Little Owls in the garden

Woke up to the sound of 2 Little Owls calling from the top of the fir trees in the back garden. Poor photo as it was taken through the window and it was dark and I was still half asleep, but a great start to the day :)

Langfield and Withens Clough

It was a fabulous morning here in the Pennines yesterday so I went for a good long walk to stretch my legs and get onto the hills again. I think I'm getting lazy as now I'm doing most of my walking over in East Yorkshire (Easy Yorkshire?) where there are no hills, the old leg muscles are putting their feet up - metaphorically speaking of course. A few miles of up and down will get them woken up!

I went past Lee Dam which has been very quiet as the Little Grebes didn't try nesting there this year following their double wash-out last year. Also no Moorhen nest either and the two Canada Goose nests were destroyed by someone or something. Very sad. Willow Warblers have been numerous though and a Chiff Chaff has been about too. The usual Swallows were feeding over the water and their young were on the wires.

Up to Langfield past Horse Wood where, I'm sorry to say, there were no Grasshopper Warblers this year at all. I'll have to concentrate on what was successful this year as opposed to what failed or failed to turn up or I'll really feel downhearted!

Reed Buntings were out in good numbers and a Linnet was singing away in the new bracken but the bird I wanted to see was Stonechat as they have been hit really hard over the last few hard winters and their numbers are not recovering yet. I saw a single juvenile Stonechat preening on the top of a bracken stem but strangely there was no sight nor sound of the adult birds.

Climbing up the steep hill from Langfield onto the ridge that runs NE then East to Stoodley Pike there were many Meadow Pipits flying around carrying food and a few juvenile birds too. Mipits were my constatnt companion for the whole morning and they look to have had a very good year locally. Skylarks also make the day more enjoyable by their singing but I only heard 5 all morning. The path leads on to join the Pennine Way after half a mile and there splendid views over the valley and across to Stoodley Pike itself:

 

Pennine Way leading to Stoodley Pike

My destination wasn't this way though, I was heading North to Withens Clough reservoir to see if the Whinchat was still there:

Withens Clough res

On the way to the reservor I passed a couple of local landmarks, one recent and one that goes back several hundred years.

Just off the Pennine Way is a newly built short stone wall that has a seat overlooking the valley and the wall is a useful refuge from the strong winds and the rain that are common through most of the year. It was put there by a family to remember their father:

 

The Te Deum stone at Withens Gate is a relic of the past, this text is taken from the website Journal Of Antiquities. "This medieval marker or boundary stone stands close to a wall at Withens Gate, Langfield Moor, between Cragg Vale and Mankinholes on the Calderdale Way footpath above Todmorden. It has been referred to as a coffin stone, stoop stone, boundary marker and marker stone. The name Withens Cross has also be ascribed to it by some historians.
The stubby little stone is now only a few feet high – originally it was much taller but vandalism over the years has damaged it. But in 1956 it was restored to what we see today by The Hebden Bridge Local History Society. On it’s front side there is a thin incised Latin cross and below that two letters in Latin TD which are translated as being Te Deum Laudamus or ‘We praise Thee, O Lord’, whilst on the opposite face the letters BG TB which were perhaps carved in more recent times, indicating that the stone has been in use as a boundary marker.
Originally the stone was in use as a “coffin rest”. Coffins were carried along the old packhorse route across the Pennines between Cragg Vale, Mankinholes and Lumbutts, placed on top of the stone and prayers said for the deceased before the journey was continued to its final resting place. There are a number of similar stones in this area and eleswhere, some with quite intricate carved crosses and lettering – most probably dating from the 15th or 16th century."

The Te Deum stone

 Now Withens Clough was in sight and I could start losing altitude and also step out a bit as the path has been repaired recently and surfaced with small pieces of stone chippings. A Meadow Pipit was flushed from grass and juncus close by the path and looked suitably annoyed:

Mipit

Down to Withens Clough through the small palntation that holds Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Goldcrest and onto the path that runs around the reservoir. There has been a fair amount of shoreline showing over the past month or so and Little Ringed Plover have been sighted so I hoped to get a glimpse of one.

