Its worth a visit


Ring Necked Parakeets increasing in the valley and Pink Footed Geese that pass in the night.

10/10/2018 21:08

A party of 8 Ring Necked Parakeets where flying calling loudly around the Earlsheaton section of Mill Bank Thornhill yesterday morning.Thornhill Rectory Park has become a regular resting place for these birds in recent years and it is not unusual to see up to a dozen birds perched in the tall oaks and beach trees in the Rectory Park early mornings as they disperse to their local feeding areas.

Small birds are certainly on a downwards spiral in our local woodlands in our area but it was nice to see a feeding party of some 22 Long Tailed Tits descending on to my feeders this morning.

Winter Thrushes are present in small numbers at the moment with 5 Redwings feeding on Hawthorn Bushes in the Pildacre fields this morning along with around 8 Song Thrushes and some 22 Blackbirds feeding on Hawthorne Berries(of which there are plenty)

The last couple of nights has seen good numbers of Pink Footed Geese passing over Shaw Cross.Numbers are almost impossible to guess with some parties taking almost 20 minutes to pass over.

Desite the draining of all the beds on Dewsbury Sewage Works duck numbers are starting to increase.

There was at least 28 Teal and 24 Shoveller there yesterday not to mention the 42 Mallard which appear to have adapted this stretch of the River Calder as their Winter feeding patch.

There are 4 Little Grebes on the River Calder just below Thornhill Cricket Club.2 Green Sandpipers are spending all their time in the same area.

There is still at least 3 adult Barn Owls hunting early evening in fields between lower Healy Road and Horbury Marshalling Yards.A female Sparrow Hawk was hunting around the new car park at Kerries Foods factory.

There are at present 135(approx) Jackdaws on Dewsbury Sewage Works daily along with some 75+ Carrion Crows.Main food supply appears to be untreated waste snatched before it enters the main treatment tanks.

5 Grey Partridge flew from Earlsheaton to the Willow Plantations below Millbank Thornhill at 1130 this morning.

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