Ducks & Sawbills

GADWALL Anas strepera Increasingly regular passage migrant and winter visitor

Seen most years in small numbers. Sightings from 2015:

2015 - Of the 43 reports, many concerned birds in the east and south-eastern parts of the area, but there were also significant numbers in the north-west. During February, a record nine birds were seen at Apperley Bridge, and at the end of the month eight were seen a short distance further west at Esholt. In the south at Park Dam, there were regular sightings of a single bird in winter and a pair in autumn, but the only Wharfedale record was a pair at Otley Wetland on 15th March. The optimum conditions at Cononley Ings attracted pairs on 24th and 25th November, and 6th and 19th December, and a noteworthy five birds on the 18th.

2016 - For a bird which is abundant not far to the south of us, Gadwall remains stubbornly uncommon in the recording area, and no birds were recorded before mid-September. Apart from four birds at Knotford Nook on 27th December, records were of ones and twos at Park Dam, Harold Park, Apperley Bridge, Otley Wetland, Ogden and Toad Holes Beck. These last two reports are notable for the species’ scarcity at the first location, and previous total absence from the second.

2017 - Remains uncommon, and 11 birds on the river at Rodley on 15th January (and just inside the BOG area) became a Group record. Five birds at Knotford Nook in February was the best of the balance, and the others were pairs at Otley Wetland, Esholt and Toad Holes Beck (Low Moor).

2018 - The Group’s previous record was well-surpassed in 2018, with counts at Tong Park Reservoir of 21 on 23rd November (RW) and 23 on 28th (AJ). Otherwise, the more expected pairs were seen at Esholt, Cononley, Menston, Otley Wetland, Park Dam and (unusually) Keighley Moor Reservoir.

GREEN-WINGED TEAL Anas crecca carolinensis

Rare vagrant

A male Green-winged Teal of the North American race Anas crecca carolinensis was seen at Otley Gravel Pits in company with Common Teal on 7th April.

GARGANEY Anas querquedula Scarce passage visitor

1993 - At last! After waiting six years, three records of this handsome duck. Otley and Elland Gravel Pits held a pair and a male respectively on 11th May and a female at Kex Gill Quarry put in appearance on 23rd September.

1996 - A welcome return to the annual list with at least two birds recorded this year. The first was a male at Otley Gravel Pits on 7th and 8th April. The second record was of a juvenile bird that was found at Lindley Wood Reservoir on 24th August; this bird remained here until 28th, before moving to Beaver Dyke Reservoir, where it was sighted the following day. More reports were received of a female/immature at the same site on 21st and 22nd September, with a further sighting on 8th October; it is possible that these sightings may in fact have all been the same bird.

1998 - Only one record was received, this being a male bird at Otley Gravel Pits on 9th May.

2000 - Otley Gravel Pits held a pair of this handsome duck on 26th and 27th May.

2004 - Two males spent a short time at Knotford Nook on 27th March.

2006 - A male which spent a short time at Otley Wetland on 8th May was seen by only two observers.

2008 - Just one record: a drake at Otley Wetland on 4th May.

2009 - A pair was present at Snaygill from at least 24th April to 1st May.

2010 - A pair spent the day at Leeshaw Reservoir on 22nd April.

2013 - A female bird was seen with six Wigeon at Leeshaw Reservoir on the morning of 12th September.

2015 - An eclipse drake was found at Redcar Tarn on 12th June, and stayed until the 14th.

2016 - Recorded for the second successive year, a female or juvenile was at John o’Gaunt’s Reservoir on 18th August

Gadwall photo: Nigel Priestley

A pair of Garganey at Snaygill in 2009.

photo: Brian Vickers

A Greater Scaup at Warley Moor Reservoir on 12th October 2014. photo: Brian Sumner.

RED-CRESTED POCHARD Netta Refina Scarce vagrant and possible escapee

1992 - A female bird at Baildon.

1996 - The second group record was of a female that was found at John o’ Gaunt’s Reservoir on 5th and 6th October, despite the bird being very wary, patient observation allowed a detailed description to be taken.

1997 - Two records were received for this species in 1997: the first was of a female bird at Marstons Nature Reserve on 20th May, while the second concerned the ‘hybrid’ bird at Yeadon Tarn first mentioned in the Group’s 1996 Report, which was seen again on 29th May.

1999 - The hybrid bird was again present at Yeadon Tarn on 30th March and 22nd April.

2002 - A drake in eclipse plumage was present at Otley Gravel Pits on 17th August. This constitutes the first record since 1997 and the fourth in all. The popularity of this species as ornamental wildfowl means the possibility of it being an escaped bird must be considered.

