The Moors......Good Friday 19th April 2019.

A visit to both Crowle & part of Thorne Moors today,produced the usual array of fantastic wildlife and Dave and myself and another cracking visit.
 I will summarise each family as i go along and describe what we encountered as there is always so much to see.

Birds:

A nice selection of migrants were seen today,with nothing really unusual,but one first record of the year for myself came in the form of 3 Whitethroat,2 singing males and a single female.These stunning little sylvia warblers are always a joy to see,scolding you as you pass by,usually from a patch of nettles,hence their country name of 'Nettlecreeper'.
 Other niceties observed included at least 18 Willow Warbler,Yellow Wagtail & a few i can't mention due to their breeding status.

Lepidoptera:

Some good numbers of butterflies were recorded today,with Speckled Wood and Peacock being the commonest species encountered,with smaller numbers of Brimstone,Green-veined White,Orange Tip,Comma & Small Tortoiseshell.

Coleoptera:

The stars of this family,as on most spring visits here,were the stunning,metallic Green-tiger Beetles,with at least 30 individuals counted and fun was had attempting to try and get some photos of them,but it's not easy with my knees!.
 Several Seven-spot Ladybirds were also observed as we searched for Large-red Damselflies(See seperate post on my Dragonfly sightings blog).

Heteroptera:

Only one notable species found today,which was a new one for Dave,the diminutive,but equally stunning Pied Shieldbugs which i found on a patch of Dead nettles along the side of Will Pitts scrape on Thorne Moors.This is only the 2nd time i have seen these and we managed to get a few decent images,but it's certainly not easy due to their size.

Orthoptera:

Only one species seen today and we saw quite a lot of them due to this site being perfect habitat for them,the lovely little Common-ground Hopper.We managed some fantastic views and even got a few images for posterity,but it's another crawling around on your knees job as with the Green-tigers....oooh my knees.

Diptera:

Today's rarest member of this huge family of insects was a single Tachina ursina,found near to the bailey bridge as you cross over from Crowle to Thorne Moors and i found them in exactly the same place last year.This member of the Tachinid family of flies is a parastic species,laying it's eggs in the body of it's host.
  Other than the above,the usual suspects were seen on today's visit which included a myriad of Dark-edged Bee Flies,this species is doing really well in most of the woodland sites i have visited recently which is great to see.
 Other species observed included several Eristalis intricaria & Helophilus pendulus.

Hymenoptera:

Quite a good representation from this family today,with another new species for Dave,when i found a stunning Median Wasp.At first glances,this species could easily be mistaken for a Hornet,but on closer inspection the inverted 7 with a chestnut centre on the thorax sides identify the species nicely.
 Other members of this huge family observed,included Common Wasp,Common-carder & Early Bumble Bees.

Reptilia:

Only one species observed today,a single female Adder was observed on the edge of Will Pitts,but in usual fashion it was flushed inadvertently while looking for Large-red Damsels.

Mammalia:

Not too bad a visit today regarding mammals,as on some visits you can often not see anything.Today's star sighting went to a very majestic Red Deer Stag,who stopped briefly in his tracks when he saw the strange humans staring at him,great to see,next time i will remember to carry my big lens!.
 Other species seen included a lovely Fox and a single Brown Hare.

Common Groundhopper,Crowle Moor NNR.

Comma,Thorne Moors NNR.

Median Wasp,Thorne Moors NNR.

Speckled Wood,Thorne Moors NNR.

Male Brimstone,Thorne Moors NNR.

Pied Shieldbug,Thorne Moors NNR.

Green-tiger Beetles,Crowle Moor NNR.

Red Deer Crossing.

Spring Migration At Last!!!.......

As the title suggests,spring has finally arrived on the local patch,albeit slow,but at least its a start.The following is a compilation of personal highlights from my last two visits to this cracking area.

13th April

A tough day again in the cold easterly airflow,with few migrants until things picked up a little in the afternoon,but at least we had some sun today to brighten things a little.
 The main highlights went to 2 first's for the year,the first was a single Whimbrel on the mitigation site loosely associating with a small flock of Curlew.It was really nice to see this species again for the first time since the last autumn migration being a personal fave species.The second addition was single House Martin watched in the afternoon hawking insects with 6 Swallow at Winter's and was really nice to see,as the Whimbrel had been.As a child,House Martins used to nest under our eaves at home and it was great to watch and hear these lovely little birds arrive and raise their brood each year,great memories.
 Other species observed on today's visit included a Short-eared Owl on the mitigation site,3 Sand Martin and 2 Avocet at the Skitter and a male White Wagtail and immature Pergrine at Winter's Pond.

