Soil Hill

This was my first visit to soil hill since my exams finished. On the way up I had to go through some fields deep in grass and flowers and on one of the flowers there was a rather splendid small copper.

-Small Copper 

The hill itself was still quite lifeless, more than I expected. The only birds I actually got good views of were the skylarks of which there were quite a few, some still singing, others skulking around the various piles of debris.

Other birds were limited to flybys, such as a male reed bunting, male linnet and small groups of meadow pipits. I managed to track down one landed meadow pipit but I quickly lost it in the grasses. There were a few groups of starlings flying overhead a well as some crows but that was the extent of the bird life.

On the way back down I flushed a linnet pair from the side of the road. After much tracking I eventually found the male of the pair perched in a tree, which allowed me to take of a photo of a bird from my trip 

-Male Linnet 

Burnsall Bridge

A lovely walk by the river in Burnsall in the lovely Yorkshire Dales. The weather was absolutely glorious (For England) so that it was a very pleasant walk up the river, as usual. We started of course at the cafe and playing field, where there were ample sand martins, as well as wonderful views of a large crayfish under the water. There was also a lovely family of ducks sheltering under the bridge.  

-Mallard

As we set off I spotted a grey wagtail heading up to one of the overgrown ditches on the bridge and so assumed that it had a nest up there. 

There rest of the walk went by pretty uneventful, with the exception of a distant spotted flycatcher, until a point much higher than where we usually see wildlife where we had what might be (For us) a river first. I was watching a dipper in the river and while we watched it there was a constant cheeping next to us, and I wasn't really looking for its source as I assumed that it was in the shrubbery near the river but as we made ready to move on I spotted a common sandpiper sat out in the open making all the racket. I was able to get great views and photos of what was a very obliging bird. As we carried on moving up stream it even came and landed near us again further up so that I was able to get great shots of this species

-Common Sandpiper 

The bridge came on up ahead, and after a rest there we set off back downstream. In the open grassy section just below the bridge there are a few trees and it was there that I caught up with a lovely spotted flycatcher. I spotted it as it flew across the river to catch an insect and was caught scrapping with another spotted flycatcher. After it had defended its territory or whatever it came back to land in the tree next to us. Sadly though the high contrast between the shade of the tree and the open field meant that most of my photos were very dark. Unfortunate considering how close the bird was to us.  

-Spotted Flycatcher 

Heading back we caught up again with the sandpiper, easy to find now since we had become so familiar with its call. I then spotted another among the rocks in the middle of the river. This one was nothing like as vocal as the one closest to us. So it was that I got one of many biggest shocks of the day, as a baby suddenly appeared on the near shore along the waters edge. I was surprised, but in a pleasant way, and only adds to the value of the common sandpiper sighting today. It was still quite a young bird, but since the torrential rain that we usually get doesn't seem to have materialised its prospects look reasonably good.

-Juvenile Common Sandpiper

-Common Sandpiper 

At the rapids we than spotted a dipper flying up to a place in the cliff numerous times, and when we were all quiet we were able to hear the young in the nest

As we walked past the rapids to the large open field I spotted a pair of juvenile nuthatches with a parent in one of the large trees. And so we got another great view of some fledgling birds being tended to by the parents. Sadly I was unable top get any photos of the juveniles or the adults feeding them, mainly due to my being content to just watch them. I was however able to get great views of the adult as it came really close to us to gather food. 

-Nuthatch 

And so we returned to the start. I mentioned to my parents about my grey wagtail hunch, even as I said one of the adults headed up to the site, so I suggested we go up and have a look. When we reached a suitable place I had a peek over at where I expected them to be, in the drainpipe, but was unable to see anything. I decided then to wait for the adult to see if one of the adults would come up and explain this riddle to me. Indeed one of the adults did come up with a beak full of food, but it obviously thought me too close to reveal its secrets, so I moved back.

