Soil Hill; Isolation week 2

The Spring on Soil Hill really got going this week, with birds departing and arriving throughout the week. Heres a quick summary from each day I've been up to the Hill:

04 April

Visit from 07.00. Total 42 species observed. 

A nice early morning migration, which I observed from 08.00 - 09.00 with the following totals going north; 18 Woodpigeon, 52 Fieldfare, 92 Meadow Pipit, 2 Linnet

Birds on and around the Hill included a single Grey Partridge, another Collared Dove, 3 Oystercatcher, a Snipe and a Buzzard.

05 April

Visit from 07.00. Total 42 species observed.

No migration of note this morning, although a flock of 14 Fieldfare and 2 Redwing flew north

Birds on and around the Hill included the first Swallow of the year, single Oystercatcher, 2 Snipe, 2 Buzzards and a Goldcrest.

-Pied Wagtail

-Wren 

06 April

Visit from 11.00. Total 28 species observed. 

Decided to head up a little later today due to overcast, cloudy and windy conditions when I checked at 07.00. However, it paid off greatly! Having been following numerous lockdown birders recording Ospreys over their houses I was becoming very jealous and frustrated at the lack of such action on Soil Hill. AGAIN! 

I had been round the Hill and was climbing back up the north slope when I spotted a large bird in the sky above me. Before I even put bins on it I knew this was the one, and I was relieved when it banked revealing its white belly and axillaries. I was absolutely over the moon, at long last I had this raptor on my Soil Hill list. This is also my 100th species that I have seen on patch, to make it extra special. 

-Osprey

07 April

Visit from 07.00. Total 39 species observed.

First Wheatear of the year this morning, a fairly inactive individual along the walls of the top fields. Seen on the way up and could not find on the way back down. 

Other species of note include 2 Red-legged Partridge, ANOTHER Collared Dove, Snipe, 2 Coal Tit, Barn Swallow, Goldcrest and a flock of 35 Fieldfare

08 April

Visit from 07.00. Total 43 species observed.

A very productive morning with a nice species total. The standout was a pair of Bullfinch in the trees on the north slope. This is the first time I have seen them on site since the winter group moved off. 

Other species of note included; 4 Red-legged Partridge, 2 Grey Partridge, 2 more Collared Dove and the regular displaying Snipe. 

-Bullfinch

09 April

Visit from 07.00. Total 26 species observed

Waste of time this morning. Thick fog descended at about 07.15 and from that point there was little birding to be had. The best of it was a Green Woodpecker which was calling from somewhere towards the ogden plantation, not a hope in hell of actuallying seeing it. Was done in an hour.

10 April

Visit from 10.00. Total 40 species observed

Due to another foggy forecast I delayed my walk until late morning. The cool and overcast conditions meant birds were still fairly active and I mustered a few good birds. First of these were my first Willow Warblers of the year, with two singing. Three Wheatears were gracing the bottom fields with their presence, and my journey down to try and photograph them yeilded two Reed Buntings. A Jay also flew through. 

Other species of note included Snipe, Red-legged Partridge and another Barn Swallow

-Jay

Species List:
Soil Hill: Canada Goose, Mallard, Red-legged Partridge, Common Pheasant, Grey Partridge, Rock Dove, Stock Dove, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Common Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Grey Heron, Western Osprey, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Little Owl, European Green Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Jay, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Barn Swallow, Willow Warbler, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Redwing, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, European Robin, Northern Wheatear, Dunnock, House Sparrow, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, European Greenfinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Common Reed Bunting, European Rabbit, Roe Deer, Red Fox, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, 

Burnsal Bridge

Family day out as is standard for a Wednesday when I am home. Usual business of a walk in the Dales and today's destination was Burnsal Bridge. On the way over I picked out 2 partridges but could not get enough on them as we drove by to confidently give them a species. I also spotted a dead barn owl which was a very sorry sight.

As we pulled up there were plenty of Oystercatchers, 14 in total, as well as 2 Grey Wagtails and a Pied Wagtail vigorously attacking its reflection in a car mirror. I grabbed a couple of shots of this as it is interesting behavior.

-Pied Wagtail

Along the walk we picked up 3 Dippers, multiple Grey Wagtails, a couple of Goosanders and an array of woodland species such as Goldcrest and Long-Tailed Tit. The highlight, as it were, was a pair of Red-Legged Partridges on the far bank high up. Its the first partridges I can defiantly put a species on that I have seen this year so will go down as a yeartick, and the first time I have seen the species on this site.

