Patch Watch 2018 Update,13th & 19th May 2018.

The efforts on the local patch continued,with 4 more additions to the patch year list,some good numbers of both migrant birds and butterflies being recorded.The following is what i saw on the two visits.

 13th May 2018

The visit started well today,with 20 Swift and a male Cuckoo around Winter's Pond and some increased numbers of migrants with good numbers of Whitethroats passing through,with at least 19 singing males being observed between East halton Skitter and Winter's Pond.
 Best birds of the visit went to 2 Common Sandpiper along the shoreline between Winter's and East Halton Skitter,a couple of Whimbrel,a female Wheatear at Goxhill Haven and the best of the bunch,a cracking Short-eared Owl watched hunting the saltmarsh at East Halton Skitter.
 As mentioned above,some impressive numbers of butterflies along the road between the 'Shrike' hedge and Winter's Pond included 24 Orange Tip and 38 Green-veined White,the most of either species i have seen anywhere.

19th May 2018

On today's visit,the highlights went to an unexpected addition to the year list,with a lovely Little Owl being found along the edge of the sheep field near Grange Farm at East Halton and a more expected one in the form of my first Ringed Plovers of the year along the shoreline near Dawson City.It just goes to show how poor wader passage has been this spring,with these latter birds being the first migrant birds i have seen apart from the Whimbrel flock from a few weeks ago.
 Whitethroat numbers were back to normal levels today,but there was a slight increase in singing male Lesser throats,Reed Warblers and a few more Sedgies around,but numbers of Hirundines and Swifts are still well down,with only 1 Swift being seen in my 8 hour visit today.

Not a bad couple of visits to my local patch and now i have reached 112 species  for the year.

Buck Roe Deer,Goxhill Marsh.

Brown Hare Near Red House Farm.

Short-eared Owl,East Halton Skitter.

Dawn At Winter's Pond.

Record Shot Of The Little Owl.

East Halton Beck/Skitter.

Singing Male Lesser Whitethroat,East Halton Skitter.

Ringed Plover,Goxhill Haven.

Dozing Dunlin,Goxhill Haven.

The Stunning Dales........6th - 8th May 2018.

A trip away with Mrs R to one of our favourite areas in the country,saw us visiting some stunning locations as always,the following is a summary followed with a few pics for good measure.

Sunday 6th May

After leaving our hotel in Harrogate we made the journey over to our first destination,the stunning Stridd Woods SSI,part of the lovely Bolton Abbey estate.
 The weather was glorious and by mid-day it was a scorching 25 degrees C.As i have described before on my visits here,it has a wealth of wildflowers and trees as well as birds and insects.Highlights on today's visit included 22 Pied Flycatcher(20 singing males and 2 females),5 Redstart(4 singing males and 1 female),6 Common Sandpiper,2 Redhead Goosander,Spotted Flycatcher,Garden Warbler,Dipper,Raven and 3 Mandarin.
 It was such a privilege to visit this site again with it's pungent smell of Ramsons filling the air and beautiful bird life and scenery.

Monday 7th May

I was up early today before Trace got up and walked from where we were staying at Hebden along the River Wharf to Linton Falls.It was absolute bliss,with not a soul in sight,just me,the birds and the sound of this fantastic river.
 As usual,plenty of birds were seen and included a lovely Barn Owl near Hebden village and along the Wharf,6 Common Sand,5 Goosander(Including a female sat on a nest in a tree),3 Drake Mandarin,Kingfisher,20 Sand Martin at their riverside nest site,4 Grey Wagtail and the lovely sight of seeing a male Dipper feeding his brood of 3 juv's.
 The more i visit the Yorkshire Dales the more i fall in love with it,it's just brilliant,particularly on mornings like this.
 I returned back to the B@B,got Mrs R up and we went down and had our brekkie before heading over to Malham,with what it seemed like was the rest of the world!.
 We planned to walk the circular route we usually take while visiting the area,which includes the lovely little waterfall Janet's Foss,Gordale Scar and finally the awe inspiring Malham Cove.
 Variety in species of birds in this area was less than other areas we had visited during the weekend,but the quality was certainly there.
 First of all we saw the tamest Dipper's i have ever seen along Gordale Beck before you reach Janet's Foss,which were feeding chick's in their path side nest and then we were treated to a display from the male Peregrine at Malham Cove the Red Arrow's would be proud of....just breath taking and a real test for the AF on the camera.
 Other highlights consisted of 3 singing male Redstart,3 Wheatear and a yaffling Green Woodpecker.

Tuesday 8th May

Sadly it was time to head home,but before we did we made a visit to the beautiful grounds and amazing Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal.
 The only bird highlight here was a lovely singing male Redstart,but i wanted to show Trace the Red Deer herd,so we walked up into the Deer park and got some great views of these,our largest native land mammal as they browsed for their breakfasts.
 So again,what a fantastic visit to this brilliant area,in some beautiful weather again,i'm so lucky!.

The River Wharf,Taken At Cavendish Pavillion,Bolton Abbey Estate.

Common Sandpiper,The River Wharf,Stridd Woods SSSI.

Male Grey Wagtail,The River Wharf,Stridd Woods SSSI.

2nd Calendar Year Male Pied Flycatcher,Stridd Woods SSSI.

Female Pied Flycatcher,Stridd Woods SSSI.

Female Pied Flycatcher,Stridd Woods SSSI.

Female Pied Flycatcher,Stridd Woods SSSI.

No.1 Birder Helping Me Out!.

The Stridd.

Mandarin Pair,Stridd Woods SSSI.

Song Thrush,Burnsall.

Early Morning On The River Wharf,Hebden.

The River Wharf At Hebden.

Juvenile Dipper's,Linton.

Male Grey Wagtail,Hebden.

Dipper,Gordale Beck.

Janet's Foss.

The Entrance To Gordale Scar.

Gordale Scar.

Wheatear,Malham Dale.

Peregrine,Malham Cove.

Who's Watching Who,Peregrine Over A Group Of Admirers,Malham Cove.

Limestone Pavement,Malham Cove.

Malham Cove.

House Martins Collecting Mud At The Base Of Malham Cove.

Malham Cove,What An Impressive Scene.

Female Orange Tip,Fountains Abbey.

Red Deer,Studley Royal.

Red Deer,Studley Royal.