Its worth a visit


Welcome to our website

The main aim of this website is to make local people aware of the Bird Life in and around my home town of Dewsbury

Nearly all my English birding activities centres around the Calder Valley in West Yorkshire but more specificly in the areas between Dewsbury Town and Horbury bridge with especial attention paid to an area now known as the Thornhill Wetlands were recently a new and very interesting Nature Reserve has been developed.

Also there is much information relating to my time spent Watching and photographing birds in the Gambia West Africa

My travels in the Gambia allways seem to be a great success with new species being added and photographed on each of my twelve visits so far.

Much of the praise for this success must go to my guide and friend PA JALLOW who is allways completely up to date with his observations and information regarding birding sites in the Gambia.

In recent years my Gambian trips have taken on a more scientific theme mainly due to my close friendship with the author Clive Barlow.Due to his influence i have managed to get photographs of birds published in many African Photographic Field Guides for which I am most grateful.

 

Visitor's notice

For anyone lucky enough to have visited the Gambia to either see the birds or indeed as I do indulge in photographing the birds and other wildlife one cannot fail to be ikmpressed by the sheer variety of not just the birds(which are more than worth devoting a holiday to themselves) but also the insects(particulary the butterflies and dragonflies and beetles) and indeed the mammals and reptiles all of which present a challenge of their own.

In building this website we hope to illustrate as wel as we can the great rewards for the photographer and birder alike that this small but very friendly country can offer.

Any serious photographers or birders wishing to bird alone or in very smallgroups could do worse than having a chat to our guide PA JALLOW who has gained much experience in the needs and requirements of travelling birders from several countries.

Going back to our more local activities I am lucky enough to have had as a friend for many years Russell Smithson who besides being an excellent birder was also a master joiner.His expertise in the construction of bird nesting boxes has added a great extension to our birding activities as we have embarked in the placingof nesting boxes in as many suitable locations along the Calder valley as we can manage.These include sites in Dewsbury,Mirfield ,Huddersfield and Ravensthorpe. 

 

Allready we have had great success with many species including Tawny and Little Owl as well as the usual Blue and great tits as well as such birds as Wren and Stock Dove.We look forward to Spring 2012 with great anticipationte to have 

More Recent Events

 

Covid has had a negative impact on much of my local birding with my local sewage works becoming out of bounds with this site previousely accounting for the majority of my records.

In more recent times I am spending more and more time in North Lincolnshire due to family reasons but have been fortunate to become familiar with some of the splendid Nature Reserves on Southern side of the River Humber particulary the Reserves Far Ings and especialy Alkborough Flats.

These two reserves are excellent for many Marsh and Wading birds with Alkborough being one of the best Bearded Tit sites iv ever encountered.

Another of my now favourite Reserves is Messingham Sand Quarry just around 15 minutes from my kids school an

d like other reserves in North Lincolnshire it is both Dog and Bycicle free making it ideal for Macro photography.

I look forwards to posting my sightings from this part of the country.


Photo Gallery: Homepage

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News

31/03/2014 07:48

Lesser Black Backed Gull on Gambian beach bearing leg ring had been ringed in Finland as a chick fresh from the nest the previous year.

An immature Lesser Black Backed Gull on Tanji Beach Gambia on the12th of October was found to have been ringed in a place called Maksamaa near Helsinki the previouse Year in July as a chick fresh from the nest.To reach Tanji Beach in the gambia the bird had travelled 6338 Kilometres in a cSouth...

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30/03/2014 18:09

Migrants still slow to appear localy.

Apart from the few Sand Martins and 3 singing Chiff Chaff on Kerries Reserve at Ossett migrants are still proving to be slow at arriving on our local area. Still 58 Teal,11 Tufted ducks and 2 Shovellers on the local sewage works at Dewsbury.Also this morning 3 Water Rails calling at different...

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26/03/2014 13:51

Sand Martins arrive back at local colony.

4 Sand Martins where flying around the small colony nesting site at Ossett this morning.Also 3 Chiff Chaffs are singing in the area around Kerries food factory but little else in the way of migrants. On Dewsbury Sewage works just 38 Teal,2 Shoveller and 16 Mallard and one Widgeon Also 8 Tufted...

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13/03/2014 15:00

Pintail on Sewage works this morning and local Buzzards showing well.

A female Pintail was flushed from one of the lagoons on Dewsbury Sewage works this morning at 10:40.The bird rose up and flew off in an Easterly direction towards Horbury Bridge. Also this morning 10 shovellers,62 Teal,26 Mallard,and 3 Mute Swans.6 Reed Buntings where feeding near the central...

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06/03/2014 21:13

Chiff Chaff in full song this morning at Ossett

A Chiff Chaff is in full song in the area around the bottom of Healy Road Ossett today.Also in a rather quiet morning 3 Goosanders on the Calder just by the Iron footbridge at the same spot.

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04/03/2014 19:06

Duck numbers still reasonable on the Local Sewage Works

Despite mild weather and the approaching Spring duck numbers on Dewsbury Sewage Works are still reasonable.A decent number of Teal at around 98 where presentv this morningand these where scattered all around the waterlogged beds at the Western end of the works.Also on the first lagoon 8...