2006 - Two birds seen at Otley Wetland on 5th September, and described from that observation, had probably been present for several days. Whilst a popular bird in collections, the time of year and the probability of both being 1st-winter birds enhances their credentials.

2007 - A drake found at Otley Wetland on 9th October remained until the year-end. Whilst its arrival date is fairly typical for an overshooting migrant, the escape possibility cannot be ruled out.

2008 - At Otley Wetland, the drake first seen in October, 2007 spoiled any credentials as a wild bird by remaining in the area until 10th September, though sightings were discontinuous.

2009 - A drake was on Yeadon Tarn on 8th January. The date is indicative of an escape rather than a genuine vagrant.

2013 - A bird seen at Stockbridge on 7th July was the first since 2009 (SW). The popularity of this species as ornamental wildfowl means there is the possibility of it being an escaped bird.

RING-NECKED DUCK Aythya collaris

1995 The first Group record was of a splendid male at Knotford Nook on 20th May. The bird disappeared 92 minutes after being located. However, this was to a large extent alleviated when two birds, probably first-winter, turned up at Thornton Moor Reservoir on 22nd October before moving to the nearby Fly Flatts Reservoir, where the stayed until 6th November.

2001 The third record for the Group, and the fourth bird, was a drake found at Otley Gravel Pits on 20th October, and relocated the following day at Knotford Nook where it was last seen on 23rd.

GREATER SCAUP Aythya marila Uncommon passage/winter visitor.

Seen each year from 1987 to 2008.

2010 Only one record: a drake on Warley Moor Reservoir on 10th April.

2012 After no sightings at all during 2011, there were more birds seen this year than since 2001. These included a party of five at Silsden Reservoir on 12th February, the largest gathering on record, quickly followed by an untypically small drake at Redcar Tarn five days later, which initially prompted aspirations of something scarcer. A rare summer record of two drakes at Thruscross Reservoir on 25th July completed the picture.

2014 After no sightings during 2013 there was just one record of a female bird which visited Warley Moor Reservoir (Fly Flatts) on 12th October and stayed for a further five days.

2015 A female was seen on the fishing lake at Otley Wetland on 14th January and an immature bird was also recorded there on 1st and 2nd April.

EIDER Somateria mollissima

1990 A first-year male was seen well at Dowley Gap Sewage Works on 19th February.

1992 A single female was present at Fly Flatts Reservoir on 14th November.

1993 A first-winter male was present at Chelker Reservoir for two days from 31st October. The following week ‘a cracking’ adult male was located on the River Aire near Baildon Bridge gave close views and stayed from at least 8th until 21st November.

1995 A juvenile at Swinsty Reservoir on the morning of 3rd December could not be relocated later in the day.

1996 The only record of the year was of a long-staying female, which was present at Yeadon Tarn from 24th February until at least 17th November.

1997 Several reports were received from a number of different observers, of the long-staying female bird from 1996 which remained at Yeadon Tarn until at least 11th May. The only other record was also of a female bird, which was seen at Knotford Nook on 18th May, this could well have been the same bird, although weather conditions were reported by the observer to have been suitable for a passage bird.

1999 An adult male bird was present at Chelker Reservoir between 26th and 29th May.

2000 There was only one record, but it contained an astonishing number of birds – 14 at Otley Gravel Pits on 9th May. This is the highest number to be recorded in The Group’s area, and exceeds the aggregate total of birds seen previously.

2001 After the comparative riches of the previous year, normality was restored, with just a single bird at Otley Gravel Pits on 21st December.

2008 The first record since 2001, a drake was seen on the River Aire at Bingley on 31st December.

LONG-TAILED DUCK Clangula hyemalis

1988 There was only one spring bird but several autumn records which reflected good inland numbers elsewhere in the county. There was a female at Chelker Reservoir from 1st-6th May and in October, a single at Lindley Wood Reservoir from 11th to at least 24th. November began with a single at Knotford Nook on 26th with a different bird at nearby Ogden Pond from 27th-29th on which date another (a third?) bird was again at Lindley Wood Reservoir. Yet another single arrived at Ogden’s Pond on 3rd December remaining until 17th. The last was ay Lindley Wood Reservoir on 27th December and was considered to be a different individual. Although it is certain that at least two and probably three, individuals are involved in the above records, this is not easy to decide, especially as each bird was ascribed several age/sex characteristics by the many observers who saw them. The complexity of Long-tailed Duck moult is obviously little understood.

1989 Many observations reported lingering birds from 1988 as follows: one at Lindley Wood Reservoir until at least 2nd February, another at Ogden’s Pond until 5th February and a female at Knotford Nook from 22nd February to at least 30th April. Obviuosly, two, and possibly three, different birds were involved in these sightings.

