seen it and so cued the celebrations. I was thrilled, but of the 4 of us present only 2 of us had picked it up, so I felt a little disappointed for the other guys, especially since one was my age and it would have been a lifer for all of them.

We continued to wait but there was no sight or sound. We had great views of Long-Tailed Tit and Blue Tit but there was little else besides a large group of 7 Squirrels feeding in the area on the path. A Green Woodpecker flew overhead which was a yeartick for me and a great opportunity to get my bogey bird out of the way.

It took 2 hours before the LAP showed itself again. I caught a glimpse of its head clearly coming over the ridge and responded by quickly going for the camera. As soon as I got to the satchel on my shoulder I realised I had made a mistake as the bird had strolled very quickly across the gap. I could only watch as the bird strutted across the top of the ridge before re-entering the scrub. Its profile was distinct and I got a good view of the tail feathers. Sadly I could not get my hands back quick enough for the bins but I could see enough without them. It was a much better view second time than the first and really got to grips with the remaining plumage features.

Fortunately the other 2 guys saw it this time, but the man who had seen it initially missed it this time. Either way, it was great that we had all seen it, even though its appearances added up to less than 10 seconds in total. That was that for the rest of my stay. The 3 other gentlemen left and I was joined by a host of new birders that totalled 7 by the time I left at 3 o’clock, bringing my hours spent up to 6 watching the woodland.

The only remaining sign I got was when it called 3 times at 2.00 but it was further down the bank and did not sound like it would be returning to the ridge any time soon. Also given that the wind had picked up and that it was supposed to rain, and that there was more of a crowd now I decided to call it quits. I was a very happy bloke though, that’s for sure. Having got to grips with my target species at the first time of asking when I thought I would be spending days looking for it. Result!

I headed back and made it back to Cambridge for 6, just in time to crash exhausted in the caravan and enjoying a well-earned victory dinner. I spent 6 hours at the site and saw the bird for less than 10 seconds, but the anticipation made the time fly by, and the bird itself made the trip worthwhile. First lifer of the holiday; the last tickable Lady Amherst’s Pheasant in the UK, a bird possibly as old as I am!

Species List:

Lidlingham: Blackbird, Dunnock, Lady Amherst’s Pheasant, Green Woodpecker, Common Pheasant, Long-Tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Jackdaw, Common Buzzard, Rook, Carrion Crow, Mistle Thrush

Cambridge Holiday day 1: Travelling

We set off down to Cambridge on the Sunday for our Easter family holiday, but traffic was pretty horrific and we did not arrive until 14.00 having set off at 10.30 in the morning. Along the drive down we did see a couple of Red Kites, which was fantastic, as they usually are.
Once we arrived on site we had only a few hours of light left so decided to look at the local nature reserves. First on the list was a small quarry just down from the caravan site, but there was pretty much nothing going on there, the highlight being a small squad of Long-Tailed Tits, but that was about it.
Next we decided to go and have a look at a few lakes that were on the OS map to see if they were up to much. They were further away but we got a few more birds for our travels. There were a couple of Chiffchaffs singing along the edges of the lake and one of them we got a pretty decent view of. There were good numbers of Great-Crested Grebes, as well as a couple of Tufted Ducks. The real highlight though was a large family of Mallard, with around 10 ducklings, my first of the year and very early too I would have thought.

Species List:
Travelling Down: Rook, Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Pheasant,
Cherry Hinton: Long-Tailed Tit, Mallard, Blue Tit, Jackdaw, Rook, Woodpigeon, Robin, Blackbird, Mallard, Great-Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Pied Wagtail, Chiffchaff

Burnsal Bridge

Family day out as is standard for a Wednesday when I am home. Usual business of a walk in the Dales and today's destination was Burnsal Bridge. On the way over I picked out 2 partridges but could not get enough on them as we drove by to confidently give them a species. I also spotted a dead barn owl which was a very sorry sight.

As we pulled up there were plenty of Oystercatchers, 14 in total, as well as 2 Grey Wagtails and a Pied Wagtail vigorously attacking its reflection in a car mirror. I grabbed a couple of shots of this as it is interesting behavior.

-Pied Wagtail

Along the walk we picked up 3 Dippers, multiple Grey Wagtails, a couple of Goosanders and an array of woodland species such as Goldcrest and Long-Tailed Tit. The highlight, as it were, was a pair of Red-Legged Partridges on the far bank high up. Its the first partridges I can defiantly put a species on that I have seen this year so will go down as a yeartick, and the first time I have seen the species on this site.

-Red-Legged Partridge 

There was also some more plastic fantastic with a pair of Mandarin feeding on the near bank. We were able to get reasonably close too, though more to the female than the spectacular male.

-Mandarin

It was another lovely walk at the site with the full compliment of usual suspects, though the RLP was a massive and unexpected bonus. Also picked up Common Buzzard on the way back which was another addition to the species list for the day.

Species List:
Burnsal Bridge: Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Oystercatcher, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Mallard, Black-Headed Gull, Rook, Common Gull, Chaffinch, Goldcrest, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Dipper, Long-Tailed Tit, Goldfinch, Wren, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Lapwing, Mandarin, Red-Legged Partridge, Pheasant, Goosander, Collard Dove, Magpie, Nuthatch, House Sparrow, Starling, Curlew, Mistle Thrush, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull,

Undisclosed location

Went out today to hopefully see my first ever lesser spotted woodpecker but alas in the 2 hours I spent searching I caught no sight or sound. Hopefully as the year progresses they will be easier to track down. Having said that there was plenty of other stuff to keep me going.

The highlight was yearticking Woodcock, as a bird came flying through the trees right at me before turning back into the woods where I lost it. Not going to lie, that was very unexpected and more than made up for the lack of lessers. A host of other nice woodland birds could also be seen on the site, including Chiffchaff (Including one singing), Goldcrest, Long-Tailed Tit, Bullfinch, Nuthatch and Jay. And Great Spotted Woodpeckers were in very healthy supply, with at least 4 individuals on the site but possibly more.

-Great Spotted Woodpecker

There were also plenty of common garden birds, such as a dearth of Wrens. None woodland birds included around 30 Redwings and a flyover Grey Heron. There were also so unusually tawny Grey Squirrels which were quite striking in their own right.

Species List:

Undisclosed Site: Jay, Woodcock, Chiffchaff, Long-Tailed Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goldcrest, Sparrowhawk, Chaffinch, Mallard, Goldfinch, Common Gull, Blackbird, Robin, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Wren, Coal Tit, Collard Dove, Nuthatch, Starling, Grey Heron, Redwing, Bullfinch,

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

A fairly standard return to the patch, highlighted by a lack of birds. Its so nice to be back booting around Soil Hill, though the breeze meant I did not stay up there long, and I don't think I would have missed much birdwise, the highlight being a Curlew in one of the fields next to the track.

I did however see my first frogspawn of the year. I have not seen any in Sheffield though clearly they have been busy here for some time as there was tonnes of the stuff in all the pools. Now we just have to hope that the pools don't dry out like they have done in the past.

-Frogspawn

Species List:

Soil Hill: Starling, Curlew, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Lapwing, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon