Just two swans on the river at Otley today.

Two examples of Oak Beauty attracted to the windows of Hollins Hall, Baildon, last night. 😀 #VC64

One of the gulls on the church roof today was 251J making its first appearance for 19 months! #GullOfTheDay #GullsOfOtley #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs

You can always tell when the church has got the central heating on! #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs #GullsOfOtley

Black-headed Gull 237H looking smart in Otley today getting ready for its migration back home to Norway 🇳🇴 #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs #GullOfTheDay #GullsOfOtley

Something to look forward to! 😀 🌸 🌸 🌺 #Dahlia #Juliet #EdgeOfJoy

The recording of Charlie Fletcher's review of the 2025 Moth year is now available. Its been another very busy moth year with record number of moths a lots of new earliest and latest recorded dates let alone record abundance for hundreds of species... Phew! youtu.be/-s8RWBO-_nI

Palmate newts are returning to the garden pond 😀

Hooray! After months of disruption the Black-headed Gulls have returned to the riverside parks in Otley. Now we just need some grass and a new 200 year old Oak tree. #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs #GullsOfOtley

White-letter Hairstreak egg on Wych Elm bud at Hollins Hall, Baildon, today. #VC64 #Satyrium

A disappointed fox leaves a little present in the empty food bowl! 🦊

Norwegian Black-headed Gull J90Y is still wintering at Redcar Tarn, Keighley. #GullOfTheDay #GullsOfKeighley #J90Y #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus

Can anyone help to identify the species from this birdsong please? West Yorkshire yesterday.

The best feet in Halifax! #CootStudy

Roundhay Park in Leeds today. Lots of twitchers photographing the young Iceland Gull but many will have failed to notice Black-headed Gull 236J who frequents St Petersburg, Russia 🇷🇺 Iceland gull (Larus glaucoides) doesn’t actually breed in Iceland 🇮🇸 but originates from Greenland 🇬🇱 or Canada 🇨🇦

Great report of a Tufted Duck from @theroyalparks.bsky.social. This little duck, ringed at #Serpentine #Hydepark in Dec 2023 made it all the way to the Rusian arctic circle, ca 2000km NE of Moscow. This shows just how far ducks wintering in London can migrate. #Londonbirds #birdringing #duck #BTO

Distant White-fronted Goose at Knotford, Otley today. Noticeably smaller than the Greylags.

Just a nonchalant fox passing through our suburban back garden on a Sunday lunchtime! 🦊

Preparing the Nuthatch nest box ready to receive this year’s tenants 😀

Redcar Tarn again!

First hedgehog of the year last night! 🦔 ❄️

Norwegian Black-headed Gull J90Y has arrived back at Redcar Tarn, Keighley 😀 🇳🇴 #GullOfTheDay #GullsOfKeighley #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus

Otley today. The bridge works are nearing completion and some of the birds have stayed the course. I think we’re going to be alright! 😀

Today’s observation in rainy Wharfedale: The Common Gulls are much more proficient at catching worms than their Black-headed Gull cousins. Both perform the little foot-stomping dance but canus easily outperforms ridibundus with a much greater number of gullible worms brought to the surface 🏆

A Greylag goose currently residing at Redcar Tarn, Keighley was originally ringed at Windermere by @kanebrides.bsky.social

Pintail (Anas acuta) at Redcar Tarn, Keighley, today.

Drake Smew at Knotford with iPhone 8! 😂 Took camera and binoculars out of car for this morning’s MOT so had to rely on natural eyesight. I watched a little white dot behaving just as people had described to me. Luckily the Smew flapped its wings helpfully and some proper birders cheered to confirm.

Otley’s Black Swan taking flight today after being bullied by the resident male Mute Swan. #Cygnus #atratus

Hooray! Lots of new numbers at Yeadon Tarn today! 😀 I photographed seven of the eighteen that were colour-ringed this morning. #GullsOfYeadon #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs

The gulls are continuing to defect from Otley to Yeadon Tarn. Et tu, 238H? #GullOfTheDay #GullsOfYeadon #GullsOfOtley #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs

Fourteen colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls on the ice at Yeadon Tarn today. Seven of these were originally ringed in Otley. #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs

