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Post by Northy on Jan 25, 2019 13:21:32 GMT
too many around us, poor Mr Blackbird attacking them whilst they sat nonchantly on the fence eating a chick or with an egg in its beak. They're the droogs of the bird world. Some beauty to them but they'll roam in gangs, duffing everyone up & pinching anything that isn't nailed down. Haven't seen the jay yet this year, although he delighted me on several occasions last summer by sitting in the pear tree & letting the world know he was there. Got a robin & a squirrel sat on the fence next to my window at work as I type. Eyeing each other up warily.
It's the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch tomorrow. Sadly I'll be sat in a bowling alley all morning as I take my godson to his youth bowling club every Saturday. I'll have the night vision goggles out Satdee night though. We get some rare & exotic birds in the front garden of an evening. Usually about half an hour an hour after the pubs shut.
Ha, ha, Im working at home and keep seeing the lesser spotted housewives being dragged along by a couple of dogs towards the fields
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Post by thequietman on Jan 25, 2019 23:51:01 GMT
They're the droogs of the bird world. Some beauty to them but they'll roam in gangs, duffing everyone up & pinching anything that isn't nailed down. Haven't seen the jay yet this year, although he delighted me on several occasions last summer by sitting in the pear tree & letting the world know he was there. Got a robin & a squirrel sat on the fence next to my window at work as I type. Eyeing each other up warily.
It's the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch tomorrow. Sadly I'll be sat in a bowling alley all morning as I take my godson to his youth bowling club every Saturday. I'll have the night vision goggles out Satdee night though. We get some rare & exotic birds in the front garden of an evening. Usually about half an hour an hour after the pubs shut.
Ha, ha, Im working at home and keep seeing the lesser spotted housewives being dragged along by a couple of dogs towards the fields Ah, you may have thought it was a mis-tripe Northy. Droogs are weirdly attractive but thoroughly anti-social types. Clockwork Orange. Dogging is something you'd need to ask Stan Collymore about. Just struck me he has an appropriate name. Managed to get out of work early and took a detour on the way home to stroll along the Leeds Liverpool canal. Normally a distressing maelstrom of cyclists and joggers, this afternoon the towpath was deserted. Beautiful. Two carp cruising the shallows. Wouldn't normally see them in winter but i felt the water and it was relatively warm considering the cold snap this week. I hope they don't spawn too early, a later cold spell would be a disaster. Birdsong in the trees, I wish I knew enough to recognize the species. Didn't spot anything rare, but it was gorgeous all the same. A haven of peace just a couple of miles from Leeds city centre. Winter definitely the best time of year there before the athletic types make impossible to bear. The hoar frost on the ground + trees the other day was proper Dickensian.
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Post by auntiegeorge on Jan 26, 2019 10:39:41 GMT
An interesting report by the RSPB on winners and losers amongst garden birds in the last 40 years. I'm surprised that the house sparrow has declined so much but when I think about it I don't see as many as I used to. www.bbc.com/news/uk-47002018
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Post by potterinleeds on Jan 27, 2019 11:14:52 GMT
Out running this morning early on through the woods, heard my first woodpecker of the year. Cold wind but a beautiful sunny morning - plenty of other bird life about, wrens, robins, blackbirds, various tits etc.
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Post by potterinleeds on Jan 27, 2019 11:51:03 GMT
Ha, ha, Im working at home and keep seeing the lesser spotted housewives being dragged along by a couple of dogs towards the fields Ah, you may have thought it was a mis-tripe Northy. Droogs are weirdly attractive but thoroughly anti-social types. Clockwork Orange. Dogging is something you'd need to ask Stan Collymore about. Just struck me he has an appropriate name. Managed to get out of work early and took a detour on the way home to stroll along the Leeds Liverpool canal. Normally a distressing maelstrom of cyclists and joggers, this afternoon the towpath was deserted. Beautiful. Two carp cruising the shallows. Wouldn't normally see them in winter but i felt the water and it was relatively warm considering the cold snap this week. I hope they don't spawn too early, a later cold spell would be a disaster. Birdsong in the trees, I wish I knew enough to recognize the species. Didn't spot anything rare, but it was gorgeous all the same. A haven of peace just a couple of miles from Leeds city centre.Winter definitely the best time of year there before the athletic types make impossible to bear. The hoar frost on the ground + trees the other day was proper Dickensian. It is good, isn't it? I live right out on the NW edge of Leeds but sometimes walk into the city centre (about 10 miles) along the canal. Surprisingly rural in parts given you are sandwiched between Leeds and Bradford in the valley, and a couple of good pubs on the way, like at the boat yard at Rodley. I must confess I am one of those distressing runners who often use the towpath but I find the section going out of Leeds towards Apperley Bridge / Esholt way is normally fairly quiet, not even too many cyclists. But I suppose the city centre section of the canal is over-run with thrusting young professionals out on a quick lunchtime jog and a power shake etc. Be interesting to see what it becomes like if they ever do push HS2 as far as the south bank of the Aire.
