No ducking out of this one

Jogon · Post by **Jogon** » Tue 10 Apr, 2012 11:37 am

buffalo brilliant.What's amazing, where did you find the old image?Wow and just over the river from the Isle of Cynder. Shame it wasn't all filmed and/or photographed. psLeo - there were Dads+sons fishing. Proper permits I think.

Leodian · Post by **Leodian** » Tue 10 Apr, 2012 8:49 pm

Jogon wrote: buffalo brilliant.What's amazing, where did you find the old image?Wow and just over the river from the Isle of Cynder. Shame it wasn't all filmed and/or photographed. psLeo - there were Dads+sons fishing. Proper permits I think. Cheers Jogon. That there is fishing going on does indicate that the quality of the water has improved a lot from what it would have been like not that many years back. Mind you, when a lock at the Royal Armouries was repaired and cleaned out several years back there were some goldfish found in the puddle of water that remained after the lock was drained.

Leodian · Post by **Leodian** » Thu 12 Apr, 2012 7:20 pm

I took this chance photo today (April 12 2012). It shows 2 ducks (mallards?) in a section of the Sheepscar Beck just where that comes into daylight after it runs underground near the Plumb Center. The water may look low but the flow was fast and the ducks were being quickly carried downstream (right to left here, though the photo makes that look like it flows uphill) which is why the photo is not sharp as I just stuck my camera through a gap in the railing and hoped something came out in the photo!I wonder if such birds go underground or keep in the open air. If they do get underground they may know from experience that they will get into open sections.

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Fri 13 Apr, 2012 10:26 am

Leodian wrote: I took this chance photo today (April 12 2012). It shows 2 ducks (mallards?) in a section of the Sheepscar Beck just where that comes into daylight after it runs underground near the Plumb Center. The water may look low but the flow was fast and the ducks were being quickly carried downstream (right to left here, though the photo makes that look like it flows uphill) which is why the photo is not sharp as I just stuck my camera through a gap in the railing and hoped something came out in the photo!I wonder if such birds go underground or keep in the open air. If they do get underground they may know from experience that they will get into open sections. A lovely picture of my favourite birds (winged before any smart guy pipes up ) - they are a typical "Mallard and missis" couple always a delight to watch.

buffaloskinner · Post by **buffaloskinner** » Fri 13 Apr, 2012 11:35 am

There are always plenty of ducks between Victoria Bridge and Crown Point, and a couple of Swans occasionally appear.There are also a few Moorhens which nest in the old Aire and Calder Dock.

Leodian · Post by **Leodian** » Fri 13 Apr, 2012 7:28 pm

BLAKEY wrote: Leodian wrote: I took this chance photo today (April 12 2012). It shows 2 ducks (mallards?) in a section of the Sheepscar Beck just where that comes into daylight after it runs underground near the Plumb Center. The water may look low but the flow was fast and the ducks were being quickly carried downstream (right to left here, though the photo makes that look like it flows uphill) which is why the photo is not sharp as I just stuck my camera through a gap in the railing and hoped something came out in the photo!I wonder if such birds go underground or keep in the open air. If they do get underground they may know from experience that they will get into open sections. A lovely picture of my favourite birds (winged before any smart guy pipes up ) - they are a typical "Mallard and missis" couple always a delight to watch. Hi Blakey. The photo with this post is the only other photo that I took (so everyone can breath a sigh of relief that I'm not going to be posting more photos of birds in the beck!). It had to be taken quickly (hence the railings in shot!) but still caught the mallards in the fast flowing water in Sheepscar Beck near to Plumb Center. The photo does also show what seems to be a deteriorating state of a wall there.

Phill_dvsn · Post by **Phill_dvsn** » Fri 13 Apr, 2012 7:38 pm

Leodian wrote: I took this chance photo today (April 12 2012). It shows 2 ducks (mallards?) in a section of the Sheepscar Beck just where that comes into daylight after it runs underground near the Plumb Center. The water may look low but the flow was fast and the ducks were being quickly carried downstream (right to left here, though the photo makes that look like it flows uphill) which is why the photo is not sharp as I just stuck my camera through a gap in the railing and hoped something came out in the photo!I wonder if such birds go underground or keep in the open air. If they do get underground they may know from experience that they will get into open sections. Intrepid Ducks indeed, to be there they've had to travel underground, the tunnels you saw them emerge from look like thishttp://www.flickr.com/photos/phill_dvsn/515513 ... eamThey've gone round that corner at some speed, a bit like the log flume at Blackpool

Leodian · Post by **Leodian** » Fri 13 Apr, 2012 7:57 pm

Phill_dvsn wrote: Leodian wrote: I took this chance photo today (April 12 2012). It shows 2 ducks (mallards?) in a section of the Sheepscar Beck just where that comes into daylight after it runs underground near the Plumb Center. The water may look low but the flow was fast and the ducks were being quickly carried downstream (right to left here, though the photo makes that look like it flows uphill) which is why the photo is not sharp as I just stuck my camera through a gap in the railing and hoped something came out in the photo!I wonder if such birds go underground or keep in the open air. If they do get underground they may know from experience that they will get into open sections. Intrepid Ducks indeed, to be there they've had to travel underground, the tunnels you saw them emerge from look like thishttp://www.flickr.com/photos/phill_dvsn/515513 ... eamThey've gone round that corner at some speed, a bit like the log flume at Blackpool Hi Phill. I now have this mental image of ducks riding the log flume. Despite the recent general dry spell and that there did not seem to be that much water in the beck it was flowing fast and the mallards were going downstream at a fair rate. If anything it reinforces the warning you have made in an older SL thread that any attempts to follow the underground course must be done when the water is low and that there is no rain forecast, as if it flows so fast in low level it would be impossible to stand up in a sudden rise in the water level.

Phill_dvsn · Post by **Phill_dvsn** » Fri 13 Apr, 2012 8:03 pm

Oh yes indeed it flows at a fast rate even in times of very low rainfall, when you think about it the beck was canalised like that to power the many industries alongside the beck, it needed to be fast and powerful, the whole beck is really well engineered with the levels. They did at one time have shaped sluices that slotted into that channel to divert the water into the factory and mills supply, it would have been managed pretty well. It's a pretty hard slog walking back against that flow, you can certainly feel your legs ache, you only need to hit a slippery part (of which it is mostly) and even that low flow will take you off your feet no messing.

Leodian · Post by **Leodian** » Mon 23 Apr, 2012 7:27 pm

Talking of ducks there is a report on page 8 of today's YEP about a brood of 10 ducklings that were rescued when found wandering during a morning rush hour on Neville Street without their mother (the date they were found was not given). They were reunited with their mother, who was near the Leeds Liverpool Canal. A nice heart-warming report that also suggests that duck numbers may be rising in the area.