Not over-common in the area. The first for the year was one at Otley Gravel Pits on 9th March followed by three over Kex Gill on 30th with singles in April at Fewston Reservoir, Otley Gravel Pits and on Haworth Moor.

In May three were at Otley Gravel Pits on the 1st with one at Leeshaw Reservoir on the 12th and seven there the following day. The only June records came from Thornton Moor Reservoir on the 16th and Leeshaw on the 21st.

One was again at Leeshaw on 19th to 23rd July and five were at Thornton Moor on 24th August. There were no September records but one was at March Ghyll Reservoir on 12th October and up to two were at Thornton Moor Reservoir in late October, one being seen as late as 4th November.

Once again, the first record of the year was at Otley Wetland when four were seen on 13th March. Two weeks later, six were at Thornton Moor and there were further sightings at these two locations during April and May. The latter month produced several records. Up to three birds were seen displaying over Thornton Moor, Warley Moor Reservoir had one on 16th and two on 30th, and Leeshaw Reservoir had four present on 23rd, reducing to two by 27th. Thornton Moor Reservoir still held three at the height of summer on 20th June.

The earliest returning migrant was one seen flying north over Thornton Moor on 18th July, the first of several autumn sightings here. The month’s maximum of six was seen on 27th July, and others were observed until early August. After a gap of some weeks, two were noted on 24th September, and numbers built up again during October and November, with a peak count of 15 on 7th October, and the year’s final record, two birds, on 21st November.

Elsewhere, Cold Edge Dams produced three birds on 8th August, and the same number on 9th October.

A good year for the species, with particularly high numbers during a productive period for wader passage around the end of August. All but one of the many records came from the south of the Group area, and, of these, the majority originated from Thornton Moor Reservoir, which is, without doubt, the top location in the area for wader passage.

The first of the Thornton Moor records was a bird on 26th March, and between that date and 26th June, birds were recorded there on nine dates, with significant counts of six on 30th April and five on 2nd May. A single bird had returned by 26th July, and five were present five days later. However, the best totals were reserved for the end of August and beginning of September, as five birds were seen on 25th August, and fourteen flew past on 31st, with eight on the shoreline the following day. The year’s final record was of two birds on 11th September, following three in the preceding week.

Away from this location, up to two birds were seen at Cold Edge Dams on six dates between 3rd April and 6th August, two were at Otley Wetland on 6th May, one at Warley Moor Reservoir on 25th June, and, notably, two at Soil Hill on 14th May, a site where it is unlikely they have been seen previously.

Though there was no definite evidence of breeding, display calling was heard from some of the birds at Thornton Moor during the summer months, and a pair was present as Warley Moor Reservoir during this period.

Of the 42 records submitted, 65% of them related to Thornton Moor Reservoir, and nearly all the rest also came from the south of the area. Compared with 2005, there was a surprising lack of autumn sightings after the first week in August, when most of last year’s big counts were made, and numbers at Thornton Moor were generally well down, despite favourable shoreline conditions.

The first of the Thornton Moor reports concerned two birds on 27th April, following which birds were seen on 11 further dates to the middle of June, with the highest count a fairly unremarkable four on 9th June. What was probably autumn passage began at this site with a single on 7th July, followed by reports of ones and twos on a further nine days, and similar records on four days in August and one in October. Comfortably the highest count in this period was six birds on 1st August.

Other locations had the year’s first and last sightings, with single birds at Farnhill Ings on 16th March, and Redcar Tarn on 25th November. Between these dates Otley Wetland had birds on three days in May, including two displaying on the 7th, and one day in June, and the same period produced two sightings at Leeshaw Reservoir. There was a bird at Warley Moor Reservoir in early July, and three there mid-month, and a good record of one flying over Allerton on 24th September. Some five weeks later 14 birds at Chelker Reservoir represented the highest number seen here, and two birds present at Cononley Ings on the last day of October were probably the same ones seen there on 2nd November.

Although display was noted at Otley Wetland, Warley Moor and Thornton Moor, breeding was not established, but one observer considered the birds frequenting Leeshaw Reservoir might have bred on adjacent moorland.

Generally unfavourable shoreline conditions during the passage periods made 2007 a poor year for many waders, and the 30 Dunlin records were well down on many other years. Nearly all the reports were for the three months from April, and, with only six records, autumn passage was almost non-existent.

The first of the year was a bird at Thornton Moor on 14th April, and the last was seen there on 17th November. The intervening records from here were unexceptional (mainly ones and twos), apart from a good count of nine birds on 19th May.

Only four other locations had birds: Otley Wetland, Silsden Ings, Leeshaw Reservoir and Warley Moor Reservoir. Here again, single birds were the norm, though up to three were at Warley Moor and four at Leeshaw in May, and two at Silsden in July.