Uni Week 5

Its been a slow week with not a lot happening, and not been out much and the weather has not been up to much either. Its been a bumper week for squirrels, numerous have been seen as well as a couple fighting. Apart from that the only noticeable thing is that collections of hibernating ladybirds have started to develop in the corners of the stairs. That's about it though in all honesty, its been a quiet week.

Uni Week 4

Just a collection of odd bits from walking around this week, nothing especially major

Monday
Walking through Broomhill and I spotted a sparrowhawk loitering over the buildings there, probably hunting but it was nice to see as it was flying quite low. I also spotted a small flock of long-tailed tits in a garden on my way to the uni, though it was a brief and not very good view.

Tuesday
Walking to a gig in the evening I could hear some geese above me and looking up I spotted a skein of about 30-40 of what I assume are pink-footed geese flying in  formation in a NE direction. Its my skein of the autumn so I was very please to find them, especially in the dark.

Uni Week 3

Lectures started this week so things have settled down a bit more and I have not been out as much to see birds or wildlife within Sheffield due to work load. Having said that there has still been odd bits around.

Tuesday
I had a squirrel on the roof opposite from my bedroom window which I was able to watch for a bit. It did not seem too bothered about my being there so it was nice to watch

Thursday
Wandering down to the uni for my lecture I spotted a sparrowhawk loitering in the sky above the road, which was nice

Sunday
I spotted 2 jays on the tree next to my bedroom window while I was outside waiting for a friend. I did not get a great view but it was decent enough

Uni Week 2

So week 2 in my new home comes and goes. This week was built mainly on fieldwork and so we were out in the field quite a lot.

Tuesday
Went to Whiteley Wood to collect leaves. On the bird front there was a heron, one buzzard soaring overhead and a pair of robins having a real scrap

Wednesday
We went to the cemetery to collect leaves but there was not much there due to the poor weather. On the way back we went through the botanic gardens and there were ample, maybe 10 magpies all on the lawns, as well as wood pigeons and collard doves.

Saturday
I went on a walk with the Sheffield university bird-watching society through Endcliffe park to Forge Dam. We recorded a few interesting species, grey wagtail, sparrowhawk, buzzard, mistle thrush, long tailed tit, tree-creeper and nuthatch, and it was a nice walk

Sunday
Went for a walk with a church up on the borders of the peak district through some woods and round a reservoir. Butterflies were in abundance, with multiple Small Tortoiseshells and Speckled Woods. There was also a Common Sandpiper on the bank of the reser which was really nice to see. Besides that there was a sparrowhawk.

Uni Week 1

So obviously I have been busy and so have not really had time to update this blog. Uni has been good so far but there was been a limited amount of wildlife. I am staying in a rather green area of Sheffield, which bodes well but so far there has not been much about, except in the way of fungi which have been in excess! I did however go for a walk on the edge of the peak district through church so I have been able to see some things that way. Most notably was that there were a flock of around 5 swallows hunting, which will probably be my last this year. I also found a handful of meadow pipits as well as your usual carrion crows. So it has been a good start and hopefully we will continue to find plenty of birds. I have joined the bird-watching society so hopefully through there I will also get to visit some other sites further afield.

The departure

So off we go to uni. Its goodbye my beloved Halifax for a little while anyway. And then, just as we were setting off would you believe what was on my mums budlia bush as we pulled out? it was a beautiful painted lady butterfly. Once more I lacked a camera and had other priorities at that exact moment but even so it was a bit sickening to see, this species that I still need a photo off, especially after missing one less than a week ago...
  So thats two in a week when they really should have started to migrate back, when I have lacked them for the past 2 years!

Walking to town

Walking into Halifax today for a goodbye meal with some friends prior to leaving for uni and I spotted a monster Elephant Hawkmoth Caterpillar, my first of the year. It seems to me to be out rather late but it seemed to be doing ok and getting ready to pupate any time soon.
  The only other thing I noticed on my walk was that there were still a few swallows hunting the lane in bradshaw park. These I recall are the last I have seen this year at the time writing (24.09.2013).

Soil Hill

 

-Swallow

-Wall Brown

I had a brief walk round the hill this afternoon. It certainly had more going for it than it has done recently. On the bird front there were good numbers of skylarks, around 30 birds flushed, and about 15 meadow pipits to go along with them. There were also a few swallows hunting the road on the way up, as well as a kestrel hunting the fields lower down. There was a flock goldfinches on the thistles again, but they were much flightier today. On the insect front I had two firsts on the year with butterflies: Wall brown which I got a decent view of, as it roosted on a dry stone wall, and painted lady, which I did not get a good view of as it flew around me and then chose not to land, but overall a good day.

Soil Hill

-Goldfinches

There was a continued lack of birds on the hill today, surprise surprise. And because of the clouds and wind there was also a lack of insects, only one small tortoiseshell butterfly. On the bird front I flushed one meadow pipit and about 6 skylarks. On the way up I flush a flock of around 20 goldfinches, which was the undoubted highlight.

Bradshaw Park

Walking through Bradshaw park today on my way to town and at some water filled tyre tracks I was pleased to find a large flock of swallows gathering for their migration, as well as a group of 5 or 6 meadow pipits. The swallows were hunting above the pool as well as gathered on the wires above, they totalled around 40 birds. They meadow pipits were washing themselves and skulking around the dry stone wall. It was very nice to see, and so far the latest swallows I have seen this year.