18th April

A much better day today adding 6 first's for the year to the patch year list and some decent,warm weather at last.
 Winter's started the ball rolling with a Lesser Whitethroat singing away at first light as i got out of the car and was quickly followed by 2 Reed Warbler which showed nicely as i made my way to the floodbank.It was pretty foggy on the Humber,so the hoped for search for Terns was scrapped and i went in search of landbased migrants instead.
 Next goodie was a male Yellow Wagtail which rapidly made it's way west and was followed by 5 more,with that lovely,flutey,flava call with a Short-eared Owl hunting the mitigation site as on my previous visit.
 Another Short-eared Owl was seen along the salt marsh between the Skitter and Dawson City and was definitely a different individual to the earlier bird.
 The next addition were 2 Willow Warblers in the bushes alongside the borrow pits as you near Dawson City,an area popular with this species and it was just great to hear their sweet song,a sure sign of spring.
 A rest at Goxhill Haven paid dividends as a Greenshank flew west here and was the 5th new species for the year and a pretty scarce migrant here in spring it has to be said,today felt like spring had finally arrived!.
 Last,but certainly not least,was a proper good find these days for my local patch.While sat eating my lunch,unbelievably i heard a male Willow Tit singing briefly,at first i thought i was hearing things,but then the little cracker appeared before flying off towards the old duck farm.It is such a shame that these lovely little birds have declined so much,i really do hope they can be saved.
 Other highlights observed during the day included 6 Whimbrel,which included 3 on the pasture at the rear of Dawson City,9 Black-tailed Godwit which flew east at Winter's,a female Stonechat on the mitigation site in the afternoon and several Swallow,Blackcaps & Chiffies.

A decent couple of visits,particularly on the 18th and i'm very much looking forward to my next visit to this brilliant area.

Winter's Pond,13th April.

Winter's Pond & Humber Floodbank,13th April.

2nd Calendar Year Mute Swan,On The Shore Near Winter's Pond,13th April.

Ruined Farm Near Goxhill Haven,13th April.

Oil Rig Support Vessel,13th April.

Avocets,East Halton Skitter,13th April.

2nd Calendar Year Peregrine,Winter's Pond,13th April.

House Martin,Winter's Pond,13th April.

White Wagtail,Winter's Pond,13th April.

Sun Breaking Through The Mist,18th April.

Winter's Pond,18th April.

Short-eared Owl,East Halton Skitter,18th April.

Brown Tail Moth Larvae,East Halton Skitter,18th April.

Adult Lesser black-backed Gull,Goxhill Haven,18th April.

2nd Calendar Year Great black-backed Gull,Goxhill Haven,18th April.

Female Stonechat,On The Mitigation Site,18th April.

Recent Images.......

A few recent images of some of the lovely birds & Scenery Tracey and myself have encountered on a couple of days out walking recently.

North Landing,Flamborough.

North Landing,Flamborough.

Looking Along The Impressive Coastline From North Landing Towards Bempton & Beyond.

Adult Gannet,North Landing,Flamborough.

Adult Gannet,North Landing,Flamborough.

Adult Gannet,North Landing,Flamborough.

Adult Gannet,North landing Flamborough.

Fulmar,North Landing,Flamborough.

Fulmar,North Landing,Flamborough.

Fulmar,North Landing,Flamborough.

Male Dipper,Monsal Dale,Derbyshire.

Male Dipper,Monsal Dale,Derbyshire.

Male Dipper,Monsal Dale,Derbyshire.

Male Dipper,Monsal Dale,Derbyshire.

Male Dipper,Monsal Dale,Derbyshire.

Male Dipper,Monsal Dale,Derbyshire.

Male Mandarin Duck,Monsal Dale,Derbyshire.

Female Mandarin Duck,Monsal Dale,Derbyshire.

Monsal,Miller's & Wye Dale,Derbyshire,Wednesday 10th April 2019.

A planned day out today,with Mrs R walking in the stunning white peak area in Derbyshire,resulted in a few nice highlights of the avian,insecta and flora types.
 The best birds included 3 separate Dippers,which included a singing male near Cressbrook,3 Mandarin Ducks near Litton Mill and 2 Grey Wagtail.Other species observed,included several Chiffchaff and Blackcap,4 Teal and the usual woodland species such as Nuthatch,Great-spotted Woodpecker,Common Buzzard and Coal Tit.
 A few notable insects included my first Speckled Wood of the year,a couple of Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell.
 It was the world of wildflowers which provided the rarest sighting of the day,with a good number of spikes of Toothwort found in Monsal Dale,in the same area i had found them last year.This species is a parasite living on the roots of it's hosts Hazel & Alder and at this particular area i have always found them associating with Hazel.
 Other wildflowers included typical early spring species such as Wild Strawberry,Wood Anemone,Lesser Celandine and a few spikes of Bluebells starting to appear.
 Apart from all the lovely wildlife mentioned above,it is the stunning scenery which also plays a big part in any visit here and i look forward to our next visit in the summer.

Little Bridge Over The River Wye Near Monsal Head.

Looking Towards Cressbrook.

The Lovely River Wye Between Cressbrook & Litton Mill.

Mandarin Pair Along The River Near Litton Mill.

Dog's Mercury,A Common Plant Encountered Today.

A View Along The Monsal Trail.

The Iconic Monsal Head Viaduct.

Toothwort.

Toothwort.

Wood Anemone.

A Wren's Nest We Discovered In An Old Building Along The River Wye.

Looking Towards Litton Mill.

Cressbrook Tunnel.

Headstone Tunnel.

Monsal Head Weir.

Monsal Head Weir.