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Post by potterinleeds on Jan 27, 2019 11:52:37 GMT
They're the droogs of the bird world. Some beauty to them but they'll roam in gangs, duffing everyone up & pinching anything that isn't nailed down.
Haven't seen the jay yet this year, although he delighted me on several occasions last summer by sitting in the pear tree & letting the world know he was there. Got a robin & a squirrel sat on the fence next to my window at work as I type. Eyeing each other up warily.
It's the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch tomorrow. Sadly I'll be sat in a bowling alley all morning as I take my godson to his youth bowling club every Saturday. I'll have the night vision goggles out Satdee night though. We get some rare & exotic birds in the front garden of an evening. Usually about half an hour an hour after the pubs shut.
I can well believe that down Middleton way
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Post by thequietman on Jan 28, 2019 12:39:43 GMT
Ah, you may have thought it was a mis-tripe Northy. Droogs are weirdly attractive but thoroughly anti-social types. Clockwork Orange. Dogging is something you'd need to ask Stan Collymore about. Just struck me he has an appropriate name. Managed to get out of work early and took a detour on the way home to stroll along the Leeds Liverpool canal. Normally a distressing maelstrom of cyclists and joggers, this afternoon the towpath was deserted. Beautiful. Two carp cruising the shallows. Wouldn't normally see them in winter but i felt the water and it was relatively warm considering the cold snap this week. I hope they don't spawn too early, a later cold spell would be a disaster. Birdsong in the trees, I wish I knew enough to recognize the species. Didn't spot anything rare, but it was gorgeous all the same. A haven of peace just a couple of miles from Leeds city centre.Winter definitely the best time of year there before the athletic types make impossible to bear. The hoar frost on the ground + trees the other day was proper Dickensian. It is good, isn't it? I live right out on the NW edge of Leeds but sometimes walk into the city centre (about 10 miles) along the canal. Surprisingly rural in parts given you are sandwiched between Leeds and Bradford in the valley, and a couple of good pubs on the way, like at the boat yard at Rodley. I must confess I am one of those distressing runners who often use the towpath but I find the section going out of Leeds towards Apperley Bridge / Esholt way is normally fairly quiet, not even too many cyclists. But I suppose the city centre section of the canal is over-run with thrusting young professionals out on a quick lunchtime jog and a power shake etc. Be interesting to see what it becomes like if they ever do push HS2 as far as the south bank of the Aire. Never been in the Boat yard at Rodley. I'll have to give it a try. The Railway is an occasional summer pub for us. Usually park at Kirkstall, walk to Rodley, lunch/ale, walk back. That's a bit far for one of the dogs now, though; she's getting on & doesn't like walking long distances any more. Rodley out towards Apperley Bridge always been a favourite stretch, much less frequented by the pesky joggers ;-)
I did once trek all the way up the hill from the canal to Apperley Bridge to see what was up there in the village. It was deserted & I couldn't even find a shop that was open. That was 20 years ago, admittedly. I've kept to the flat canal ever since after slogging up the hill for no end result.
City centre <-> Kirkstall I avoid like the plague. A mix of thrusting young professionals (as you say) and junkies. I'm not sure which are worse.
Not much to report from the garden this weekend although Friday night showed definite signs of a warmer evening bringing on mating rituals. The males of the species trying to show their prowess with "Wonderwall" and the females responding with Abba. No signs of nesting.
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Post by potterinleeds on Jan 28, 2019 18:45:32 GMT
Never been in the Boat yard at Rodley. I'll have to give it a try. The Railway is an occasional summer pub for us. Usually park at Kirkstall, walk to Rodley, lunch/ale, walk back. That's a bit far for one of the dogs now, though; she's getting on & doesn't like walking long distances any more. Rodley out towards Apperley Bridge always been a favourite stretch, much less frequented by the pesky joggers ;-)
I did once trek all the way up the hill from the canal to Apperley Bridge to see what was up there in the village. It was deserted & I couldn't even find a shop that was open. That was 20 years ago, admittedly. I've kept to the flat canal ever since after slogging up the hill for no end result.
