A diary of last week - ramblings and Bramblings

Sunday 16 March
Walked over to Withens Clough reservoir and back on the Pennine Way down to the Rochdale Canal - only 7.2 miles but with a total ascent of 1097 feet which felt like more! Not much about apart from a Curlew singing on Erringden Moor and a Grey Wag at Callis Bridge.

Monday 17 March
Spent the day decorating at our daughter's house.

Tuesday 18 March
Ditto above entry. A single male Brambling visited the back garden feeders.

Wednesday 19 March
A 3 mile walk down the hill to the canal and saw 14 Brambling feeding on beech mast in Shaw Wood. Also in the wood were 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, both drumming, and a Nuthatch singing.

8 Bramblings

Thursday 20 March - first day of Spring
A 4.1 mile walk across Strait Hey and down the Pennine Way to Callis Bridge. My first Chiffchaff of the year was singing by the canal and a Green Woodpecker was yaffling too. 2 Goosander were on the canal. Brambling in the garden with the Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Goldfinches and Redpolls.

Friday 21 March
Ditto 17 and 18.  Brambling in the garden again.

Saturday 22 March
Shopping so best not mentioned :(   but a Brambling was in the garden.

Sunday 23 March
Walked 8.8 miles down to the local garden centre and home again. A few Mipits were in the fields and a couple of Pied Wags too but nothing else - did I mention the Brambling was back in the garden?

 

A Walk Through Mankinholes to Gaddings Dam

It was a fine morning but the early morning mist was still rolling in and at times Stoodley Pike was obscurred by clouds.

Walking through Mankinholes the mist descended so visibility was very poor, although a Mistle Thrush singing from a tree top brightened things up.

Along towards Langfield there were Meadow Pipits singing and parachuting at last, and a Skylark could be heard from above Langfield Edge. Up to Gaddings Dam and 3 more Skylarks singing. At Gaddings it was clear for all of 2 minutes then the mist came in again and didn't look like clearing for a while so I set off along the dam wall rather than walking along the Western shore, not expecting to see much as there is very little shoreline. I put up 2 Ringed Plovers almost straight away and they flew off into the grey morning mist.

The lovely views from Gaddings are being changed by these things, just about visible through the murk:

Going down to Jail Hole to look for Wheatear, a Red Grouse took off into the mist - calling after me as it landed about 30 yards away.

Back through Lumbutts and Mankinholes the mist had gone and visibility was good. A Pied Wagtail flew over and a pair of Little Owls were in their usual place with a third also seen in its normal location at Cross Lane.

 

The final sighting for the walk was a pair of Stock Doves also at Cross Lane, we don't get many of them here so it was a good record.

Redhead Smew and Drake Eider

A good Monday indeed. Called in at North Cave Wetlands to see the redhead Smew again that has been lingering at the reserve for knocking on a month now. It was pottering about in the reeds just 20 yards from the Turret Hide and eventually decided to stretch its swimming legs out into the open water.

Back home I walked down to Walsden to see if the reported drake Eider was still on the Rochdale Canal, as this is a very good record for Calderdale. We do not see many Eiders in the part of the country so it was worth an 8 mile round trip to see this elegant bird on home waters.

Luckily it was still there, although it had moved a little upstream from its reported position yesterday.