Crowle & Thorne Moors NNR.....What A Day!......Saturday 9th June 2018.

An organised meet up with Dave today,primarily for myself to count the Odonata on the Crowle side of the NNR and for Dave to see some Large Heath resulted in one of my best visits to this fantastic area.
 Because of the vast number of species observed and different families involved,i have decided to dedicate a paragraph for each notable species we observed and the other highlights involved.

Birds:

The obvious highlight for us both,was a bit of a frustrating one to be fair,as we had crossed the bailey bridge onto Thorne Moors and after a look on Will Pitts scrape we were heading back towards the bailey bridge when i heard that beautiful,tropical sounding song of a male Golden Oriole.It obviously made me stop dead in my tracks and we listened as it gave four bursts of song before going quiet.Unfortunately,it was on the Crowle side,so we quickly made our way back across the bailey bridge and around to were we had heard the bird,but sadly after spending a good 20 minutes we never heard it again or observed it,what a buggar to put it plainly,but a nice find all the same.
 Other highlights went to at least 2 male Cuckoo,1 on Thorne Moors and 1 near to the car park on Crowle Moors.A single juvvie Willow Tit was also nice on Thorne Moors.

Lepidoptera:

Some really nice examples of this huge family were recorded today on our visit and included a new species for us both in the form of a cracking Scarce Vapourer Moth larvae which Dave found feeding on a Bramble on the edge of Will Pitts Scrape,what a beauty and really nice example of this very rare moth species.Other moths observed included Silver-ground Carpet,several Brown-silver Lines,several Straw Dot,Lesser-cream Wave and two stunning Brown-china Mark.
 The obvious highlight amongst the butterflies included 26 Large Heath which showed nicely and others recorded included 2 cracking Red Admiral and 8 Speckled Wood.

Coleoptera:

Today was a really good day for Longhorn Beetles and we recorded 4 species,with a lifer for us both in the form of a Two-banded Longhorn,which flew in and conveniently landed on me,the other species observed were Four-banded Longhorn,Black-and-yellow Longhorn and Golden-bloomed-grey Longhorn.Other beetle niceities included Harlequin Ladybird,Green-tiger Beetle and Red-headed Cardinal Beetle.

Orthoptera:

One of my fave families of insects and today saw us finding one of my fave species,Bog-bush Cricket.Obviously all individuals encountered were still in the immature nymph stages,but great to see all the same,with us recording at least 12 individuals.The pleasing thing for Dave,was it was another new species,to his already big list of species seen during the day.
 Also observed from this family were several Field Grasshopper nymphs and Common-ground Hopper.

Syrphidae:

A good selection recorded today,as on most visits at this time of year,included a lovely Xylota sylvarum on Thorne Moors with the remainder of species including Sericomyia silentis,Leucozona leucorum,Eupeodes luniger,Eristalis intricarius,Anasymia sp.,Helophilus pendulus,Volucella bombylans and Syritta pipiens.

Odonata: Will be covered on my Dragonfly sightings blog.

Reptiles:

Only one species observed today,but what a beautiful species....Adder.Today we gained some fantastic views,as on our last visit here,but today it was the turn of the girls to show off,with 5 stunning females seen.This included 2 basking together.They certainly rate as one of the most stunning animals i have ever had the privilege of seeing and i have seen hundreds over the years.

Mammals:

Only a couple of highlights today and another new species for Dave,a lovely Doe Red Deer observed browsing in a field near to Will Pitts Scrape.It was nice to see one in the open for a change and she gave some lovely views.The only other highlight, was a lovely Fox watched near to the car park area.

What a cracking day and i look forward to my next visit to this superb area.

Doe Red Deer,Crowle Moor.

Xylota sylvarum,Thorne Moors.

Scarce Vapourer Moth,Thorne Moors.

Female Adder,Crowle Moor.

Look At That Face!,These Beauties Mean Business.

Two-banded Longhorn Beetle Taken With The S8.

Some Fine Habitat On This Fantastic Site.

Monsal Dale & The Monsal Trail,Sunday 3rd June 2018.

A planned day out today with Mrs R,walking in the White Peak area of Derbyshire,saw us taking in the fantastic scenery around Monsal Head,Monsal Dale and the Monsal Trail.
 A really good mix of birds,insects and wild flowers were seen on our visit,the following is a summary of what we saw.
 We started our walk from Monsal Head to the sound of a Garden Warbler singing away near to the Monsal Head view point,this was quickly followed by a singing male Redstart,which i never did see and then some lovely views of adult and juvenile Dippers along the River Wye.
 As we walked along the Wye,exploring the very impressive Monsal Dale,bird highlights included more great Dipper views along the river and my first Spotted Flycatcher's of the year being heard and seen with 2 individuals recorded.
 The wildflowers along Monsal Dale were absolutely amazing to see,with a real good mix of species and included Bugle,Wood Forget-me Not,Comfrey,Water Avens,Common-spotted Orchids and a new species for myself,Toothwort.
 The latter was found growing under a Hazel canopy and is quite an unusual plant,being related to the Broomrapes.It is a parasitic species growing on it's host species root system as with the Broomrape family,a great sighting and a big thanks to John for the ID.
 Some really nice insects were also encountered today on the walk and included a cracking male Cockchafer,a Buff Tip Moth which i found roosting on a Hogweed stem,the first Brown Hawker of the year which Trace spotted along the river and several Orange Tip and another first for the year in the form of a Large Skipper.
 After re-tracing our footsteps we walked partially along the Monsal Trail seeing a couple of Raven along the way and then through the impressive Headstone Tunnel up to the old station at Hassop for a well earned lunch/tea.
 After a good fill of food it was again retracing our footsteps to the sound of another singing male Redstart near Hassop station and back to the car at Monsal Head.
 What a great day out in some brilliant scenery and with some cracking wildlife,wildflowers and birds to boot,we will certainly be making a return visit!.

The River Wye At Ashford In The Water.

The Wye Valley Taken From Monsal Head.

Monsal Dale And The River Wye Taken From Monsal Head.

The River Wye In Wye Dale.

The River Wye Taken In Monsal Dale.

The Unusual Toothwort,Just Beginning To Break through In Monsal Dale.

Male Cockchafer,Monsal Dale,Pic Taken With The S8.

One Of The Lovely Views Taken Along The Monsal Trail.

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.