Barnetby Bits.......Monday 15th July 2019.

After spending a mind numbingly boring period of 2 weeks recovering from my hernia operation and not being able to walk anywhere,today i decided to walk around the village and finally get some excercise.
 I took it steady walking as i was still quite sore,but it was great to get out and get some fresh air.
 First highlight encountered,was a lovely juvenile Green Woodpecker seen on the edge of the playing field,it seems like ages since i had seen one of these beauties at close range and it was really nice to see one again.
 Further on towards the first area of workings at Kettleby Quarries,which are being extracted for sand and gravel,saw a nice surprise being seen in the form of a singing male Corn Bunting.This species usually breeds in small numbers up on the Wolds nearby,so to see one down here was encouraging.
 A quick look in the sewage works saw the expected Pied Wagtails,but with them were 2 juvenile Grey Wagtails.This part of the site has always been a good one for both species and i also found a female Black Redstart here on 9th November 2000.
 A Green Sandpiper was seen on an area of one of the workings and flew off towards the chicken farm after being flushed and overhead a lovely Common Buzzard was watched thermalling.
 Some decent numbers of Butterflies were also recorded here today and included a total of 12 species,with the highlights being a couple of very worn Painted Ladies.
 A nice amble around the village and outskirts today,just great to get out again!.

Lep's For A Change!.........Saturday 29th June 2019.

After not visiting Chamber's Farm Wood and the famous Bardney Limewood's complex for what seems like a life time,today i decided to meet up with Dave F. and pay the area a visit.
 On arrival with Dave not in sight yet,i had a quick look on the Black Currant bushes in the car park and quickly found my first ever Currant Clearwings.
 This diminutive little family of moths,which always look like make up brushes to me,are a real joy to see and this one was no exception,albeit not as colourful as some of the other family members,they are still nice to see and an added bonus on today's visit.
 Dave then turned up and we decided to check out the Butterfly garden before heading off.The first of 2 Broad-bordered Bee Hawkmoths for the day gave stunning views as it acrobatically fed at the Red Valarian on the edge of the path.
 A little further and i spotted a Black Hairstreak nectaring on a Privet bush in the middle of the garden,one of the target species we had come to see.It gave close views,but was a buggar to get the correct angle on for a photo and then it was gone. 
 Other species observed in the garden included several Painted Lady,a Grass Snake and a brief female Broad-bodied Chaser.
 We eventually headed off in the direction of 5 ways and around the Minting Triangle seeing at least another 4 Black Hairstreak and 3 lovely White Admiral with a second BBBHM near the bench at 5 ways,with a good mix of commoner species also seen but none in any big numbers.
 A male Emperor Dragonfly provided some interest away from the butterflies and a lovely Peppered Moth and Rosy Footman were seen also.
 A final visit to the butterfly garden before heading to Southrey Wood,saw us bumping into Matt Latham,it had been ages since we had seen each other and we all headed off to Southrey.
 A short time later and we were parked up at Southrey Wood and off we went chatting and catching up.To be honest it was just too hot here,even for the butterflies and we only managed to see 3 White Admiral and a few Painted Ladies,but another female Broad-bodied Chaser and a Black-tailed Skimmer were logged in the note book.
 When we arrived back at our cars,my car temp. said 38 degrees,bloody hell!,that's just too warm.
 We all said our good byes and then headed home after a pretty decent day out and nice to do something different for a change.

Broad-bordered Bee Hawkmoth

Black Hairstreak In The Butterfly Garden.

Currant Clearwing.

Currant Clearwing.

Broad-bordered Bee Hawkmoth,Five Ways.

Broad-bordered Bee Hawkmoth,Five Ways.

The Yorkshire Dales.....Birds & Scenery At It's Finest......Sunday & Monday 23rd/24th June 2019.

Sunday 23rd June

An already planned stay overnight at the lovely village of Malham in the Yorkshire Dales,saw us heading along the M62 bright and early to our destination to complete one of our favourite walks taking in Janet's Foss,Gordale Scar & of course Malham Cove.
 The weather wasn't too bad and at least it was warm today also,albeit a tad cloudy to start.
 As well as the superb scenery,this area also holds some lovely wildlife and flowers,highlights went to a male Redstart,3 Spotted Flycatcher,several juvenile Wheatear and the stars of the show,the Peregrine Falcons.
 The latter really put on an amazing show on today's visit,with the resident pair fledging 4 juveniles,one of which showed incredibly well.
 Wildflowers and plants were also a feature of the walk as always,with Common-rock Rose,Common-spotted Orchids,Adder's tongue Fern and the pungent Ramsons.
 A few nice insects seen included Dark-green Fritillary & Chimney Sweeper Moths.

Monday 24th June

This morning,after a hearty breakfast at the Buck Inn at Malham,we travelled over to another one of our favourite villages,Burnsall.
 We decided to walk along the lovely River Wharfe up to Linton Falls and back,a really picturesque walk and fantastic for riverside birding.
 Today was certainly productive bird wise with at least 10 Common Sandpipers,3 Dipper,2 Kingfisher,2 female Goosanders with young,Mandarin,5 Spotted Flycatcher,Garden Warbler and several Grey Wagtail entering the notebook.
 Unfortunately on the return leg back to the car,as we neared Hebden,the promised thunder storms arrived and the weather turned almost tropical with warm,torrential rain.
 This put an end to our visit,but we both had to be back for work on the night anyway.

A lovely visit again to this special part of the world,the only trouble is i never want to leave!.

Meadow Cranesbill,Gordale Beckside.

Male Redstart,Gordale Beckside.

Gordale Beck.

Common-spotted Orchids,Gordale Beckside.

Chimney Sweeper,Gordale Beckside.

Janet's Foss.

Gordale Scar.

Gordale Scar.

Common-rock Rose,Gordale Scar.

Juvenile Wheatear,Gordale Scar.

Juvenile Peregrine,Malham Cove.

Juvenile Peregrine,Malham Cove.

Juvenile Peregrine,Malham Cove.

Juvenile Peregrine,Malham Cove.

Juvenile Peregrine,Malham Cove.

Juvenile Peregrine,Malham Cove.

Playing Juvenile Peregrines,Malham Cove.

Juvenile Peregrines,Malham Cove.

Juvenile Peregrines,Malham Cove.

Juvenile Peregrine,Malham Cove.

Ing Scar.

Limestone Pavement,Malham Cove.

Malham Cove.

Malham Cove.

Common Sandpiper,Burnsall.

The River Wharfe At Hebden.

Female Goosander & Young,Hebden.

Linton Falls.

Linton Falls.

Preening Dipper,Linton Falls.

Juvenile Dipper,Linton Falls.

Linton Falls.

Garden Warbler,Linton Falls.