Tuesday Pinkies

   I had a cracking view of 3 Skeins of Pink Footed Geese ?
   flying over me at Low Moor heading toward Halifax, Brighouse
   area over 100 of them and very noisy, it was while I was on my
   postal round at work so no pics which is a shame.

  Back at home in the garden the birds were in a feeding frenzy
  with the impending bad weather, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Greenfinch,
  Blue Tit, Blackbirds, Dunnocks, Collared Doves, Robin, Stock Doves
  and the regular Goldfinch, Starlings, and Tawny Owl heard at night.

Sad Scarborough

   I took my monthly trip out with the Hudds & Halifax RSPB
   and it turned into a disaster of a day, well for me anyway,
   I got up in the morning and all was well and the garden
   was buzzing with Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Blue Tit,
   Blackbird, Greenfinch, and for the last couple of mornings
   2 Stock Dove have been visiting which is nice to see, got to
   the meeting place to be told we wouldn't be going to
   Flamborouth Head (which is the place I wanted to go to)
   because the coach had broken down and had to wait for a
   replacement so we were going to Scarborough and Filey.

   Scarborough after 3 different drop off points produced zilch
   oh I tell a lie a Red Throated Diver and a Med Gull were 20
   mile out to sea, actually a couple of Med Gull landed below
   the cliff we were stood on but too far away for photographs
   and lucky to see through a scope, Turnstones were in the
   harbour but packed with tourists.

  Filey, I thought great we'll visit Filey Dams as Ive heard its
  good there but have never been, oops cancelled so we'll just
  stick to the Nature Reserve because a Velvet Scoter has been
  seen out at sea, plenty of Oystercatchers when we arrived and
  then Cormorant & Shag flypast, so off we went on the hunt for
  the rarity after a long old walk we reached the edge of the cliff
  in a biting cold wind we searched and searched but to no avail,
  a Common Scoter, 2 Eider, 2 Gannet were seen but yet again a
  long way out to see but there were 4 Purple Sandpiper down by
  the rock pools, so I set off back inland where a single Sand Martin
  flew into a hole in the sand cliffs and 5 Redshank were strolling
  about in a field. On the way home a Barn Owl and Buzzard seen.

  I do love going on the trips but I think I'll give this one a miss if
  they go next year, I usually take between 500-600 pics on trips on
  this one 150 and some of them were buildings and scenery.

   

Freezing Cold Edge & Cooler Copley

    I Payed a visit to DS yesterday and then took a walk around
    Shroggs Park but wish I'd of gone up to Fly Flatts to see the
    Whooper Swans, plenty of LTT's and Great and Blue Tits and
    the regular Blackbird and Robin.

      I then decided on a trip up to Ringby Lane but nothing much to
      see, 8 Meadow Pipits, Buzzard high up, the normal Crows & Gulls and
      a couple of House Sparrows which is a rare event around here.

         Garden had Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Collared Dove & Jackdaw.

          Today I met up with Dave P with the intention of going to Swillington
          Ings but with the biting cold wind we decided on staying local it was
          still freezing though, our first port of call was to Fly Flatts to see the
          Whooper Swans but there was no sign of them, next to Nolstar but same
          again nothing, we then popped down to Castle Carr Rd which ended up
          being a good choice as soon as we got out of the car we saw a Kestrel
          flying over and then a flock of Starlings with 10 Fieldfare mixed in with
          them but too far away for photo's, we then drove to the far end where we
          spotted a Sparrowhawk posing on a fence post, I was gutted as my camera
          just wouldn't focus and the bird posed for us again further on but again
          camera wouldn't have it and Dave P found it highly amusing but what a
          bird it was so close we could have touched it.

          We then drove up to Cold Edge Dams where there were 100's of Canada's
          and Lapwings We'd never seen as many there, Dave got his scope out and
          he spotted a Barnacle Goose and 2 Redwing and I then spotted another
          Barnacle so the day was getting better all the time and so was the cold,
          We then saw 2 Oystercatchers in the same field at a far distance and a
          Cormorant flew overhead, we then drove up to skiing lake where we
          saw 2 Mistle Thrush, 2 Red Grouse and another Cormorant, the Dams
          produced just Gulls and Mallards also 8 Greylag Geese.

       In the afternoon I went to Copley Woods while the wife was visiting a friend
       and Im so glad I did as I got 2 firsts for the year a Treecreeper and a Dipper,
       Blue, Great and LTT's were in the trees a Pied Wagtail was down by the river
       but didn't stay long and 4 Mallard, 2 Buzzard were high over head so it ended
       up being a decent day.