City centre <-> Kirkstall I avoid like the plague. A mix of thrusting young professionals (as you say) and junkies. I'm not sure which are worse.
Not much to report from the garden this weekend although Friday night showed definite signs of a warmer evening bringing on mating rituals. The males of the species trying to show their prowess with "Wonderwall" and the females responding with Abba. No signs of nesting.
Occasionally get into the Railway myself. The Rodley Barge is definitely worth a try, especially in the summer, and I don't mind the Kirkstall Bridge Inn either. Yes, not much reason to trek up the hillside from Apperley Bridge - the Bridge Café just off the canal is quite good whenever I have dropped in, but really you have to go right up into either Yeadon or Guiseley on the Leeds side before you'll find much else. The section of the canal from Silsden to Skipton is also very good to walk if you fancy a longer ramble. Do you ever go SE of the city centre along the Aire or Aire and Calder Navigation? More developed than the canal but there are still some fairly wild spots of urban jungle to be found (in the good sense ) especially once you are a mile or two out of Leeds. Watch out though if you are out with small children in the summer - I have come across some of the biggest Giant Hogweed I have ever seen along there, down Methley way I think it was.
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Post by thequietman on Jan 29, 2019 12:24:01 GMT
Never been in the Boat yard at Rodley. I'll have to give it a try. The Railway is an occasional summer pub for us. Usually park at Kirkstall, walk to Rodley, lunch/ale, walk back. That's a bit far for one of the dogs now, though; she's getting on & doesn't like walking long distances any more. Rodley out towards Apperley Bridge always been a favourite stretch, much less frequented by the pesky joggers ;-)
I did once trek all the way up the hill from the canal to Apperley Bridge to see what was up there in the village. It was deserted & I couldn't even find a shop that was open. That was 20 years ago, admittedly. I've kept to the flat canal ever since after slogging up the hill for no end result.
City centre <-> Kirkstall I avoid like the plague. A mix of thrusting young professionals (as you say) and junkies. I'm not sure which are worse.
Not much to report from the garden this weekend although Friday night showed definite signs of a warmer evening bringing on mating rituals. The males of the species trying to show their prowess with "Wonderwall" and the females responding with Abba. No signs of nesting.
Occasionally get into the Railway myself. The Rodley Barge is definitely worth a try, especially in the summer, and I don't mind the Kirkstall Bridge Inn either. Yes, not much reason to trek up the hillside from Apperley Bridge - the Bridge Café just off the canal is quite good whenever I have dropped in, but really you have to go right up into either Yeadon or Guiseley on the Leeds side before you'll find much else. The section of the canal from Silsden to Skipton is also very good to walk if you fancy a longer ramble. Do you ever go SE of the city centre along the Aire or Aire and Calder Navigation? More developed than the canal but there are still some fairly wild spots of urban jungle to be found (in the good sense ) especially once you are a mile or two out of Leeds. Watch out though if you are out with small children in the summer - I have come across some of the biggest Giant Hogweed I have ever seen along there, down Methley way I think it was. Went on a civil engineers' boat trip once out from Leeds City Centre towards that way, looking at the old commercial buildings. That was interesting. Giant Hogweed - nasty stuff.
I've been down the Aire-Calder Navigation but it was wide & barren of vegetation the stretch I walked. Not to my liking. That's one of the reasons I love the Kirkstall - Apperley Bridge stretch. The tow-path and bank sides are well-maintained, but there's still plenty of trees & vegetation for the wildlife.
I'll bear the Silsden - Skipton stretch in mind for future. Mrs Q likes Skipton. Specifically Mrs Q likes the pub lunches, chutneys & jams that can be found galore in Skipton. She'll put up with a canal walk on the promise of food treats :-)
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Post by Northy on Jan 29, 2019 20:03:09 GMT
Winter watch starts tonight
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Post by felonious on Feb 8, 2019 18:05:57 GMT
Wild over at Carsington this afternoon. The gale across the dam was that bad that the rain stung like hail. Absolutely pissed down half way around but it's fantastic when it's that wild. I intended to go last Friday but seeing the snow up at Cellarhead made me decide to divert to Tittesworth which as of yesterday is back at full capacity
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Post by Northy on Feb 10, 2019 12:34:38 GMT
Saw plenty of Moorhens on the canal this morning, all in pairs. Still a mob of about 30 mallards swimming up and down.
