Calm on the moors

(Photo Sarah Hanson many thanks)

A calm and still evening today produced 7/8 kestrel , 8 SEO's , 3 LEO 's , 3 Barn Owls , 2 Buzzards and 2 Hens ( one with sat tag and 1 juv female) 1 male Sparrowhawk and a few Oyck's and Curlew.

On the pic above you can just make out the sat tag....

Cricket pitch

Had my first 3 Juv pied Wags this morning one with bright yellow face and smoky grey flanks , other 2 were grey juvs . 55 Starlings ,  4 Goldfinch and 35 Swallows , some of the Swallows were sitting on the grass.............1  juv Dunnock also

Hills alive with Owls

What a night to be out , as I got out of the car I could hear Raven and I could see a group of birds over New Laith pasture  on closer inspection , 1 Juv peregrine , 2 Buzzards and 2 Raven were all up in the air together.
   A SEO was seen briefly on the track to the south. What a night , 3 Barn Owls , 6 SEO's and 2 LEO's( i ad +i juv) all hunting on the same hillside giving excellent views for long periods.One juv female Hen Harrier , Kestrels and Curlews added to a memorable evening..........is was good to note that in the fading light , Barn Owls look very white , LEO's look Dark and rounded and SEO look pale..............

Young Tawny Owl

Young Tawny Owl in the Craggs last night.................

Little Egret

A bit of luck at last with yesterdays Common Scoter and  a flock of waders at Fly Flatts today (9 Ringed Plover , 10 Dunlin and 2 Curlew) . A Little Egret flew along Shibden Valley today , it was always at a difficult angle so I could not get the shape at all until at the last moment it turned so I could see it.

Common Scoter

One adult male Common Scoter on Booth Wood Reservoir today in thick fog and drizzle. A fine adult Stoat and Common Sandpiper yesterday ,   in thick mist and drizzle, last night a new Calderdale moth species ...Pale Prominent(above , pic CS) , ....

Painted lady makes 23

Went to hebden for the HH day and took in the bit of waste ground at Mythom. First butterfly was this Painted lady my 23rd species in Calderdale this year...............................What a year its been.....................

Nice............

Owls

Had a drive about yesterday evening looking for Owls.started with Little Owl  sat on the top of a wall minding it's own business. Soon after  this I watched 5 SEOwls hunting 3 juvs and 2 adults , One of the adults caught a vole and gave it to one of the hungry juvs sat on a wall. One of the juv's had a pure white tail which made it easy to pick out .Then onto a local abandoned mill to watch 2 Barn Owls hunting in the failing light, a Tawny owl was calling from a nearby wood and was also seen hunting as the light failed..................

Buzzards.....

                                                             Typical in flight profile

In 1998 20 years ago there were less than 10 sightings in a year in the whole of Calderdale in 1991 there were only 3 records . This week so far I have seen  4 Northowram , 4 Shibden Valley , 3 Fly Flatts (wind farm side)  , 4 Castle Carr  and  3 at top west side of fly , 2 over Cromwell and 2  over the motorway at Hearsthead...............

More SEOwls

Fly Flatts

Had a couple of hours up there the last few days,  1 Green Sandpiper , 1 Ringed Plover , 2 SEOwl , 2 Dunlin , 11 Teal , 10 Lapwing , 2 Grey Patridge , 2 Barnies, 2 Raven , 2 Buzzards , 2 Wheatear  and a few Gulls.Two Wall Brown near Cold Edge Quarries . Holly Blue and Small Copper

in the garden at Northowram today.

2nd juv Buzzard takes to the air..........

This morning there were 4 Buzzards in the air all mewing together and dive bombing the local jackdaws ,  this is the 4th year in a row they had bred successfully , There  is a build up of Goldfinch with a small flock of 20 + being seen most days. The local Kestrel has also one young flying .Lots of gulls on the move mainly LBBGulls and Black headed , but the odd Herring Gull as well.

First juv Buzzards takes to the air andf Fly...................

Had a look at fly flatts today , 9 Kestrels , 8 Sand Martin , 50 Swallows and 50 Swifts , Lapwing , LBBGulls and Tufted Duck with 4 Juvs , 2 Teal .....First Juv Buzzards flying today at Northowram

Juv Oyck

11 Raven was a great sight today along with 25 + Kestrels , 4 Buzzards , 2 SEO , 1 Marsh Harrier , 1 female Sparrowhawk with very tatty tail , a flock of finches contained 2 greenfinch , 6 Chaffinch , 5 Goldfinch  and 4 Siskin , Song Thrush 1 , Mistle Thrush 3 the bird of the day was a fat juv Oystercatcher....great to see....

