Welcome

Welcome to the Blog of the Bradford Ornithological Group (BOG). Here you will find information about the latest sightings, an archive of information and a gallery photos of the birds of this area of West Yorkshire, England. We are an active group dedicated to the study and conservation of birds within this region which is situated amongst the Pennines of Northern England.

Send your recent sightings and photographs to us at this address: recorder@bradfordbirding.org Please add us to your contacts.


Please note that all images remain the property of the photographer.

SWIFTs IN AIREDALE AND WHARFEDALE - TELL US IF THEY ARE BREEDING IN YOUR AREA.

CONTACT - recorder@bradfordbirding.org

Saturday 6 June 2020

Saturday 6th June 2020

Utley to Silsden (River Aire)
Over 40 species along the river which included: Three Kingfishers at two nest sites, one bird seen carrying a fish.  16 Sand Martins across three colonies, two Garden Warblers and a Common Whitethroat.  Also five Common Sandpipers, three Lesser Redpoll, six Reed Buntings a couple of Teal and five Curlew.
Josh Selfe
A Curlew in Upper Wharfedale by Roger Nelson

From Roger Nelson's Diary

24/5/20 Today I finally found out why a wren has been acting in an agitated manner every time I arrived back home in the car.  Incredibly, during the “lockdown”, it has built a nest in a hollow high up inside the rear wheel-arch, laid eggs in there, and hatched them! I go every week to the supermarket for a couple of hours, and recently I  have twice been away from home with the car for about four hours. I can only assume that the incubating parent has stayed on the nest throughout these journeys; I cannot feel properly inside the nest, but the youngsters seem to be about 2 – 3 days old. See also 1/6/20 

1/6/20  I took the car in for service (overdue, due to “lockdown”) at 8.30 am, and brought it back at around 3.15 pm. Within minutes of arriving back, I saw the parent wrens repeatedly carrying food into the nest in the vehicle's wheel arch 

6/6/20 See 1/6 and 24/5; the young wrens finally fledged today; Jacqui saw two already out, and a few minutes later I saw another two emerge; when I then checked the nest, it was empty; some may have already gone before Jacqui saw the first two. Given a textbook fledging time of 16 days old, the nestlings must have been already about three days old when I first found the nest, the hen must have started incubating around 5/5/20, and the nest must have been there since late April.