Claremount Osprey

  Large Raptor hovered over the garden tonight, it was massive
  and made the crows look tiny my first thought was Marsh Harrier
  and then Osprey but couldn't make any colourings out as it was so
  dark so all I got was a silhouette and by the time i got my camera
  it was halfway over Halifax so only got reared shots at a distance.
   Confirmed as a Osprey by people with a lot more knowledge than me.

Day Out at Last

 Finally had a day to get out with not working today and the
 weather being decent for a change, so I took the dog for a walk
 around Cromwell Bottom and it was nice to see all the good work
 they've been doing down there. Plenty of Herons flying about
 collecting material for their nests mostly seen from the car park,
 I didn't stay long in the viewing area as other photographers weren't
 very pleased when my dog started crying as I tied her up for ten minutes
 so I thought I'd better be respectful and leave. I then took a walk down by
 the river and what a fantastic job they've done, where at one time it was a
 swamp you can now walk around with pleasure and not get caked in mud
 and you can now walk down to the river without being attacked with
 nettles and brambles so well done to the volunteers you've done a
 fantastic job.

 Birds seen today were Heron, Robin, Blue & Great Tit, Wren, Blackbird,
 Magpie, Crow, Bullfinch, Reed Bunting, 2 Buzzards, Goosanders, Dipper,
 Nuthatch, Jay, Goldfinch, Cormorant, LTT, and Kestrel.

 Garden -: Goldfinch, Dunnock, Blackbird, Magpie, Collared Doves,
                 Wren, Robin, Jackdaw, Wood Pigeon, Chaffinch, Greenfinch.
                 Blue Tit, Starling, Crows and Gulls above and a Kestrel.

 

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.