-Red-Legged Partridge 

There was also some more plastic fantastic with a pair of Mandarin feeding on the near bank. We were able to get reasonably close too, though more to the female than the spectacular male.

-Mandarin

It was another lovely walk at the site with the full compliment of usual suspects, though the RLP was a massive and unexpected bonus. Also picked up Common Buzzard on the way back which was another addition to the species list for the day.

Species List:
Burnsal Bridge: Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Oystercatcher, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Mallard, Black-Headed Gull, Rook, Common Gull, Chaffinch, Goldcrest, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Dipper, Long-Tailed Tit, Goldfinch, Wren, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Lapwing, Mandarin, Red-Legged Partridge, Pheasant, Goosander, Collard Dove, Magpie, Nuthatch, House Sparrow, Starling, Curlew, Mistle Thrush, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull,

Kinder Scout

Today is my last full day in Sheffield prior to my homecoming. Its sad to say the least. Since 'Le tour' was causing chaos on the roads of Yorkshire, I decided to venture into the peaks a final time, and climb Kinder Scout again. The day started with grim rain, but by the time I arrived in Edale the sun was breaking through and it had the look of a nice day.

I made my way through the small village, and on the way found a delightful family of 4 Pied Wagtails, one adult and 3 juveniles. They came quite close to me as I watched them from over the wall, so I was able to get some decent photos of them. The juveniles were hunting insects with the exception of one individual that was more interested in harassing its parent.

-Pied Wagtail

I climbed the hill making it up the top slower than last time, but still fairly quickly. The only birds I saw were Meadow Pipits, and one Kestrel. On the whole I had not expected many birds, and so it was surprise when they were in short supply.

There were a few more insects, including Small Heath and Meadow Brown on the butterfly front. The real noteworthy beast from the top was this caterpillar which I found crossing the path. For a caterpillar it was quite a monster. Sadly I had the wrong lens, but I did the best with what I could and the results are not bad. So far as I can tell, this is an Oak Eggar caterpillar, but don't hold me to that.

-Oak Eggar Caterpillar

I carried on round and came to the region where I had seen the hares previously. Sadly I failed to find any today, and the moor was very quiet. There were quite a few Meadow Pipits, also a couple of Swifts and a solitary Red Grouse.

Back on the edge of the peak the sun decided to come out and with it came one of my favourite animals, the Green Tiger Beetle. Again I lacked the lens for a good photo, but they were not very approachable, flying away if you got anywhere close. There were at least 3 in this area, but it was difficult to tell due to the flighty nature of the beetles.

-Green Tiger Beetle

Continuing round I found more of the caterpillars, with 3 in one area. These were on a more natural background than the one previously, so I tried again to grab some photos but it was difficult given the nature of the lens I had. 

-Oak Eggar Caterpillar

I finished the walk with little more wildlife. There were a couple more butterfly species with Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral added, but there were no additional birds and no more beetles were found.

But with a walk like this it is hardly about the wildlife and more about the scenery and stunning views. Having done it before I knew just how good the views were, but I had not brought the camera last time. This time I came prepared, hence the lack of the macro lens. As a result I was able to photograph the stunning views. Due to the bright nature of the clear sky, many of the photos were quite dark. But those that came out Ok I have included just to show how simply stunning a walk it really is.

-Kinder Scout Views

So not much wildlife, and no hares, but an incredible walk none the less. Sadly the wind and the clouds made it less pleasant that it had been before, the wind being a real issue in places. However, it was still a lovely morning, and a great way to spend my last day in Sheffield.

Species List:

Kinder Scout: Kestrel, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Red Grouse, Swift, Swallow, Blackbird, House Sparrow, Carrion Crow, Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Oak Eggar Caterpillar, Green Tiger Beetle

Rother Valley CP with SUBS

So today I decided to go on the Sheffield University Birdwatching Society (SUBS) trip to Rother Valley Country Park on the far side of Sheffield. The weather was not great and it set in during the afternoon, however, it was a really good day with plenty of stuff. I am informed 34 species were recorded, the full list to follow soon. 

The highlights were without doubt Redshank, Buzzard and numerous wigeon which were grazing the side of the lake. There were also great views of great Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck and Lesser Black Backed gull, which were perched on a drum in the lake.

