Monday 20th April 2020

Nab Water Lane, Oxenhope
Seven Wheatears and one Stonechat. 
Leeshaw Reservoir
Two Common Sandpiper, a Dunlin and a few Swallows.
Brian Vickers

Glovershaw
Three female Wheatears on the 11th fairway.
Paul King

Knotford
Two Yellow Wagtails, five Pied Wagtails, two Swallows and three Sand Martins.
Theo Kuechel

Lady Lane/Walsh Lane, Eldwick
photos by Phil Matthews - Carrion Crow, Chiffchaff, Little Owl, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher.

Eldwick Reservoir

Three Kestrel, four Oystercatcher, seven Swallow, a Common Buzzard, a Willow Warbler, a Pied Wagtail, a Common Sandpiper, a Moorhen, a Red Kite, a Lesser Black-backed Gull and a Jay.

Phil Matthews

Sunday 19th April 2020

Slippery Ford, Oakworth
At least 10 Ring Ouzels and six Fieldfares. A Cuckoo calling, first heard on Friday. Two Wheatear.
Ian Hargreaves and Steven Parkes

Glovershaw
A pair of Ravens feeding on the highest areas of the golf course. A single Wheatear on the 11th fairway and a male Stonechat on the Glen Road.
Paul King
also seen by Steve Meredith
40 Golden Plovers flushed from their roost.   Little Owl at Pennithorn cabins, a Common Buzzard, a Red Kite and Fieldfare.

images by Steve Meredith at Glovershaw

Tong Park Reservoir
Three pairs of Tufted Duck and a pair of Ravens.
Baildon Moor
Three Swallows at farm.
Paul King

Bradup (on foot from Riddlesden) 0650-0755
9 Golden Plover in sheep fields, Snipe drumming, Redshank, Lapwing, Curlew, Oystercatcher,
Red Grouse, Swallow, Pied Wagtail, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush
M Doveston

St. Ives, Bingley
A Good Woodpecker near Cuckoo's Nest, Harden.
Steven Parkes

Low Moor
A male Yellow Wagtail landed on South Bradford golf course.

Yellow Wagtail                  Martyn Priestley

Nab Water Lane, Oxenhope

10 Wheatears and four Stonechats

Brian Vickers

A Nab Water Lane Stonechat                  Brian Vickers

Dob Park - Packhorse Bridge and then upstream

A male Mandarin Duck, two Green Woodpeckers, a Dipper, Redstart (heard), 15-20 Fieldfare, two singing Pied Flycatchers

John Armstrong

Lady Lane/Walsh Lane

First House Martin passing through.  Three Willow Warblers, two Coal Tits,  two Little Owls, two Oystercatchers, a Chiffchaff, a Common Buzzard and a Red Kite.

Phil Matthews

Saturday 18th April 2020

Harden Moor
A Cuckoo!
Alan Buckley

Cow & Calf area, Ilkley
A pair of Ravens seen tumbling and displaying on the edge of the moor.
Ben Rhydding Gravel Pits
Six Sand Martins
John Brookes

Shipley Glen
Pairs of Blackcaps, Goldcrests and Moorhens and a Green Woodpecker was calling.
At Hirstwood Weir a pair of Dippers and along the river a Kingfisher, a Grey Wagtail and a Grey Heron.
Steve Meredith

Glovershaw
A flock of nine Linnets on the 1st fairway and a single male on the 8th.  Two Wheatears on the 11th and eight Oystercatchers (four pairs) feeding in a boggy area near the race track.
Paul King

Hirst Wood, Saltaire
Around the cemetery: a male Bullfinch, Willow Warbler and Blackcap.  Long-tailed Tits were gathering nesting materials.
In the wood, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and under the railway bridge a female Sparrowhawk.
Graham Wood

Underneath the arches, a Sparrowhawk waits                Graham Wood

Nab Water Lane, Oxenhope
Five Wheatears and three Stonechats.
Brian Vickers

Knotford Nook, Otley

A male and female Yellow Wagtail.

Andrew Jowett

Silsden Flash

27 Redshank, three pairs of Oystercatcher, seven pairs of Lapwing, and four pairs of Curlew.

Jon Middleton

Chellow Dene, Bradford

A flock of six or seven Ring-necked Parakeets.

Mike Bull

Friday 17th April 2020

Thornton, Bradford
No sign of the male Pied Flycatcher, seen on the 15th and 16th.  
Keith Moir
Note: Three Pied Flycatchers in Strid Wood on 16th (see entry).  Roger Nelson

Nab Water Lane, Oxenhope
Six Wheatears, four of them females and two Stonechats.