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02/03/2014 19:02

Ringed Lesser Black Backed Gull no 99 if observed on Tanji Beach Gambia today.

An Adult Lesser Black Backed Gull of the Scandanavian race fuscus was observed on Tanji Beach Gambia today bearing a Finnish leg ring.The bird was ringed on the 8th of July 2002 in Pietarsaari Finland.This individual was the 99th recorded ringed Lesser Black Backed Gull at Tanji and Bijol Island...

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27/02/2014 23:00

Oystercatcher returns to its breeding area. Another sign that Spring is on its way

The first Oystercatcher of the Spring arrived on the banks of the River calder this afternoon flying noisily between Healy Road Ossett and Earlsheaton continualy and callong persistantly. On the Filter beds at dewsbury Sewage Works c140 Pied Wagtails along with 3 Grey Wagtails .Also on the filter...

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18/02/2014 16:46

Returning Pink Feet remind us that Spring is on its way

66 Pink Footed Geese flew over Dewsbury Sewage Works this morning at 10:05 flying North West. Also on dewsbury Sewage Works 118 Teal,6 Shoveller (4 males ),4 Tufted Ducks,22 Mallard.,24 Snipe 8 Reed Buntings.On the Calder between Healy Road Ossett and Earlsheaton 8 Goosander (2 pairs and 4...

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09/02/2014 23:20

News from the Gambia.

Does anyone know the origin of a Blue color ringed Osprey startin k2.If so contact Clive Barlow at birdsofthegambia@hotmail.com. Also yesterday 6 Norwegian colour ringed Lesser Black Backed Gulls at a Beach Roost at Tanji

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News

22/11/2023 13:04

Messingham Sand Quarry

Although i rank Messingham Sand Quarry has been very much a Spring and Summer/Autumn Reserve it offers interesting walks in both Late Autumn and Winter On this occassion a quick early stop into the fierst of 2 hides was very worthwhile. A quick count of the wildfowl on offer produced some 340...

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12/05/2022 10:12

Getting back into the swing with a trip to Scotton Common North Lincolnshire.

Having become more and more frustrated with continualy trying to gain access to what in the past have been my local birding sites and being continualy turned away Im lucly to be spending half of my week visiting and staying with my family in North Lincolnshire. Its nice to be dealing with a local...

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10/01/2022 14:57

Alkboro Flats North Lincolnshire

I know Im in for an interesting morning when the first bird I see shutting my car door in the car park is a female Mash Harrier.The first field as I walked North towards the Humber River had around 500 Common Starlings feeding along with around 85 Goldfinch scattered amongst the Thistle...

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10/01/2022 14:49

Time to get back into the field again.

After a frustrating 18 months locked out of my usual local birding patch due to the pandemic and some of my favourit footpaths being blocked off by local farmers who are tired of furlowed dog walkers trampling over theie land disturbing cattle and littering their fields with discarded face masks...

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31/05/2021 21:26

Goosanders doing well but Kingfishers suffer a setback

2 pairs of Goosanders have bred succesfully in theOssett area on the River Calder.Each pair has hatched 10 youngsters and all are at present doing well. Its allways worrying when you come across so called wldlife photographers lurking in the vicinity of bird nesting sites and  a recent...

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14/05/2021 22:59

Hirrundines and Swifts gather again at local Sewage Works.

There was good numbers of House Martins and Swifts on Dewsbury Sewage Works this morning.Around 400 House Martins where concentrated over  the centre of the works along with some 200 Swifts.In lesser numbers where Swallows numbering around 120 and Sand Martins totaling around a hundred...

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11/05/2021 14:10

Alkington Flatts North Lincolnshires a brief visit.

While on my weekly foray in to Lincolnshire i found time to visit Alkington Flatts Nature Reserve this morning. It was very refreshing to get out of the car in the car park and hear a Cuckoo calling its head off from a large Oak tree bordering the reserve.The bird was calling non stop for about 30...

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07/05/2021 11:39

Back to cloudy and cold but House martins increase.

Noticeably colder than yesterday nevertherless still brought good numbers of Hirrundines to Dewsbury Sewage Works.There was at least 400 House Martins,around 55 Sand martins,140 Swallows and around 25 Common Swifts hawking around the filter beds of the works at 09:00 this morning. The cold weather...

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06/05/2021 12:10

What a difference a week makes.

How noticeable this morning that the local hedgerows are much more lively with birdsong.On leaving my car in Healy Road Ossett the first sound I hear is of a singing Common Whitethroat with its distinct scratchy song.In total there where singing Whitethroats around the Healy Road Healy Mills area...

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28/04/2021 11:47

Merlin pays brief visit to local sewage Works.

Few thing can be more exiting than having a Merlin flying at full speed over your shoulder before diving headlong into a a feeding party of Black Headed gulls and Carrion Crows. However that is precisely what happened this morning at 09:25 as I was patiently scanning the filter beds on Dewsbury...

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Photo Gallery: Homepage

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Some overseas trips

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