ML357435481

Age and sex

Adult, Unknown sex - 1

Observation details

A red adult was spotted on the centre ‘island’ of the reservoir at 15.15 in the afternoon in gloomy but warm conditions. Intermittent rainstorms had been passing throughout the day and it is possible the bird arrived following one of these storms. It remained on the island for c.15 minutes before it then flew to the near expanse of exposed shoreline. It spent the remainder of its time here feeding along this shoreline, following the waters edge heading from north to south. At 16.20 it took off, did a loop of the reservoir and then flew south low over the moor, possibly heading towards Blackstone Edge Reservoir, but I had not time to check and was already in the process of leaving when the bird took off to depart. The red plumage of the bird clearly indicates that this is a returning adult, with covert breaks indicating that it is currently undertaking a post breeding moult. Whilst the bird was feeding it was clear to observe that it was carrying a noticeable limp on its right leg, but this did not seem to hamper its foraging. By crawling out onto the mud it was possible to get very close the bird, and because of the care taken in approach it did not flush and was allowed to keep feeding in peace. This is the first Calderdale record since another adult on Ringstone Edge Reservoir in 2018, which was the second of that year. Birders arriving later in the evening confirmed that it had not returned, and it was not present the next day.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM +1.4x III

ISO

1000

Focal length

560 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/9.0

Shutter speed

1/1000 sec

Dimensions

3522 pixels x 2348 pixels

Original file size

1.23 MB