Brian Vickers

Thursday 16th April 2020

Thornton, Bradford
Singing Pied Flycatcher. There for the second day.
Keith Moir

Shipley Glen
A flock of 40 Fieldfares remain in the fields behind Brackenhall Farm.  In the same area, two Little Owls have established a breeding site.
Glovershaw
A single female Wheatear was in the area of the 12th fairway and three Golden Plovers (two males and a female), were in the fields by Golcar Farm.
Paul King

Lindley Bridge
Four Common Sandpipers
John Armstrong

Nab Water Lane, Oxenhope
18 Wheatear, three Stonechat, a Snipe and a Reed Bunting.
Brian Vickers

Stonechat (male)                                 Brian Vickers

Hazlewood - Strid Wood

Three Pied Flycatchers, including a pair entering a Strid Wood nest-box.  A second male was between Storiths and Strid Wood.  A pair of Dippers were feeding well-grown nestlings, a Mallard had several ducklings and there were several Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs.                     Roger Nelson                                                                  

Roger's Gallery - Blue Tit, Mallard, Pied Flycatcher, Willow Warbler and Lesser Black-backed Gull

Wednesday 15th April 2020

Thornton, Bradford
A singing Pied Flycatcher.
Keith Moir

Nab Water Lane
12 Wheatear, one male Whinchat and a male Stonechat.
Brian Vickers

One of 12 Wheatears at Nab Water Lane               photo: Brian Vickers

Queensbury
18 single Swallows passed through in 15 minutes, all of them heading north up the Aire Valley.  Willow warblers have now become established in the area.  Brian's Blog

Willow Warblers are now much in evidence throughout the area.    photo: Brian Sumner

Glovershaw
Three Wheatears (two males and a female) on the 11th fairway of the Golf Course.
Shipley Glen
A Sparrowhawk swept over the road, a Little Owl was at Brackenhall Farm and a Green Woodpecker could be heard calling from near Crook Farm.
Paul King

Sugden Reservoir, Haworth
A pair of Little Grebes.
Steve Parkes

Lady Lane/Walsh Lane - A Report

The number of species seen remain much the same, yesterday I added two Linnets and two Oystercatchers to the list.

In the afternoon the thermals along the valley edge usually produce Buzzards and Red Kites, and Kestrels are seen daily. The Little Owls continue to show and a Raven was back in the area yesterday. The Meadow Pipit numbers grew to four birds in the spot on Heights Lane, looks like they will breed there this year and two Willow Warblers are proclaiming territory in the usual copse. There are also at least two Chiffchaff territories along the route or nearby and two pairs of Pied Wagtails seem to be holding territory along Walsh Lane. Most days one or two Mistle Thrushes are in the fields getting food for presumed nestlings. The numbers of Lapwing and Curlew hover around the 4 – 10 mark for each species. The odd gull also passing over with Herring, Lesser Black-backed and Black-headed seen in the past few days

Yesterday I saw my first male Orange Tips bringing the years species count for butterflies to five.

Phil Matthews

Meadow Pipit (look at those claws!)                photo: Phil Matthews

Little Owl - quite a few pairs in the Eldwick/Baildon areas.                  photo: Phil Matthew

Lapwing - many breeding pairs in the Eldwick/Baildon areas          photo: Phil Matthews

Kestrel (male)                   photo: Phil Matthews

The ubiquitous Chiffchaff                 photo: Phil Matthews

Tuesday 14th April 2020

Ring Ouzel
Following on from yesterday's blog.....
Six Ring Ouzels on Embsay Crag  - Shaun Pickard
Two Ring Ouzels at Addingham Moorside - What's App
That's a running total of 26!

A Ring Ouzel at Fly Flatts (Warley Moor Reservoir) during March         
photo: Brian Sumner

Nab Water Lane, Oxenhope
11 Wheatear and a Reed Bunting.
Brian Vickers

One of 11 Wheatears at Nab Water Lane                           photo: Brian Vickers

Shipley Glen & Glovershaw
30 Fieldfare in the fields behind Brackenhall Farm.  A Green Woopecker calling from near Crook Farm.  The Glen Road/Crook Farm area - 20 Willow Warblers.  Four pairs of Oystercatchers were feeding in Golcar Fields where a Raven was enjoying some 'meat'.  Also a single Golden Plover, three singing Song Thrush and a pair of Brown Hares.
Paul King

Monday 13th April 2020

Bingley - River Aire
A large mixed flock of Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins along the river.  A single Willow Warbler, a Kingfisher and an Oystercatcher.
Tom Simcock

Glovershaw, Baildon
Three Wheatears, six Golden Plover, five Curlew, a Raven, breeding Snipe, Skylark and Meadow Pipit.
Steve Meredith

Golden Plover                     photo: Steve Meredith

Curlew                                photo: Steve Meredith

Wheatear on the 12th fairway                        photo: Steve Meredith

Ring Ouzel
Today eight Ring Ouzel at Slippery Ford, Oakworth found by Ian Hargreaves.
Two Ring Ouzel reported on Soil Hill on 11th April - Daniel Branch.
One Ring Ouzel at Queensbury on 10th April - Chris King.
Between 16th and 23rd March seven different Ring Ouzels were seen by Brian Sumner at Warley Moor Reservoir (Fly Flatts).
The History of Ring Ouzel in the BOG area 1987 - 2018.