Only a few hundred yards further on there was a Common Sandpiper calling which is one of my favourite sounds on upland reservoirs through summer:

Common Sandpiper

The bird flew off after a while and landed on the shoreline, where two 2 birds flew past it, Little Ringed Plovers!:

Little Ringed Plovers

They landed at the Western end of the reservoir so I carried on along the path and soon I heard them flying past me over the water towards the Eastern end. A few minutes later the LRPs came along the shoreline towards me giving good views through the bins (but not through the camera lens unfortunately.

record shot of LRP

Off I went and left the path at the end of the reservoir to check the area for Whinchat, but there was no sign of them (not unexpected as no sightings have been recorded for a fortnight or so). Willow Warblers were singing in the clough as I made my way to the path that leads out of the valley and up the hill to the large conifer plantation Sunderland Pasture. My legs were well and truly awake now.

Small Heath butterflies were another almost constant sight through the morning as they seemed to be following the same route as myself:

Small Heath

Going up the path I spotted a Roe Deer up ahead and I ducked down behind the wall hoping it hadn't seen or sensed me. I was upwind so hopefully I could get closer and have a decent view.

Roe buck

A lovely sight indeed. It seemed quite unconcerned for a change, as Roe deer usually run off as soon as they see someone. It continued feeding and wandered off down the hill.

I was almost home, or at least I could see home from the top of the hill but not before I saw a Jay flying from the trees in the clough towards Sunderland Pasture plantation.

Back onto the Pennine Way for a short distance and then off down the hill and home in time for lunch. A simply marvelous morning :)

I've done my, I've done my BBS (apologies to Dire Straits and MTV)

Although I had to delay the start this morning due to a downpour I finally got my late visit Breeding Bird Survey completed this morning.

I do two squares in one go now. I used to walk up to my nominated square at Blackshaw Head above the Upper Calder Valley so it took a fair long time before I started surveying. A few years ago though, the BTO said that if volunteers wished, they could survey an adjacent square if it made sense to do so, i.e. if they went through one to get to another. It makes the morning a little longer but provides twice the enjoyment.

This morning was more like an April morning with showers coming in every half hour or so. I'll have to invest in one of those gadgets that keeps your paper dry while writing on it (Drywrite or some such name I think). Meanwhile I'll keep opening and closing the clip-board cover to minimise the damp patches on the forms. I had shorts on today as it was mild, but I hadn't reckoned with the nettles! The long grass was wet too from the previous downpour so I had lovely wet feet and a few stings before I'd even started my survey. My wife asked why I didn't put my waterproof trousers on, as I could have taken them off after I'd got past the long grass and nettles - great idea, however she was still in bed when I set off so she didn't pass the idea on BEFORE the event.

There were several highlights this morning, starting with a Cuckoo calling in the first square at the top of Jumble Hole Clough. This was a first for my BBS. Then there was the usual host of Willow Warblers
singing in the wood, and then just over the stream I came across a small family group of Nuthatch - 2 adults feeding 4 fledglings. Their calls were very loud and one of them came down to the side of the foot path and fumbled about in the bracken and grass before managing to fly back up to a low branch.

Nuthatch fledgling

Nuthatch fledgling

Nuthatch fledgling

Nuthatch fledgling

This adult Nuthatch was more wary

Walking into my second square, a Curlew took off from the field and 2 Lapwing were also put up by my entering their field and shouted at me all the way from the gate to the stile at the field top. As I went over the stile a third Lapwing joined the pair, probably a juvenile as it wasn't calling.

The remainder of the morning went as usual with common birds seen, though not as many as previous years. The worst outcome was that not a single Skylark was seen or heard. This is the second year of zero Skylarks up here - not good at all when there used to be so many when I first started doing the BBS in 1994. There always used to be Snipe to be seen and heard too, but I haven't come across one now for about 5 years in my original square

As I walked back home along the Rochdale Canal towpath which runs alongside the River Calder for a good way, I did what I always do and checked the river for Dipper. This morning there was a juvenile feeding.

juv. Dipper

juv. Dipper

Yesterday morning I saw an adult bird in the same spot:

Dipper

Dipper

guess what - Dipper

The Canon 55-250 mm F4 zoom lens that I use has serious low light limitations. I'll invest in a better lens one of these years.

As I was almost home I heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker and found it, calling from a branch near the top of the wood. I got the bins onto it and just before it flew off I saw a Treecreeper under the same branch. It was raining as I got home but I didn't care - a great morning's walking and birding :)

The Dales Way - Grassington to Kettlewell

I met up with a few friends of mine to walk the next section of the Dales Way which was from where we left off last time (Grassington) up to Kettlewell. The weather was kind to us and was dry apart from a little drizzle blowing in as we set off.