Over the course of the last week the Black-headed Gulls appeared to have abandoned Wharfemeadows Park, Otley, for warmer rooftops around the town. Hopefully they will return when the bridge repairs are finally complete. On the plus side today there was an otter and the Black Swan has come back! 😀

BHG 277K is now in its 3rd winter (4th calendar year) and remains loyal to Yeadon Tarn. The second photo is from December 2023 shortly after ringing. #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs #GullsOfYeadon

BHG 298S has defected from Otley to Yeadon Tarn! #GullOfTheDay #GullsOfYeadon #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs

Common Gull at Knotford near Otley. Worms a plenty in the damp sheep pastures 😀

BHG highlights of 2025😀 I am used to the “British Rail Blue” colour rings used by @waterbirdcm.bsky.social but was flummoxed in September when Polish blue-ringed TCML came to Halifax with Norwegian J0190 Shotton ringed 2440 at Yeadon is a star and Norwegian J52X is always welcome in Otley! 🇵🇱 🇳🇴 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Black-headed Gull 226J (seen in Roundhay Park today) spends the summers in Sweden, north of Stockholm, and the winters in Leeds. This has been the constant textbook behaviour since ringing in November 2022 🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪 #GullsOfRoundhay #GullOfTheDay #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs #Umea #Teg #Sweden

BHG 2440 is still at Yeadon Tarn, Leeds 😀 Ringed as a chick in Flintshire on 14 June 2025 by the Merseyside Ringing Group. The second photo shows info from Peter Coffey. Blown NE by Storm Amy, it will be interesting to see which direction it takes when it migrates in the spring. #GullOfTheYear 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🏆

A bright, sunny, Boxing Day in Otley, West Yorkshire, where Black-headed Gull 261J is possibly dreaming of home; the Dutch Province of Flevoland. 🇳🇱 It was spotted there on 1st May 2025 on a man-made island bird reserve at Marker Wadden. #GullsOfOtley #Flevoland #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs

Hooray! Black-headed Gull 261J has arrived back in Otley after a trip to the idyllic Marker Wadden, Amsterdam 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇱 #GullOfTheDay #GullsOfOtley #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs

The Svalbard ringed Purple Sandpiper at Redcar this morning @teesbirds.bsky.social @nybirdnews.bsky.social @northyorksbirds.bsky.social @waderquest.bsky.social

Painted Lady on the wing in the Obs garden just now

Still a bit quiet by the river in Otley but at least BHG 241H has finally turned up again. The expected cold wind from the east will hopefully encourage a few more new arrivals for Christmas! 🎅 #GullsOfOtley #GullOfTheDay #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs #VC64

Blue skies in Otley today but I suspect we need some colder weather to bring in a few more Black-headed Gulls. #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs

Roundhay Park, Leeds, today where the Black-headed Gulls provide plenty of interest. 235J has been spotted in Riga, Latvia 🇱🇻 and 236J visits St Petersburg, Russia 🇷🇺 My favourite 288S came to visit me at Yeadon Tarn on New Year’s Eve last year! 😀 #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs #GullsOfRoundhay

Uit DNA-onderzoek bleek dat ik wel heel veel mannelijke scholeksters ving. Stukje over geschreven. DNA testing showed that I caught a lot of male oystercatchers. Short story about that (in Dutch, but Google can translate it 😉) www.scholekster.org/nieuws/hebbe...

I was beginning to think that BHG 2440 had moved away from Yeadon Tarn but was pleased to catch up with it today. Born at Shotton Steel Works in North Wales (ringed as a nestling) it arrived here 8 weeks ago with assistance from Storm Amy! 🤣 Possibly my #GullOfTheYear #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Blue Sky in Yorkshire! Black-headed Gulls continue to arrive back in Otley where there is still some disruption due to the river bridge repairs. 273J is seeking sanctuary on top of the United Reformed Church……next to the Chip Shop! 😀 #GullOfTheDay #GullsOfOtley #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs

By my calculations at least 72% of the Black-headed Gulls ringed in Yorkshire on 3 Dec 2024 have already returned this autumn. 😀 This includes Otley, Roundhay and Halifax. waterbirdcolourmarking.org #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs @waterbirdcm.bsky.social

2cy BHG 294S seems to have sneaked back into Otley when I wasn’t looking!🤣 #GullOfTheDay #GullsOfOtley #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus #NWBHGs