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Post by cheeesfreeex on Feb 10, 2019 16:49:36 GMT
Great show of snowdrops in the garden...
Feb 1st was Imbolc/St. Brigid's/St.Bridie's Day... and indeed that day the amount of geese/swans and such flying back/over was an awesome site... Apparently the migratory patterns follow the electro-magnetic seasonal ebb and flow of the Earth energy lines. Loads of twittering going on now, revving up for St. Valentine's no doubt. Keeping an eye on the pond for amphibian action. Fingers crossed...
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Post by felonious on Feb 10, 2019 17:49:41 GMT
Great show of snowdrops in the garden... Feb 1st was Imbolc/St. Brigid's/St.Bridie's Day... and indeed that day the amount of geese/swans and such flying back/over was an awesome site... Apparently the migratory patterns follow the electro-magnetic seasonal ebb and flow of the Earth energy lines. Loads of twittering going on now, revving up for St. Valentine's no doubt. Keeping an eye on the pond for amphibian action. Fingers crossed... I was at Carsington on Friday and there were huge clumps of snowdrops on both sides of the creek. I love the creek there it's always a fabulous colour and the place is always so different depending on the season.
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Post by felonious on Feb 16, 2019 13:59:38 GMT
Nice little treat on the river path in Stoke this morning twixt the Mich and the D road. Half way down spotted a kingfisher and followed him for three or four flights until he'd had enough and flew into the trees to hide until I'd gone past.
Then I had a real surprise just before the exit by the A500/ A34 junction I spotted a White Egret in the river. As it flew off over the trees towards Hanford another two flew up to join it and as I stopped and watched all three flew back overhead again and then headed off on the other side of the roundabout downriver.
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Post by cheeesfreeex on Feb 17, 2019 7:45:54 GMT
Nice little treat on the river path in Stoke this morning twixt the Mich and the D road. Half way down spotted a kingfisher and followed him for three or four flights until he'd had enough and flew into the trees to hide until I'd gone past.
Then I had a real surprise just before the exit by the A500/ A34 junction I spotted a White Egret in the river. As it flew off over the trees towards Hanford another two flew up to join it and as I stopped and watched all three flew back overhead again and then headed off on the other side of the roundabout downriver. Hope them Egrets start working their way up the valley, great sight. An Egyptian summer ahead?
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Post by felonious on Feb 18, 2019 12:33:57 GMT
Nice little treat on the river path in Stoke this morning twixt the Mich and the D road. Half way down spotted a kingfisher and followed him for three or four flights until he'd had enough and flew into the trees to hide until I'd gone past.
Then I had a real surprise just before the exit by the A500/ A34 junction I spotted a White Egret in the river. As it flew off over the trees towards Hanford another two flew up to join it and as I stopped and watched all three flew back overhead again and then headed off on the other side of the roundabout downriver. Hope them Egrets start working their way up the valley, great sight. An Egyptian summer ahead? Interestingly I was at Westport Lake some years back when they received a visit from an Egyptian Goose.
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Post by Northy on Feb 18, 2019 17:14:25 GMT
Nice little treat on the river path in Stoke this morning twixt the Mich and the D road. Half way down spotted a kingfisher and followed him for three or four flights until he'd had enough and flew into the trees to hide until I'd gone past.
Then I had a real surprise just before the exit by the A500/ A34 junction I spotted a White Egret in the river. As it flew off over the trees towards Hanford another two flew up to join it and as I stopped and watched all three flew back overhead again and then headed off on the other side of the roundabout downriver. Hope them Egrets start working their way up the valley, great sight. An Egyptian summer ahead? I spotted one just off Belfast Harbour last year, I stopped to take a picture and a local said to me he's seen their numbers increasing the last couple of years.
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Post by felonious on Feb 24, 2019 9:55:28 GMT
Well, the birdsong is deafening this morning
On a separate note I was told that Ravens were nesting up near to Cheddleton yesterday. I'll have a nose next time I'm up there in a couple os weeks time.
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Post by potterinleeds on Feb 24, 2019 14:39:15 GMT
Hope them Egrets start working their way up the valley, great sight. An Egyptian summer ahead? I spotted one just off Belfast Harbour last year, I stopped to take a picture and a local said to me he's seen their numbers increasing the last couple of years. There's getting to be a fair few of them over in Holderness, East Yorkshire as well, along the Humber estuary. I saw them regularly when working on Sunk Island a few years ago and a Natural England employee told me they were possibly overwintering at places like Hornsea Mere.