Sunday 12th April 2020

Bingley Bog North
In the area there were four Chiffchaffs, five Blackcaps, a Willow Warbler, a Dipper on the overflow channel, a pair of Bullfinch, Song Thrush, a Grey Wagtail and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Steve Meredith

Cross Roads to Cullingworth (Senior Way)
Six Willow Warblers, three Chiffchaffs, a Blackcap, a small flock of Linnets, a Green Woodpecker and six lapwing.
Steve Parkes

Shipley Glen
A pair of Little Owls at Brackenhall Farm, a Green Woodpecker and a hoot from a Tawny Owl on Sheriff Lane and a Blackcap and at least three Nuthatch.
Paul King

Walsh Lane/Lady Lane, Eldwick
Early April sightings

Raven                                        photo: Phil Matthews

Red Kite                            photo: Phil Matthews

Otley Wetland
A single male Goldeneye, a Great Crested Grebe, a Sparrowhawk, two Curlew, two Redshank, four Stock Dove, a Little Owl and a large number of Sand Martins.
John Armstrong

Saturday 11th April 2020

Walsh Lane/Lady Lane Eldwick
Very much a raptor day.  First thing, a Common Buzzard could be seen from my front porch and a walk out along the lanes produced three Kestrels, four Red Kites a Peregrine and a Little Owl.  At one point on Walsh Lane, where the valley drops away I had two Red Kites, a Buzzard and a Peregrine, all riding the same thermals; with a Kestrel hunting the valley side below them and a Little Owl on a wall over my shoulder.  Bliss!!
Phil Matthews

Shipley Glen
A pair of Little Owls have been seen regularly behind Brackenhall Farm.
Paul King

Photos from Steve Meredith taken in Shipley Glen

It's time to start looking for and building a nest.  Goldcrest and Jackdaw in Shipley Glen  photos: Steve Meredith

Nab Water Lane, Oxenhope
Five Wheatear, four Snipe, two Skylark and a Reed Bunting.
Brian Vickers

Haworth Moor
A Swallow flew over and there were at 12 singing Willow Warblers.
Alan Buckley

Hazlewood
Three Willow Warblers, a Wheatear and two Swallows.
Roger Nelson

photos by Roger Nelson

Queensbury, Oats Royd
Spectacular photos from Brian Sumner of a Sparrowhawk

More on Brian's blog.

Slippery Ford, Oakworth
Five Ring Ouzels and a male Whinchat.
Ian Hargreaves

Soil Hill
A cream-crowned Marsh Harrier flew over.  Also, a report of two Ring Ouzels.
Daniel Branch

Stainburn Forest
A Sparrowhawk, a Tawny Owl (heard), a Swallow, a Tree Pipit (near the main car park), several Willow Warblers, a small number of Siskin and Lesser Redpolls.
John Armstrong

Friday 10th April 2020

Queensbury
Roper Lane - A Swallow, four Willow Warbler and five Skylark
Mountain - A Ring Ouzel
Chris King

Nab Water Lane, Oxenhope
Six Wheatears, a pair of Skylarks and a single Snipe.
Brian Vickers

Female Wheatear at Nab Water Lane, Oxenhope           photo; Brian Vickers

Middleton Moor
Snipe drumming near the plantation.
Keith Allen

Haworth
Hardgate Lane - A House Martin
Blackmoor Lane - Five Skylark
Steven Parkes

West Lane, Haworth - Willow Warblers appeared two days ago and a Swallow flew by this evening.
Nigel Ward

Sconce, Baildon Moor
A walk around the area produced 25 Willow Warblers singing from birch trees.  There are 15 Willow Warblers on the western slopes making an estimated 50 singing males across the moor.
Paul King

Shipley Glen
A Kingfisher, a pair of Goldcrest nest building, a Mandarin Duck on the dam in conflict with a Moorhen.  At Trench Wood - Four Chiffchaff, a Blackcap and a pair of Willow Warblers.
Hirstwood Weir - A Dipper
Steve Meredith

A Dipper at Hirstwood Weir                           photo: Steve Meredith

Goldcrest in Shipley Glen                         photo: Steve Meredith

Mandarin Duck in Shipley Glen                       photo: Steve Meredith

Lady Lane, Walsh Lane Eldwick
Early morning - Little Owl, Red Kite, three singing Song Thrush, three Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Jay, two Willow Warblers, nest building Magpies and Starlings.
More images from Phil Matthews

Chiffchaff                                  photo: Phil Matthews

A cheeky Jackdaw, taking hair from a donkey's back           photo: Phil Matthews

Mistle Thrushes are now into the breeding season           photo: Phil Matthews

A fine looking male Pied Wagtail                         photo: Phil Matthews            

Baildon Station
Four House Martins and two Swallows
Jeremy Taylor

Otley - Wharfe Meadow and Gallows Hill
Two pairs of Goosander, two male Mandarin Ducks, about five Willow Warblers and several Blackcaps.
John Armstrong