Yes, after a few days wait the first spring returning Chiffchaff has arrived back at Toad Holes Beck. It’s a bit difficult to say if he is a passage bird or a returning breeding bird. I air on the former.
Another sign is this Blue Tit which was exploring a possible nesting hole in an Elder tree at Raw Nook NR
Today a number of Meadow Pipits were observed moving back N over Caldene fields following their winter in the S.
Also there were a party of 7 Tufted Duck ( 6 males+1 female at Toad Holes Beck.
The males were in the early stages of courtship.
This a record count for the species at this site.
Sadly I could find no frog spawn at the pond at Raw Nook NR.
There maybe a slim possibility spawn was laid before the heavy snow and rain which has raised the pond level. Fingers crossed.
If your going for a walk in Raw Nook NR look out for the masses of Scarlet Elf cups which are showing really well just now.
A Common Buzzard was mobbed by a party of passing Herring Gulls over Toad Holes Beck.
Yesterday 59 Pink-footed Geese flew N/N/W over Caldene fields probably returning to their breeding grounds in Greenland and Iceland after over wintering in the UK.
My heart was lifted as I thought, Is this a sign of the pending spring?
Then I noticed a Blue tit inspecting a nest box and with the lighter nights now starting, I thought Yes, we may well be turning the corner. Although I feel mother nature will once again turn down the temperature before the proper spring emerges.
There has been some interesting birds close to our recording area recently. There has been 4 famous Waxwings visiting a berry laden tree in Tesco’s car park on Halifax road with a good number of birders photographing the birds and they even made news in the local press!
I so far have missed the birds however, there was good news as I called into Harold Park and found a Kingfisher feeding metres away from people feeding the ducks!
I have not recorded the species there before.
Last year a semi tame male Shoveler spent the winter at Wibsey Park lake.
So today I went to see if he had returned and sure enough he had. So if your in the area check him out!
Finally got round to having a look at last years (2022) bird species list. The total number of birds recorded for our area of Caldene fields, Raw Nook NR & Toad Holes Beck was 68 different species. This total is slightly down on previous years.
Normally I don’t like to comment of our breeding birds but once again both the Common & Lesser Whitethroat did not breed or attempt to breed in our area, which is a great shame.
There were some interesting highlights with a Little Egret seen flying S/W over Caldene fields on the 7/10 and a party of 19 Common Snipe moving S/W over the same location.
On the 6th of January 2023 I did a bird survey in our local area and also visited Harold Park lake in Low Moor. The total number of species was 35 which sadly is on the low side balancing against previous years.
Sadly only one Greenfinch was recorded. Also no Linnets were seen which cement the point that they leave our area in winter only to return in the spring to bred.
Sorry no photos..camera in for repairs back early Feb.
On Saturday morning it was our conservation groups work day. The outside temperature was -2c and the ground was covered in a light dusting of snow.
And I have to admit I did think ‘ Our we Mad?’
However, the plan was to dig up this years small Silver Birch saplings at Raw Nook NR that are a constant threat to our rare (In urban areas) lowland heath habitat.
We do the work now when the saplings are small, because when they are larger…Well..It’s back breaking work!!. Also if we left the saplings to grow this area would revert to birch woodland and our jewel would be gone forever.
With the mattock the small sapling came up fairly easy. We must have dug up at least 100 saplings but there is still many more to dig up which is a job for next month…weather permitting! If you want to help save this jewel, why not come along? More info from drahcirbiz@live.co.uk
Regular visitors to Toad Holes Beck will have noticed the excellent new steps and board walk which leads to the middle pond. This area whilst good for the Southern Marsh orchids is always muddy and difficult to walk along.
A member of our conservation group the very talented Michael Wiggins carried out the work and just like magic sorted the problem out..Excellent job Michael.
On Saturday we had our workday and as well as admiring Michael’s work we started to clear the vegetation near to the pond area.
This will let more light into the area and all the branches and twigs cut will help create better nesting opportunities.
One of the new generation of conservationist who WANTED to litter pick the area.
But in a way I felt rather sad that she/we have to do this litter picking when some people sadly don’t respect our wonderful wildlife oasis!
During the last few weeks I have been asked about an unidentified large bird of prey (Raptor) that has been seen in the Low Moor area. I saw the bird (A female Sparrow Hawk) about a week ago at distance whilst doing my vig-mig ( visible migration).
Now female Sparrow Hawks are larger than the males but I have to admit she is very large and possibly one of the biggest I have seen.
Thankfully though the other day she appeared over the watch point and flew directly overhead which sent panic amongst the local bird community, but give me a good photo opportunity.
The Twite Linaria flavirostris is a fairly common bird found in moorland habitats in the north of England and Scotland. However, in autumn some birds including continental birds, move to the coast of eastern England for the winter where they can be found on saltmarshes and coastal fields.
However, some years I pick up a few of these uncommon finches (To lowland Bradford) as they move over the watch point. My best count was of 5 calling birds on the 29/10/2009.
However, today was special!. A party of 27 Twite came in from the north overhead and swirled down to the fields to land! Sadley they were spooked, and gained height and moved off to the south.
Wood Pigeon must have had an excellent breeding season this year.
I thought my previous record of 40,137 on the 4/11/2020 of birds observed moving south from the watch point was a one off!!
But today (Same date 4/11) the weather and visibility were excellent, and a record was set of 41, 897 in 4 hours of observations.