As usual we managed to take a couple of wrong turns when the path/signage was unclear but these turned out to be serendipitous as on one of them we found a small group of orchids (fragrant orchids we think) and on another I heard, then saw, a Tree Pipit. Overall we covered just less than 8 miles but this was done at a fair pace and was most enjoyable. We reckoned it was the best section completed to date. To my surprise there were plenty of birds to be seen too, even though the route took us away from the River Wharfe which had been at our side ever since we started the Way back in Ilkley last year.

Birds seen en route:
Golden Plover - 2
Curlew - about 10 in all
Lapwing - 2 trying to see off a flock of crows
Skylark - 5
Mipit - just 1
Tree Pipit
Oystercatcher - 2
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1
Willow Warbler
Wheatear (f) - 1

When I got back home there was bad news in that the House Martin's nest had fallen down, with at least 2 eggs broken. Looking up the birds have already started rebuilding as there was a small patch of wet mud pellets on the bottom edge of what remained of the nest up by the roof. The problem is that it hasn't rained yet this month so a ready supply of mud will be hard to find.

A peregrination around my local patch

per·e·gri·nate

v. per·e·gri·nat·ed, per·e·gri·nat·ing, per·e·gri·nates

v.intr.

To journey or travel from place to place, especially on foot.

v.tr.

To travel through or over; traverse.

pere·gri·nation n.

So nothing to do with Peregrine Falcons then?

No, nothing.

Read on?

OK.

The sun has been warm and unrelenting for a few days now and it is making things move on apace, in the plant world anyway.

Our apple blossom has now arrived; bluebells are in flower in the woods and the wild garlic is also in flower. It's taken a while this year but we've now got definite signs of Spring. The birds however knew this all along and are well advanced in their courtship and nesting. Well, I say the birds knew all along.... the House Martins have only just arrived back at their nest at our house and in previous years we've had them back in early/mid April.

It was good to feel the warm sun on my back as I wandered my well-trodden route, with the highlight of the morning being a Jay.

 

Wild garlic at Lumbutts Clough

Wild garlic flower

 

Orange Tip on wild garlic

My route through Lumbutts Clough

Jay

Hornsea today

Well it's been a while since I updated my blog but things have been hectic. The previous weekend was The Hebden Bridge Blues Festival so all my time and energy (and cash!) went into fully enjoying our third such festival - and it was brilliant, the best yet. In between I've still been out and about, but nothing to put on the blog that is any different to previous entries. Either that or things were going on that can't be shared on public media.

So. Back to this morning's jaunt across the Hornsea countryside. I set off at about 6:30 in bright sunshine, clear blue skies and a cool NE breeze. I walked south along the cliff tops listening to the Sedge Warblers, Linnets, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits singing.

Meadow Pipit

After watching the Sand Martins I cut inland after a mile or so and headed towards Rolston. Overhead a Kestrel was being moved along by a Lapwing, and then, just when it reckoned it was clear, a few Swallows came along and made sure it carried on its way.

In the hedgerows there were Whitethroat and the sound of a Robin, which turned out to be a young 'un:

juv Robin

The crops are growing well with the sun and rain and Swallows were busy catching insects over the green wheat fields.

I arrived at a small nature reserve that has sprung up called Pond Wood. It is in its infancy and trees aren't mature yet but it has promise. Willow Warblers and more Whitethroats were singing and a single Coal Tit flew through. I wasn't particularly pleased to find a trap baited with 2 live Magpies in order to attract Carrion Crows (according to the hand-written note on the top). I left the trap as I found it.

I continued through the fields, several of which had hares sunning themselves, and on through Hornsea Golf Club, where the Moorhens were loitering around the small pond there. I turned down the Trans-Pennine Trail towards Hornsea and heard a Cuckoo calling quite near by. Left down Southorpe Road towards Wassand estate and the Tree Sparrows were flitting about, one bird was feeding a hungry mouth:

A pair of Bullfinch, several Goldfinch and a few Chaffinch were in the trees before I heard the familiar sound of a Yellowhammer up ahead. I saw another 3 before the end of Southorpe Road.

Yellowhammer in full song

As the sun was behind the bird I had to over-expose the photo to get a half-decent image. Through Wassand and onto the Mere there were plenty of Green-veined Whites, Orange Tips and a pair of Small Copper butterflies to keep my attention while birds were relatively quiet.

