Whooper Swan

Called in at Sowerby Bridge to see the Whooper Swan - a new bird for me in Calderdale. Got closer to a Whooper than I ever have before and great views. At first sight it looked very dirty and not the brilliant white you associate with adult birds.

Postscript - the swan was indeed dirty - with oil and grease from the water in the canal basin -  which is why it hadn't flown off. It was subsequently rescued by

Yorkshire Swan Rescue Hospital, Brandsby, York

who do a fantastic job and the bird is doing well and on the way to full recovery. Thanks YSRH.

Snow Buntings and Northern Long-tailed Tits

I went to a local spot with a friend of mine (Andy) to see if the Snow Buntings were still around as they've been lingering since Nov/Dec last year. They were indeed still there, 4 of them, poking around in the rubble and puddles and snow. Although there was no snow at 'normal' levels, Soil Hill to the north of Halifax is a bit higher at 1300 feet so there was a little snow around. The visibility was bad but we had pretty good views and the birds approached quite close to us as we crouched to try to get some photos. Drizzle was blowing onto our cameras so the quality of the shots we got wasn't great - here's the best of mine.

On to Luddenden in the hope of seeing the Northern Long-tailed Tits that I had missed on two previous visits....3rd time lucky perhaps?

We parked at Jerusalem Farm and walked by the stream towards the head of the Dean. Although there were a few Long-tailed Tits about they were all the usual race we see around the UK. We wandered lonely through the clouds hoping to catch a view of the birds and at about 14:00 Andy spotted two of them, on the telephone wires behind the house where they had been seen previously.

They really stand out like sore thumbs compared to the standard LTT's and once you see them they are unmistakable.No photos I'm afraid as they were too far away.
Other birds seen:
Treecreeper - at least 3
Nuthatch - 2
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 2 maybe 3
Bullfinch - 4 (3 females)
Kestrel
Goldcrest - 2
Grey Heron - 2 (one perched in a fir tree)
Jay

Fox in the frost

There was a hard frost overnight so the moors and fields were white this morning. As I looked out of the back window at about 09:30 I saw a fox walking through the field. They normally run through but this one was struggling and limping very badly. It also had a dark mark or scar on its muzzle.

Sanderling at Hornsea

The usual morning walk brought an unexpected sight - 4 Sanderling on the beach!!

This is the first time I've seen Sanderling at Hornsea, but then again this is the first time I've been there in winter :-)

Walk to Gaddings Dam

Took the opportunity to walk to Gaddings Dam as it wasn't raining, hailing or snowing for a change! It was windy but as the sun was shining the weather was too good to miss.

At Lee Dam there were 7 Goosander, 5 Teal and a female Goldeneye. Lots of Long-tailed Tits, Great Tits and Blue Tits were in the hawthorns along with a few Goldfinches.

The moors were very wet underfoot and although I looked forward to seeing what birds may be at Gaddings (none as it turned out) the view over towards Stoodley Pike and a large mass of lenticular clouds proved to be the day's highlight:

Stoodley Pike

Stoodley Pike gets a dusting of snow -

and is shrouded in mystery (well, in mist anyway)

Squirrel and Lumbutts Water Tower

A walk through Lumbutts on a sunny morning and a nice view of Stoodley Pike behind the Lumbutts Water Tower. This local feature is a bit different because the tower held 3 water wheels, each mounted vertically one above the other and water was fed onto them from above. I'm still researching how the water got above them as the three mill dams are at ground level.

 In the garden, a squirrel managed to get into the pigeon-proof bird feeder. Good job we don't get many squirrels in the garden or the food wouldn't last long.

Recent pics

Last Wednesday I managed to see a Desert Wheatear for the first time. A visit to Bempton Cliffs RSPB in blustery but sunny conditions was rewarded with great views of this smashing bird:

 

 The following morning I went over to Hornsea Mere to try and catch up with the Smew that had been reported recently on BirdGuides, but no luck. However, 2 Snow Buntings flew in and one of them stayed on the shore by the boat launching jetties for about 5 minutes, feeding in the gravel.