Monsal,Upper,Cressbrook & Miller's Dale,'The White Peak',Sunday 22nd March 2020.

As it was our anniversary today,Tracey and myself decided to visit one of our favourite areas in the Peak District,walking between White Lodge Car Park and Miller's Dale Station.
 With the current outbreak of the Corona Virus,we took all necessary precautions while out,staying well clear of anyone else and also covering our faces for protection which did get some funny looks unfortunately,but best to be safe than sorry.
 The following sightings are what we encountered along with a selection of photos of the stunning scenery and wildlife.

White Lodge Car Park - Monsal Head(Monsal Dale)

This is usually the most productive area on our visit here and today,some superb early spring sightings were observed.
 Bird sightings included 7 Raven,involving a chasing group of 4 birds,great to watch and hear that fantastic 'Cronking' call echoing around the valley,the resident pair of Dippers at their usual nest site,6 Chiffchaff,Grey Wagtail and 3 Mandarin Duck(2 drakes and 1 female).
 A few early spring wildflowers included Greater Celandines,Dog's Mercury,Wood Anemone,Coltsfoot,Butterbur & Marsh Marigold.I also managed to find a new personal species,Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage.I have probably seen this species before,but i'm still a relative beginner when it comes to wild flowers.
 A surprise sighting was a Pipistrelle Bat hunting in woodland near to the start of the walk and gave some superb views as it caught several Midges.

Monsal Head - Upper/Cressbrook Dale

Bird sighting's in this area included another Chiffie,3 Grey Wagtail(including a prospecting pair at Cressbrook Mill) and unbelievably another Pip which we saw being caught by a male Kestrel,after a few attempts by the 'Bat Hawk'.This section of the walk is the most stunning scenery wise and certainly made up for the lack of wildlife sightings.

Miller's Dale

The best sightings in this area,again featured our avian friends and included another 2 Raven,Chiffie and a Grey Wagtail.

So what a fantastic day today,visiting this beautiful area and looks like it will be some time before we are visiting again.I hope all my readers stay safe and please take care.

The Entrance To Monsal Dale.

The River Wye.

Stonefly Sp. Nemoura cinerea,Monsal Dale.

Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage,Monsal Dale.

Hazel Catkins,Monsal Dale.

Fungi sp.,King Alfred's Cakes,Monsal Dale.

The Crystal Clear Water Of The River Wye,Monsal Dale.

Ravens,Monsal Dale.

Barren Strawberry,Monsal dale.

Hillside Scenery,Upper Dale.

Mrs R,With Cressbrook Mill In The Background.

Cressbrook Dale.

Cressbrook Dale.

Litton Mill.

Cressbrook Dale.

The Iconic Monsal Head Viaduct.

The Humberhead Peatlands,14th & 21st March 2020.

A couple of visits to this outstanding area for flora and fauna on two days recently,provided me with some fantastic sightings,the following is an account of what i saw.

Saturday 14th

An organised meet with Dave today,saw us parking at Crowle and then walking onto Thorne Moors,with the best sightings from Crowle including 2 lovely Willow Tit,47 Fieldfare and 2 cracking Ravens.The latter were watched on and over fields near the Bailey Bridge which crosses over the Warping Drain and were a nice surprise for sure.
 Thorne provided some fantastic sightings as well,with the rarest from a personal point of view being a 2nd calendar year drake Red-breasted Merganser on Will Pitts with 11 Goosander.Other sightings which were equally memorable cannot be mentioned here due to their sensitive breeding status,but also included 2 male Stonechat.
 Signs of spring included several Buff-tailed Bumble Bees and also my first spring flowers in the form of a few Coltsfoot.

Saturday 21st

An organised meet up with Dave and Andy today,mainly to see if we could find Andy any Adders,resulted in a fairly decent days wildlife watching with at least 8 male Adders observed which included a couple of really confiding individuals allowing some great video and photos to be taken.
 Bird wise,the best sighting went to a cracking male Firecrest which was found near Boston Park in the afternoon,which showed incredibly well,but getting photos or video in the windy conditions was another thing.
 Other avian highlights consisted of at least 8 Chiffchaff around the whole site,a pair of Stonechat,2 Egyptian Geese and a single Whooper Swan at Boston Park.
 I also managed to see my first butterfly species of the year today,a lovely Comma.

 

Thorne Moors.

Coltsfoot,Thorne Moors.

Egyptian Geese,Hatfield Moor.

Male Adder,Hatfield Moor.

Chiffchaff,Hatfield Moor.

Firecrest Record Shot,Hatfield Moor.

Wax,Hessle,East Yorkshire,9th March 2020.

After hearing a flock of Waxwings had been located near to my home town of Hessle and as i had a free morning,i decided to pop over for a look.
 After eventually finding a parking place,the bird were quickly found and showed nicely through the scope,ideal for a bit of phone scoping video.They had chosen a very precarious place to choose for food,sandwiched in between the busy Clive Sullivan Way and Livingstone Road and there were a few moments were i thought they could have been hit by a car,but thankfully they all survived while i was present.
 It was really nice to see a flock of these beautiful scandinavian visitors and that trilling,bell like call was a feature of the whole visit.
 It was also nice to bump into Mick Turton and Simon & Karen as i watched these crackers.
 After an enjoyable few hours it was soon time to head home and prepare for my nightshift,but it had been a lovely morning watching these northern beauties.