-Grey wagtail

I then watched as it descended to the drain, and then moved up a level to one of the overgrown ridges above the drain, where I was then able to hear babies calling. I waited for the adult to leave and moved back to where I had been before to see how old they were, but mainly to see if I could find it this time. 

I looked over and got quite a shock, as four well grown grey wagtail chicks stared back at me. I'm not one for "cuteness", but even I think that these are cute. They look healthy and ready to fledge at any point. I took a few photos and then left to reduce the stress I might cause the youngsters 

-Grey wagtail Chicks

 After that Baby filled walk we spent the rest of the day fishing in the river for crayfish. We found ample bullheads/millers thumbs and quite a few loaches, some of a fair size. But sadly we only found 3 crayfish, though one was carrying an egg sack. 

I would have to say that it was certainly one of the more wildlife filled walks at this place, and not just because of the ample juvenile birds that seemed to be everywhere.

Oats Royd

This time going to Oats Royd I went along the bottom via the fields, which was much quicker and allowed me to walk alongside the river. When I entered the reserve the first thing I saw was a scorpion fly, an insect that has long eluded my camera, and has also been tricky to track down 

-Scorpion Fly

The reserve was full of insects again, the first bird I saw being a wren singing from the top of a conifer tree

-Wren

At the first pond I also found a large flock of willow warblers, possibly a family group as some of the birds looked quite young 

-Willow warbler

The other ponds were full of damselflies of common blue, large red and common blue tailed. I also found the exuvia of a dragonfly, but there was no dragonfly to go with it and since there has been no rain to knock them off it could well have been there for a good month

-Large red damselfly 

-Common Blue damselfly 

-Blue tailed damselfly 

At the first pond I also spotted a newt resting on a crisp packet. There were also loads more on the bottom of the pond but I couldn't get a better photo to identify them with, but I think they are Palmate newts judging by the lack of spots

-Palmate newt

At the far point nearest to the industrial estate there were loads of damselflies, a greater concentration than anywhere else on the reserve. It is probably the most damselflies I have ever seen in one place

-Common Blue Damselflies

On the heath next to the last pool I flushed a small heath butterfly, which was really nice though it was reluctant to sit with its wings open for a photo, so this modest effort is the best I could do

-Small Heath Butterfly 

And on the way back I also spotted a lovely male orange tip feeding, which will add to my limited photo library of this species

-Orange tip

And keeping with the butterfly theme there was also a lovely small copper resting on the path 

-Small copper

And last but by no means least I spotted this lovely greenish weevil of some description on the fens near the central pool which added to the long list of species seen today

-Greenish weevil of some description 

Garden Damselflies

They have taken their time this year but today we finally had two large red damselflies on the pond, looking lovely, though this photo does not show it. I think though that they are both males and I have seen no evidence of breeding so its possible that the next time we see damselflies on this pond they will have come from somewhere else 

Garden

With the sunny weather the wildlife has been out in force, not that I have been out to enjoy it but I noticed this lovely starling sunbathing on the lawn. When I got my camera out it had stopped spreading out its wings, but was still bathing its back.

-Starling

There was also a dainty micro moth by the pond, not that I know what species it is, but its very pretty all the same

-Micro moth

Oats Royd

I dont go to this site as often as I should, considering how close we live to it, however for that reason it gave me the perfect site to go to as a mid revision break. I did not clearly know how to get to it, so went over the top road, which was badly overgrown. At the top before the descent into the actual reserve there were some shaded overgrown ponds in which there were a few frogs resting from the heat

-Common Frog

On the descent I flushed my first damselfly of the year, large red, and also got to watch a lovely willow warbler singing on top of a birch tree

-Willow warbler

The actual reserve was teeming with insect life and there were a few birds about too. On the ponds there two families of canada geese and a family ducks. There was also a moorhen and a pair of domestic geese. On the insect front there were quite a few damselflies, but they were difficult to track down to photograph

-Common blue damselfly

But there were also a large number butterflies, including orange tip and peacock, with an excess of large whites, small whites and green viened whites...

-Male orange tip

-Peacock