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Post by potterinleeds on Feb 24, 2019 14:43:24 GMT
What a beautiful day. Out running this morning, got onto the tops and emerged from early fog into full sunshine. Seen first blushes of green on bare hawthorn hedges, plenty of catkins of different sorts out too. We often get a sting in the tail here weatherwise in early to mid March, but looking ahead, I wonder if we will this year? Is it too early to welcome Spring just yet?
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Post by felonious on Feb 24, 2019 18:46:29 GMT
I spotted a cormorant over at Tittesworth this afternoon with a fair few patches of white on it's body.
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Post by cheeesfreeex on Feb 24, 2019 19:00:44 GMT
Mercury visible in the western night sky. After and before sunset. For a week or two. The winged messenger. Successful Tempura batter from ground Birch Catkins. Thinking of 'tapping' a tree, for sap wine. Fifteen Willow Catkins = two aspirins. Probably build up hayfever and allergy resistance etc nibbling the odd one. Wrens and geese. Snowdrops a show, a few different types. Nowt else much caught up yet, wild garlic tentatively emerging. Orange sunset. Checked Weather Without Technology, for the most interesting, if not accurate Weather fortune telling.
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Post by cheeesfreeex on Feb 24, 2019 19:13:09 GMT
Well, the birdsong is deafening this morning
On a separate note I was told that Ravens were nesting up near to Cheddleton yesterday. I'll have a nose next time I'm up there in a couple os weeks time. The fabled Raven, the one I spotted last year was sort of heading Chedd way, you can see the Water Tower from my folks' garden. Brilliant. Have you been to Rod Wood in Cheddleton? Worth it in May for the Orchid {and consequent insect etc} display apparently. Not made it myself yet.
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Post by felonious on Feb 24, 2019 20:45:08 GMT
Well, the birdsong is deafening this morning
On a separate note I was told that Ravens were nesting up near to Cheddleton yesterday. I'll have a nose next time I'm up there in a couple os weeks time. The fabled Raven, the one I spotted last year was sort of heading Chedd way, you can see the Water Tower from my folks' garden. Brilliant. Have you been to Rod Wood in Cheddleton? Worth it in May for the Orchid {and consequent insect etc} display apparently. Not made it myself yet. I'm doing a bit of walking around there on alternate Saturdays because I can't run at the moment. I'll have a look on the map. It's an interesting spot where they're nesting because it's only a hundred yards away from where I saw the Red Kite last year.
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Post by Northy on Feb 25, 2019 9:58:51 GMT
had a great long weekend in York, the Jorvik week long Viking festival is on at the moment, the weather really made it.
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Post by Northy on Feb 25, 2019 14:51:06 GMT
My eldest lad has been leaving his latest place of conservation this weekend, round Island near Mauritus and Mauritus itself, flying back this afternoon. They have named a baby tortoise after him, got his name painted on the side, and he said goodby to a tortioise that had met Charles darwin, wow just think on that, seems a lot longer than that but it's not long over 100 years ago that most people thought the world was only 6000 years old.
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Post by felonious on Feb 25, 2019 15:16:58 GMT
My eldest lad has been leaving his latest place of conservation this weekend, round Island near Mauritus and Mauritus itself, flying back this afternoon. They have named a baby tortoise after him, got his name painted on the side, and he said goodby to a tortioise that had met Charles darwin, wow just think on that, seems a lot longer than that but it's not long over 100 years ago that most people thought the world was only 6000 years old. Some still do
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Post by murphthesurf on Feb 25, 2019 15:39:31 GMT
I'm doing a bit of walking around there on alternate Saturdays because I can't run at the moment. I'll have a look on the map. It's an interesting spot where they're nesting because it's only a hundred yards away from where I saw the Red Kite last year. Old problem playin' up again, Fel? Shrapnel on the move?
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Post by felonious on Feb 25, 2019 17:25:56 GMT
I'm doing a bit of walking around there on alternate Saturdays because I can't run at the moment. I'll have a look on the map. It's an interesting spot where they're nesting because it's only a hundred yards away from where I saw the Red Kite last year. Old problem playin' up again, Fel? Shrapnel on the move? I'm walking 8 to 10 miles a day on average but when I run after 4 or 5 weeks the knee starts to swell up. I've had loads of sports physio across two different practitioners and they're both saying it's nothing mechanical. That rules out the shrapnel then.
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