Local Patching Update.....8th,15th & 16th March 2020.

A compilation of sightings from my last three visits to the local patch adding 5 species to the patch year list,putting it on a respectable 107 species.

8th March

A poor start to the day weather wise,as it bucketed it down on arrival at Winter's first thing,but some fine recompense was had in the form of the big dog Otter showing for at least 30 minutes as he caught his breakfast.What a fantastic sight to see this big male again,as it had been quite a while since i last saw him.
 After what seemed like ages the weather finally broke and a timely drive past Grange Farm saw a cracking Red Kite being seen before i lost it in the direction of Winter's.A quick drive around there,saw the bird being relocated and it gave fantastic prolonged views as it flew slowly over Winter's and across the fields in the direction of the village,a well earned year tick after persevering with the weather.
 Earlier at the Skitter,i had seen a single adult Whooper Swan flying along the estuary and it was relocated as Jon and myself walked past the mitigation site,the bird being seen on one of the floods.So two year ticks in less than an hour was great!.
 The Skitter was fairly quiet,with 4 Water Pipit around the pools and a respectable count of 31 Snipe here also.
 Two singing male Cetti's Warbler were heard at opposite ends of Ruins Pond,which was the first multiple record of males for this little site.
 A female Stonechat entertained on the foreshore infront of Dawson City and 29 Pink-footed Geese showed overhead,but that was about it for today's visit,but it certainly had been another good one.

15th March

Another complete wash out and windy day today,saw me spending nearly all of my visit watching the Humber which did have some success.
 A decent passage of gulls today,mainly consisted of Black-headed and Common Gulls moving up the Estuary,but thankfully,in amongst them were 4 adult Kittiwakes watched thermalling north along the river towards Hull.These are the first sighting of the year for me here,so were a very welcome sighting of this,our most maritime of gulls.Also on and over the river,were a single drake Common Scoter heading out towards Killingholme,57 Pink-footed Geese observed landing on the mud at Paul Holme Strays and 10 Goldeneye loafing on the out going tide.
 A brief visit,hoping for the rain to stop at Winter's,saw another year tick being added in the form of a couple of Kingfishers watched chasing around the pit and onto the mitigation site.This species is certainly not the commonest to occur here,so it was nice to add these beauties to the year list.

16th March

After a very kind message from Mark Bannister while i was at work saying he had just found a Black Redstart on my patch near to Winter's,saw me racing home from work and heading over to East Halton to see if i could find the little beauty.After a good while searching i spotted a bird on the sea wall about half way to the Skitter and distant scope views certainly showed a Chat like shape,sure enough as i got around to where i had seen the bird,i was treated to some superb views of this little cracker as it sallied after flies from the sea wall,fence posts and on the rocky shore.It seems a very long time ago since i found my first ever at Goxhill Haven on the 3rd of March 1987,how time flies and all that!.

Some Big Skies On The Visit Today,8th March.

Flamborough Wander,Cetaceans etc...Saturday 7th March 2020.

After getting some well earned sleep after my night shift,Trace and myself decided to travel over to Flamborough and walk between South Landing and the Lighthouse and back,this is what we encountered.
 At the start of the walk it was high cloud and a steady breeze which was pleasant enough and we enjoyed the fantastic cliff side scenery.
 I constantly had one eye on the sea watching for seabirds or cetaceans,something that comes as second nature when visiting here.
 As the lighthouse neared i suddenly spotted three fins surfacing a good way offshore and i had an inclin what they where and another couple of views confirmed my suspicions,Bottle-nosed Dolphins!.We watched them as they gradually came closer and closer as they passed the tip of the headland and i shakily attempted to capture some video and images.After looking at my video,at least 12 animals were on show and included at least 2 calves which was just brilliant to see.They certainly but on a great show for the small crowd gathered and it was great to see all the smiley faces after watching these amazing animals.
 These animals are thought to originate from the population centred around the Moray Firth in the north of Scotland,so are a considerable way from their core breeding area.
 After watching the Dolphins,i managed to find a first for us,a female Black-oil Beetle wandering about on the short turf nearby and managed to capture a few decent images.I say a first,it is the first female we have seen after finding a male last year at Porth Dinallaen on the Llyn Peninsula.This species is pretty rare in East Yorkshire,with Flamborough being one of it's regular sites.
 After all the excitement,we enjoyed a very nice meal in the Headlands pub,before walking back to our car at South Landing,the return leg being very windy and a struggle at times,but i was on a high after our encounter earlier,but we did manage to see a Merlin and Peregrine.

Bottle-nosed Dolphins.

Female Black-oil Beetle.

Female Black-oil Beetle.

Selwick's Bay.

The Iconic Flamborough Lighthouse.