Sky Watch

    Not been able to get out this week with being snowed
    under at work with xmas on its way so its been too dark
    and the cloudy weather hasn't helped photography but I
    did find a gem on Wednesday morning while at work,
    a cracking little Firecrest in Low Moor it was that tame
    it nearly landed on my hand.

   I decided to have a skywatch this morning for an hour and
   a busy hour it was, 12 Fieldfare, 7 Redwing and then another
   5 flew over, 20+ Wood Pigeon on the move.

   Garden had 30+ Goldfinch, 4 Collared Dove, 2 Dunnock,
   3 Blackbird, 2 Great Tit, 2 Blue Tit, 2 Feral Pigeon, 2 Chaffinch.

 

Coley Pink Thrush ?

  Well on this miserable gloomy day I decided to venture
  down to Coley to try and see the Brambling that BS had
  seen down there, I finally came across them but could only
  see a couple of them and no chance of a decent shot in the
  dark and standing behind branches and leaves but at least
  I got to see them, flock of Goldfinch with a few Greenfinch
  mixed in with em, flighty Redwing flying from tree to tree,
  lots of Chaffinch about both sides of road and what I thought
  was a Mistle Thrush until I looked through my binoculars and
  it had a pink chest to my surprise, shame it flew off just as I
  raised my camera, so I was straight onto Dave S hoping he
  could give me a clue, Rose-Coloured Starling Waxwing were
  the birds thought about, after looking at photographs of these birds
  the juvenile Rose Starling seemed to be the nearest to what
  I saw but with missing taking a pic it'll have to be a
  possible COULD HAVE been which is a shame as I know
  what I saw, so hopefully someone local might be able to spot
  it again in the Coley graveyard opposite the church.

  It was nice to bump into Andy Cockroft whom I haven't met
  before but read his blog, who was also hoping to see Brambling.
  Blackbirds, Robins, Blue Tits, Wood Pigeon, lots of Gulls and
  Corvids and 2 Pied Wagtail were also seen at the church and
  down the lane in the fields. Plenty of House Sparrows in trees
  just up the road from the graveyard.

 

 

Morning Bats

  Took a trip to Cromwell Bottom this morning and then
  up to Beacon Hill, first bird seen was a Grey Wagtail
  hopping about on stones in the river and then nearby
  the bridge, next bird was a Kingfisher flypast and then
  flew into some bushes by the river, the next flyby was
  a bit of a shock it was a couple of Bats at 10.30 in the
  morning and I thought they only came out at night or dusk,
  they seemed bigger than the ones that fly around my garden
  but it might be because it was daylight ?.
  Up by the weir I had a Sparrowhawk flying by,
  just a shame my camera settings were wrong.
  4 birds flew out of the trees by the meadow which I
  thought were Siskin but can't be certain, and down at the
  viewing area were Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Robin, Dunnock,
  Blue, Coal and Great Tit, LTT's, Goldfinch and Nuthatch.

  Beacon Hill just had 4 Wood Pigeon and 2 Llama's.

  Garden had 30+ Goldfinch, Collared Dove, Dunnock and
  a Sparrowhawk snatching a Magpie which surprised me.