-Lesser Black Backed Gull

We had lunch at the Wake-boarding center, which was quiet bird-wise but there was a Lapwing on one of the Jetties and a pied wagtail flitting around for a little while.

-Pied Wagtail

I even managed a year tick today, and not a species I had considered as a possibility. At the feeding station there were multiple Mute Swans, Graylag Geese, Canada Geese and Mallards when while we were having a group photo I spotted a Shelduck feeding among the mallards. It was incredibly bold, not seeming to care how close we were, which was very close, but it allowed us great views and was possibly the most unusual bird that we recorded today. It was also my 81st year tick, hence my little cheer of celebration when I spotted it. The fact that it was in full plumage only added to it.

-Shelduck 

So that was that, a really nice day spent out and about with plenty of great birds to show for it.

Lakeland-A day out at Derwentwater

Since it was my parents 24 wedding anniversary we decided to go for a trip up to the lake district. The day started badly when I dragged myself out of bed at 6.30, only to realise half way through breakfast that it was 5.30. However, once we got to Derwentwater the day picked up considerably. First we went for a walk around the side of Derwentwater to get the day started. We did not go far, only as far as the first field. On the walk through the woods we encountered only a nuthatch, though a woodpecker was calling somewhere around us. 

At the field we stopped to have a rest and a look around. I explored the small marsh next to the reeds to see what there was about. There were a lot of common blue damselflies, including some in tandem. 

-Common Blue Damselfly

As I sat down after the exploration of the marsh the woodpecker was heard calling in the tree directly behind us. It then flew over us and into the wet woodland for about 5 minuets before flying back and landing again in the tree behind us. There we saw that it had a chick, which it called to, before flying back to the flooded woodland, where the chick followed it.

-Greater Spotted Woodpecker

It was lunchtime by the time we returned, so we set up in the park and then me, brother and dad went into town to pick up lunch. When I got back my mum pointed out a juvenile blackbird feeding on berries in the tree above our picnic site. 

-Juvenile Blackbird

After a bit, when I had wandered off to get my drink from the car and returned, my dad pointed out a male blackbird sunbathing on the opposite side of the lawn. Since it was so open, I decided to commando crawl towards it to get quite close. I managed to get quite close before it was scared off by some people asking me about it. Either way, its the most spectacular sunbathe I have seen from a blackbird. 

-Blackbird

Through lunch the juvenile blackbird we met earlier also started sunbathing at the bottom of the same tree it had been feeding in. It was much more flighty and difficult to approach, but its sunbathe was just as spectacular.

-Juvenile blackbird

The other birds during lunch were sparrows, chaffinches, a willow warbler, song thrush and a few baby blue tits. 

After lunch we decided to wander into Keswick (the local town) to see what was about. Through the park getting there I spotted a small bush crawling with bees, most of which appeared to be what I know as tree bumblebees, because I have kept an eye open for them since my dad mentioned that he would like to see one. Apparently, tree bees are the fastest spreading bee in the UK, and are one of the "Big 5" (one of the 5 species of bee not in decline), so it was nice for my dad to see one, since the only other time I have seen one was in our garden when he was at work.

-Tree Bumblebee 

Needless to say, town was pretty void of wildlife. I did however manage to find a book I was looking for in a charity shop, which was a bonus (the Silmarillion) 

After town we decided to get on the boat and go for a row around the lake, as we usually do. The first bird I saw was a Red breasted merganser female, which was nice. It also reminded me that I couldn't remember if they were mergansers or goosanders that lived on the lake, but if you read on you will see how I was reminded. 

Next we rowed to the reeds to see what was about. There was not much, only a family of graylag geese whit 3 chicks, as well as a couple of oystercatchers. On the jetty of one of the houses around the lake there was also a pied wagtail.

-Pied wagtail 

The island opposite the marsh is where we found ample barnacle geese last time, but this time we only found one pair and they were on an island further over, which is sadly more accessible than the one previously. One the island we found a pair of barnacle geese, with the female seemingly sitting, or one of the birds sitting under a tree seemingly on a nest. The other bird was watching from the beach. 

-Barnacle Geese

Just next to the geese was an oystercatcher. There was another oystercatcher round the far side going bezerk at a gull perched nearby. At first it was unclear why, but as we watched we noticed that the none calling bird had 2 well grown chicks, which we hadn't noticed before.