2003 A long staying first-winter female was found at Leeming Reservoir on 20th November (MS et al). The following day it was seen at Thornton Moor Reservoir and then at Fly Flatts where it stayed until the 30th November. Meanwhile back at Leeming it reappeared for the original finder on 3rd December. By the 7th it was back at Fly Flatts but ended it’s tour back at Thornton Moor on 19th December.

COMMON SCOTER Melanitta nigra Scarce, but regular passage visitor

Seen most years from 1987 to 2014. Recent Sightings:

2015 - An average year with five sightings, all single birds from four different locations. An immature bird was on Yeadon Tarn on 24th March and a male visited Ogden Reservoir on 14th April. A sub-adult male was reported on Lower Laithe Reservoir on 21st July and a week later, a drake dropped onto Keighley Moor Reservoir. It was this moorland location that had the final bird, another male, which flew in and immediately went to sleep on 1st October. It was present the next day and provided excellent opportunities for close-ups.

2016 - A better than average year, with 10 records, involving a total of 20 birds. Apart from a bird on Leeming Reservoir on 11th January, all the records were of autumn migrants, and all originated from the west of the area. Leeshaw produced three drakes on 2nd July, a single on the 5th, and two birds on 13th August. Thornton Moor had a single drake on 28th July, increasing to two on 3rd August, and to three on the 7th and 8th. The three other sites to feature were Silsden Reservoir, where two birds were seen on 12th and 30th August, Redcar Tarn, which hosted a drake on the 28th, and Warley Moor Reservoir: a male and three females on 10th September.

2017 - All the records were from the south of the area, and comprised singles on the reservoirs at Warley Moor on 22nd June, Ogden on 14th July, Thornton Moor on 23rd July, and Keighley Moor on 18th August, with two there on 10th September.

2018 - Once again, most sightings were in the south, and comprised four birds at Warley Moor Reservoir on 19th June, and singles the following day and 21st July (BS), and from Keighley Moor Reservoir a bird on 18th August, and three on 26th September (IH). Elsewhere, one was at Otley Wetland on 27th and 28th March (WNS, AJ).

A juvenile Red-breasted Merganser at Thornton Moor Reservoir, October 2014. photo: Stephen Lilley

A drake Common Scoter at Keighley Moor Reservoir, July 2015.

photo: Ian Hargreaves

SMEW Mergellus albellus Uncommon and irregular winter visitor

Seen in the following years: 1987 to 1991, 1995 to 1998 and 2000 to 2003. Recent Sightings:

2010 - A welcome, if brief, return of an increasingly scarce bird in the area, and not seen since 2003. The bird, (a ‘redhead’) was found on a tiny patch of unfrozen water at Otley Wetland on 29th November. Unsurprisingly it didn’t stay.

2011 - Otley Wetland hosted a bird (another female/sub-adult) for the second successive year, but, unlike the 2010 one, it stayed around, being seen from 3rd to 17th December.

2012 - Recorded for the third successive year, a 1st-winter/female bird was found at Knotford Nook on 14th January, and stayed until 1st March, apart from a brief visit to Otley Wetland on 21st January.

2013 - Recorded for the fourth successive year, a 1st-winter/female bird was found at Knotford Nook on 12th & 13th March

RED-BREASTED MERGANSER Mergus serrator Scarce passage visitor

In 1987 a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers attempted to breed in the area. Since then there has only been sporadic records.

2005 An increasingly uncommon species in the Group area, there was only one record: a female in the Goosander roost at Thornton Moor Reservoir on 6th November.

2006 As in 2005, just one record, and from the same location: a single at Thornton Moor Reservoir on 21st August.

2007 Two records in the year doubles some other recent tallies. On 30th April, a bird was seen at close range near Bolton Abbey, and a pair was present at Ogden Reservoir from 27th to 29th September.

2010 Two records of this species nowadays represents a good return. A female was at Yeadon Tarn on 2nd February, and a pair was seen on the river at Bolton Abbey on 20th October.

2011 Another locally scarce bird discovered two years in a row, with both sightings in November. Singles were seen at Toad Holes Beck on the 8th, and at Redcar Tarn 15 days later.

2014 A juvenile bird, often seen in the company of Goosanders, was well-watched as it spent time at Redcar Tarn and in the roost at Thornton Moor Reservoir from 13th till 23rd October

2015 A bird was seen heading south west from the Oxenhope Watchpoint on 26th September

RUDDY DUCK Oxyura jamaicensis Increasingly uncommon/passage visitor

2009 A bird at Otley Wetland on 22nd April provided the only record.

2010 For fairly obvious reasons, this species is now much scarcer everywhere, so just one record of a female at Otley Wetland on 19th August is no real surprise (SJG).