January 2019 Bird Sightings

Below are all the reported bird sightings for Cromwell Bottom nature reserve in January 2020. Many thanks to all who contributed, most especially Mike Henshaw and Jeff Milne. Highlight is undoubtably the over-wintering chiffchaff but the long staying water rail on the lagoon is also worth a mention. 55 birds in total. Cromwell Bottom Bird Sightings January 2020
Mute Swan		Dunnock
Pink-footed Goose		Robin
Grey Lag Goose		Song Thrush
Canada Goose		Redwing
Mallard		Mistle Thrush
Goldeneye		Fieldfare
Goosander		Blackbird
Little Grebe		Chiffchaff
Cormorant		Goldcrest
Grey Heron		Wren
Buzzard		Great Tit
Sparrowhawk		Coal Tit
Kestrel		Blue Tit
Water Rail		Long-tailed Tit
Moorhen		Nuthatch
Coot		Treecreeper
Woodcock		Magpie
Black-headed Gull		Jay
Common Gull		Jackdaw
Herring Gull		Rook
Lesser Black Backed Gull		Carrion Crow
Stock Dove		Chaffinch
Wood Pigeon		Linnet
Barn Owl		Goldfinch
Kingfisher		Siskin
Great Spotted Woodpecker		Bullfinch
Grey Wagtail		Greenfinch
		Reed Bunting

Moth Night Sat 1st

5pm Arrivals, warm clothing, stout footwear & torch a must.

See you there.

Cromwell Bottom Birds

I haven't posted images on the blog for quite some time.  Here's just a handful of the birds  that call Cromwell Bottom their home and are part of the impressive list of all that do.  Enjoy!

Great Tit

Robin

Coal Tit

Bullfinch

Long-tailed Tit

Ric J

2019 Cromwell Bottom NR Bird Species list

Below is the list of all the species of birds seen on the Cromwell Bottom Nature reserve in 2019. There is a total of 92 different species.

Mute Swan Common Gull Blackcap Pink-footed Goose Herring Gull Whitethroat Canada Goose Lesser Black Backed Gull Sedge Warbler Mallard Common Tern Reed Warbler Shoveler Stock Dove Willow Warbler Teal Wood Pigeon Chiffchaff Pochard Collared Dove Goldcrest Scaup Tawny Owl Wren Tufted Duck Barn Owl Spotted Flycatcher Goldeneye Swift Great Tit Goosander Kingfisher Coal Tit Pheasant Green Woodpecker Blue Tit Little Grebe Great Spotted Woodpecker Long-tailed Tit Great Crested Grebe Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Nuthatch Cormorant Skylark Treecreeper Little Egret Sand Martin Magpie Great White Egret Swallow Jay Grey Heron House Martin Jackdaw Red Kite Meadow Pipit Rook Buzzard Pied Wagtail Carrion Crow Sparrowhawk Grey Wagtail Starling Kestrel Dipper Chaffinch Peregrine  Dunnock Linnet Water Rail Robin Redpoll Moorhen Wheatear Goldfinch Coot Song Thrush Siskin Oystercatcher Redwing Bullfinch Lapwing Mistle Thrush Greenfinch Common Sandpiper Fieldfare Reed Bunting Woodcock Blackbird Snipe Garden Warbler Black-headed Gull
A few highlights worth mentioning: 1) A few years ago the trustees set themselves the task of trying to attract a few key species to breed on the reserve for probably the first time. Success was achieved in definitely attracting barn owl and probably attracting skylark. Much work has gone on behind the scenes to attract these locally rare breeding birds to the reserve. 2) Sightings were made of 2 different egret species. It is not many years since these became regular visitors to southern England but they are now moving further north. It will not be long before they become regular visitors to the reserve?

Moth Night Sat 11th

First one for the year 4.30pm start.

Essentials are warm clothing, torch, & good footwear if walking the wood checking sugaring.

See you there.

New Viewing Platform

We are pleased to announce a new viewing platform at Cromwell Reserve that has been commissioned by Calderdale Council
 . This has been funded from The Brighouse Ladies Circle ,Tesco’s through there plastic bag fund and Cromwell Bottom Wildlife Group this provides visitors of all ages and abilities with a safe platform from which to view the lagoon and enjoy watching the visiting birds and wildfowl . Visitors may see glimpses of the elusive Water Rail and Little Grebe  whilst Reed Buntings and Reed Warblers flit across the reeds  or just sit a while and watch the world go by. Yours Cromwell Trustees

New Years Day Annual Bird Count and Walk

I

I am taking the liberty of posting this on the Cromwell Bottom Blog because two members (or a member - MC - and her husband,) were keen enough to join us on 1st January, and Margaret found the final bird of the day, a male Bullfinch, making the count equal last year's record.

The regular route is from Clay House Park, through North Dean Woods, around Norland Moor and back throught North Dean by a different path. (About 7 miles.)

Mick Harrop photo

2nd January 2020

These New Year's Day Bird Counts have settled into a run of consistent results. This year and 2019 had equal numbers of species with 32; in 2017 the tally was 31. Fine weather is a factor. Given a foul day the count would be lower obviously; we have been lucky these last three times.

As above the two last counts were 32 and it is interesting to look at the similarities and differences in the two counts.

There were 23 species in common to both counts, 1st Jan 2019 and 1st Jan 2020:

Blue, Great, Coal and Long-tailed Tits, Nuthatch, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, House Sparrow, Starling, Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Redwing, Robin, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Jay, Crow, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Black-headed Gull, Buzzard.

Nine species in 2019 but not 2020: Dipper, Dunnock, Wren, Raven, Pheasant, Stonechat, Little Owl, Mallard, Song Thrush.

And there were nine species in 2020 but not in 2019: Heron, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting, Fieldfare, Redpoll, Treecreeper, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinch, Common Gull.

The Fieldfares were in a huge flock covering two fields, very impressive, and the Redpolls were flitting charmingly through the trees along the top of North Dean Woods feeding from the birch seed-heads.

With thanks to the participants in the walk yesterday, 10 in total (8 in 2019.) All played a part in the final count on the walk as well as bringing their sightings from home first thing and on the way to the meet (without detours to sites with localised species.)

Two of us thought we heard a single note from a Green Woodpecker at the lower edge of Norland Moor where they are often present, but it was very brief so I decided not to include it.

There was some discussion whether to include domestic fowl, etc. I maintained they are bird species, others thought we should stick purely to self-sufficient wild or feral birds.

The bad news about the Little Owls adjacent to Norland Moor is that Jackdaws usurped them from their tree hole last spring so that's probably why we didn't see them all summer or this winter. Jackdaws in tree holes have become the norm throughout Calderdale. At one time I used to see them using only holes in old buildings and crevices in quarry rock-faces, where they still nest.

These counts are samples of the current state of local birds. Who would have thought a few decades ago that Nuthatch and Buzzard would be seen regularly? Also to run into a Raven isn't that unusual now, and to find a Song Thrush or a Greenfinch is a fairly noteworthy event.

These records might be interesting to read in the future. Another way of "sampling" bird populations is to time a count on a walk, noting every species. I seem get about 14 species on a good day in half an hour, though I haven't sat down with my notebooks to work out the average. It's OK to count a bird if you identify it without doubt by its call or song. The habitat needs recording; upland, waterside or woodland, etc.

Perhaps we could initiate a regular Spring Bird Count every May-day on 1st May?

SB