The first returning migrants were at Marley on 18th April and at Stockbridge four days later. Breeding was noted at Otley Gravel Pits (at least two pairs), Silsden Reservoir and Stockbridge. Birds were seen regularly at these sites as well as Chelker and Fewston Reservoirs and Elland Gravel Pits until the last sightings at Stockbridge and Otley Gravel Pits on 17th August. A single bird at Denholme Clough on 10th August is likely to have been a bird on passage as was one at Cold Edge Dams on 3rd September.

Otley Wetland held the year’s first two birds on the 21st April. This site then held various singing birds and a few breeding pairs, with 10 birds ringed between May and July. Stockbridge was also a regular site for up to two birds,whilst the number of males peaked at Marley on 24th May with 22 present. Breeding was suspected at Wydra, where up to two singing males were present all summer, with the same scenario at Fewston Reservoir.

Elsewhere, low numbers came from sites such as Paul Clough, Chelker Reservoir and Doe Park Reservoir. The last of the year was at Stockbridge on 29th August.

Numbers appear to be down on last year, particularly at Marley Sewage Works, where this year’s highest count of twelve birds, on 21st May, compares with the 2004 tally of 22. The maximum count at Otley Wetland was six, up to three were at Stockbridge, two were seen at Fewston, and singles at Doe Park Reservoir, Chelker Reservoir, Elland Gravel Pits and Low Moor. This last record was yet another from the productive garden mentioned elsewhere in the Report. The first and last birds, at Marley on 26th April and Stockbridge on 4th September, were on unremarkable dates.

Records of confirmed breeding came from Stockbridge, where nestlings and juveniles were seen, Otley Wetland, where parents were feeding young, and Marley Sewage Works, at which location an adult pair accompanied two juveniles. This last seems a particularly poor return for what was formerly the area’s stronghold, and at which double-figure counts were made earlier in the season. Whilst there was no evidence of breeding at Fewston, the birds seen and heard there were in exactly the same spot as in the previous year.

The first arrival was seen at Marley Sewage Works on 28th April, a typical date and location, which figured again on 16th May, when there were at least ten singing males there. By this time, birds had also returned to Otley Wetland, and successful breeding was subsequently established there, with six young being ringed. It also took place at Stockbridge, where food-carrying was noted as late as August, and at Pool Paper Mills (a new location, following changes to the recording area), which recorded juveniles in May. For the third successive year, breeding was strongly suspected, but not proved, at Fewston Reservoir, whilst the access restrictions imposed at Marley meant the site couldn’t be revisited to check on breeding activity. In summary, the species is probably maintaining its presence in the area, but without the anticipated expansion in breeding.

Reports also came from irregular sites, at Weecher and Silsden Reservoir, and it will be interesting to see if there are developments at either in future years. There were no records of passage birds, and birds on territory at Stockbridge on 16th August represented the final, and untypically early, report.

A rather mixed year for the species, with numbers certainly down on 2006, and breeding rather patchily recorded.

The first and last birds, at Stockbridge Reserve on 22nd April, and Otley Wetland on 4th September, were seen on unexceptional dates. Most of the year’s records came from these locations, with other expected contributions from Marley, Fewston Reservoir and Chelker Reservoir, and less expected ones from Knotford Nook on 2nd May, Silsden Reservoir on the 24th, and Soil Hill on 27th August, where the birds (two in each case) were almost certainly on the move.

Chelker Reservoir had the highest adult count of five males in June, and successful breeding was reported from there, but elsewhere only from Fewston and Stockbridge. Up to three singing males were reported from Otley Wetland, but, surprisingly, there were no reports of successful breeding.