Small Copper

Green-veined White

What is it with Orange Tips? They fly around, never settling for more than a second, as if in search of the perfect plant on which to feed or rest! I've never managed to get a decent photo of one yet.

At The Mere a Cuckoo flew right over my head and headed South; a Marsh Harrier was over the reeds and 4 Reed Buntings were singing in the reed bed along with a few Sedge Warblers. There were hundreds of Swifts and House Martins over the Mere, doing their level best to eat the glut of flies.

A brilliant morning. Really enjoyable, and all rounded off with a few Danish pastries and a cup of tea sitting on the verandah in the sun, which was still shining!

Treecreepers

It has been several weeks, probably since just before the late snow we had, that I've seen a Treecreeper. I can usually see these wonderful little birds flitting from tree to tree as I walk through the wooded cloughs but they have proved to be elusive recently. Time to remedy that I thought so I set out this morning with the task of finding one in the local cloughs.

Well, it actually didn't take as long as I thought! In the second wood I walked through a Treecreeper was spotted landing on the bottom of a tree trunk and working its way up the tree. I followed it as it flew off and landed on another tree about 20 yards away and moved a little closer so I could see where it would go next. A few minutes later I found its nest and stayed well away so I didn't disturb it, but close enough to have a good view.

 Only a few more minutes went by before it was obvious that there was a pair of birds with a nest and young as they were coming and going very regularly with food and I also saw a couple of fecal sacs being taken away. Mission accomplished and at least one local pair has survived the bad weather.

both birds together

 

Removing a fecal sac (even at 1/500th sec still blurred)

Delivering another food parcel

 As I watched a Great Tit also visited the same tree crevice several times and it became clear that they are sharing the same location for nesting. The Treecreepers are in the first floor and the Great Tits are in the ground floor apartment.

Elsewhere the Ravens have successfully fledged 5 chicks, the Dippers are nesting but I haven't seen any young yet and the Little Owls have at least one chick fledged.

Langfield and Gaddings Dam

I walked up to Langfield and Gaddings Dam this morning while the weather was reasonably warm. Not a great deal about as Spring is still lagging behind the calendar. The leaves on the trees are still not fully out, our blossom tree isn't fully in blossom yet and the daffodils are just about in full flower in the back garden. Hoping for the same haul of birds I saw this time last year was a little optimistic then, and it turned out that way too.

Linnet - 5
Reed Bunting - 3 singing males
Mipit - a fair number about but not really on a par with other years
Skylark - just 2 singing at Gaddings
Little Ringed Plover - 1 on the shore at Gaddings
Red Grouse - 1 calling

No Groppers yet (maybe the juncus being flattened by the snow is detering them?). Never mind there's still time for the year to catch up.

Hornsea walks

I took a few walks over the weekend around Hornsea Mere and along the cliffs in dry-ish weather although the wind was still chilly and quite strong.

On Saturday afternoon I picked up a bird flying in from the sea and soon made it out as a Sandwich Tern - my first of the year. I watched for a while as it turned north and flew towards the breakwater so I walked that way and had good views as it preened and was knocked off its perch by a Herring Gull. It was joined by 2 others before they all flew south.

Sandwich Tern digiscoped with the phone camera

Sunday morning brought a walk down Southorpe Road towards Wassand and a good haul of warblers and finches in the hedgerows. First off a pair of Yellowhammers feeding and flitting about

Yellowhammer

Greenfinch, Chaffinch and Tree Sparrows were making a noise both sides of the road and Swallows were zooming overhead singing away too. A very satisfying start to the walk.

Several Chiffchaffs were calling in the trees a little further down with a Willow Warbler, and further towards Wassand Hall a Blackcap was singing. Two Whitethroat were singing and adding their wonderful song to the mixture so nearly a full house of the warblers I hoped to see - just Sedge and Reed Warbler left to tick off.

Linnets and a pair of Lapwing were the next birds along my route and a Skylark was up and singing in the brief sunny spell. A couple of Reed Buntings were singing in the reeds at Snipe Grounds south of the Mere and the Sedge Warblers were now making themselves heard too. This Sedge Warbler was ringed but there was no chance of making out the details.

ringed Sedge Warbler

Skylark over the fields

At last I picked up the song of a Reed Warbler and had decent views of it soon after. Over the Mere there were good numbers of Swift, Swallow and House Martin but although I spent a fair amount of time scanning the Swifts there didn't look to be anything exciting among them.