-Juvenile oystercatcher

We then decided to go the rocks in the middle of the reser to get a look at the gulls and cormorants settled there. On the way there another female merganser appeared in front of us.

-Red Breasted Merganser

The rocks were full with gulls, herring, lesser black backed and greater black backed, more than I can ever remember before. There were also 3 cormorants on the rocks.

-Cormorant 

We slowly made our way across the lake, made slower because I tried rowing. We made it to another of the rock piles in the lake. On the largest we thought we heard a common sandpiper, but it turned out to actually be a pair of red breasted mergansers, and there was a male here which reminded me what species they were. We were able to get quite close before they moved off, so I was able to get some reasonable photos

-Red Breasted Merganser

We then made our way to the marsh on the far side of the island to see what was going on there. From a distance we noticed that there was a flock of graylag geese and a grey heron there. We managed to get quite close to the heron before it moved off, did a loop-de-loop and came back. There was also another male merganser there too...

-Red Breasted Merganser and Grey Heron 

-Grey Heron 

We then finished our rowing trip and made our way back. After our rowing exploits we went for a coffee in the cafe opposite. While we were there I spotted that another of the same plants from the park were in the cafe, and that they were crawling with tree bees here too. So while my family settled down for a civilized cup of coffee, I sat down and photographed the bees. I have to say that I don't remember bee photography ever being as difficult as these bees seemed to want to make it. For that reason my photos were not very good.

-Tree Bumblebees

After our coffee we went for a short walk the other way around the lake. It was early evening so there was not much wildlife around, but the flowers were still out and there were lovely groups of ragged robin along the lake shore. On the bird front there was also a sand martin among the swallows in the sheep field.

-Ragged Robin

And so after that walk we started to head off home. It was a lovely day, and not just because of the splendid weather but all the lovely weather as well. 

Swallows

Spotted a late swallow on my way down to school today, see it again in three days it will be my first October swallow in Calderdale. There were six on the wires outside Bradshaw school yesterday, so they are clearly leaving it late this year. There were also two pied wagtails on the bowling green, which was nice to see.

Dumfries and Galloway Day 3

 Day 3 was warm and sunny, but blustery, and so we decided to go the mull of Galloway. Once we had gone in, I headed straight to a watch point on the moors to do a bit of seawatching. Sadly, without binoculars, this proved difficult, though there were a handful of birds on the tops, such as meadow pipits and linnets

-Linnet
It was only really the large birds flying over the sea that I could identify with ease, such as the flocks of gannets, or the fulmars that were sat on the sea. Regular large flocks of gannets wandered past my watch point, some flying quite high.












-Gannets
But again, it was the birds on the moors that were the easiest to watch. I was joined by a couple of Wheatear that did come quite close, not that the photos show it, as they hunted for insects on the ridges.

-Female Wheatear  

-Male Wheatear
The watch point idea had worked well for the birds on the cliff tops but sadly had not worked as well for the birds on the sea. There had been fulmars and gannets, but sadly not much else. The only exception was a pair of guillemot that I managed to spot in the bad swell a long way off.

-Guillemots 
I decided to give up on the watch point and go for a walk around the cliffs, to see if there were any more cliff top birds or seabirds. I had a look at the foghorn, but all that there was were a flock of sheltering pigeons, and I did not stay long as the wind was horrendous.
  I wandered around the cliff with not much joy, but I did find another large caterpillar of the same species which was nice. I moved it off the path to prevent people treading on it before I started taking photos of it.

-Caterpillar
After we had finished at the mull we headed back to the caravan site. My family decided to have a brew before we went swimming, so I decided to go and see if I could photograph pied wagtails as we had seen quite a few as we were driving in.
  Sadly, they were very flighty once you were out of the car, and I diddnt really manage to get any really good photos like I had wanted.

-Pied Wagtail 
Somehow in my quest for pied wagtails I ended up on the beach, and from the beach I spotted some gannets diving quite close to shore, which was pretty cool to see. They were difficult to photograph,so in the end I just gave up and watched them instead.

-Gannets
On the way back to the caravan, I spotted yet more flighty pied wagtails that did not contribute much to my wagtail-o-folio!

-Pied wagtail
However, upon arriving back at the caravan, I found a small group of house sparrows dust bathing in a small pit opposite our awning. I have struggled in the past to get photos of this behavior, so being able to here was a nice surprise.

-House Sparrows Dust Bathing