Little Egret near Dewsbury centre and Lapwing numbers increase in the Valley.

Little Egrets are appearing more and more frequently in the Dewsbury area and this morning a single bird was feeding on the banks of the river Calder about 300 yards below the Canal Basin at Saville Town.

Around 110 Lapwings where in 2 parties in the fields near the site of the old Dewsbury Gas station frequently taking flight and circling above Mill Bank Thornhill.1 party had 72 birds and the other containing 38 birds.

Rather disapointingly Green Sandpipers appear not to have returned to the Calder around Dewsbury Sewage Works as the usualy do in July.Usualy adult birds accompanied by juveniles return from their breeding grounds in late July sometimes reaching double figures.I hope this does not point to the birds having a very poor breeding season.

Tufted Ducks have bred on the Calder at Saville Town and a female with 5 small chicks was  on the river this morning.

The usual gathering of Chiff Chaff/Willow Warblers and Whitethroats around the river banks below Pildacre has yet to materialise with very few around this morning.Usualy parties of these Warblers gather to feed on plants such as the Giant Hogweeds of which this year there seems to be loads of.Despite the negatives associated with these plants they do attract good numbers of insects for a brief period late Summer on which both Warblers and Titmice feed

Around 55 Common Swifts where reeling around the filter beds on Sewage Works this morning and the first signs of the Autumn Winter gathering of Pied Wagtails on the works with some 48 birds nearly all juveniles feeding there as well. 

2 Common Buzzards where in this part of the valley this morning a single bird was flushed from the copse attached to Kerries Foods factory near Healy Road Ossett and another much darker bird was circling above Thornhill Cricket club(a much darker bird).