OGDEN

Had a quick look today , 1 Common Sandpiper , 1 Curlew , 1 Tufted Duck , 2 Teal , 1 Cormorant , Mallards with 2 very young chicks and 2 Grey Wags.

Back to the Hills 2

Its the first time that I have seen at 19.55.... 1 LEO , 1 SEO and one juv LEO hunting in the same field.!! Also between the showers 3 male Siskin , 1 Great spotted Woodpecker , pair of Teal with 3 juvs , 10 Curlew, 1 Buzzard , 8 kestrel and 5 more SEO and 1 LEO which nearly took my head off , must be another breeding pair as is was 'Barking mad' ........A single Whimbrel was calling on the north bank it was seen briefly ,I was going to have a closer look when i got round the other side but got side tracked with all the owl activity .........9 Kestrel together was a rare sight these days.

More butterflys

Today i had my first Gatekeeper of the year (18th  species on my local walk) , 4 Holly Blue , 5 Small Copper , 1 Comma and loads of Meadow Brown , Large and Small Whites

Back to the hills

Marsh harrier looked like a cream crown drifted high west , could be the same  one as Bri had at Fly yesterday ..Pics Not in the same league as Bris. Other birds in the area two pairs of  Tufted Duck  one with 5 chicks  and one with 2 chicks . At least 19 kestrels,  5 SEO ,  3  LEO , 2 Buzzards , loads of Golden Plover , Lapwing , Oystercatcher , Curlew , Common Sandpiper , 100 + Swallows , 11 Pied Wagtail , 1 juv Ringed plover  and a few Swifts.

Butterflys

                                                  Holly Blue

                                                      Small Skipper

                                                       Purple Hairstreak

                                                                  Comma
Its been a fantastic year so far with 17 species seen in and around Hedge top lane and Only house Wood. Purple Hairstreaks , Holly Blue , Orange tip.large and Small Skipper , Small , Large and Green veined White , Comma , Peacock , Red Admiral , Meadow Brown , Small Heath , Ringlet , Speckled Wood , Small Copper and Small Tortoiseshell......

Brian's Gull field

Finally got chance to go and have a look at some gulls today at the Raggalds
Herring Gull x 2
Common Gull x 1
Black headed Gull x 7 + 1 juv
LBBgull x 6
Lapwing x 14

Red Carpet

This is the first Red Carpet in Calderdale since the 1920's near Widdop  , its a high mountain species  and its strong hold is Malham Tarn in Yorkshire...Why this turned up in Northowram is anyone's guess but I am glad it did......

Little Owl

                                                         Seen near Coley yesterday

Birds ,

Had the most fantastic view of a Buzzard carrying a dead rabbit yesterday it was really struggling with the weight of it..Great spotted and green Woodpeckers both bred in the local wood and Blackbirds and House Sparrows  have had an excellent breeding season with 14 + blackbirds and 30/40 House Sparrows feeding in the newly cut fields. Greenfinch also had a good year. 5 lapwing in the fields was a surprise yesterday. Lots of gulls on the move north at the moment but all LBBGulls so far. Still plenty Swifts about.

Butterflys

A real day today for butterflys in and around Northowram fields, 48 Small Tortoiseshell , 60 Ringlet , 50 Meadow Brown , 5 Large Skipper , 5 Small Skipper , 1 Large White , 3 Small White , Small Heath 2  , 1 Comma  and 3 Speckled Wood. ( a distant butterfly above oak looked like Purple Hairstreak but was too brief to be sure)

Swifts...........

After a very slow start Swift are now been seen daily in good numbers , yesterday a flock of 20 - 25 were feeding in the lower fields all afternoon in with these 4 House Martins and 20 Swallows a male Sparrowhawk had a couple of goes at them but I did not see him catch anything.......4 large Skippers, Meadow Browns and Ringlets are also starting to increase after a very quiet period for butterflys....Small Tortoiseshell are just starting there second generation with 5 today.

Peak district

                                              Very annoyed Common Sandpiper

                                                    GP next to Sykes Pillar

                                                  2 Curlew and a Marsh Harrier

                                          Tufted Duck with 7 chicks

Meadow Pipit

Meadow pipit still on eggs 12.06.18 must be a second brood .

Red Kite

Managed a few photos of this , as it flew over Buckstones and into Scammonden Valley.

                                                           Large red Damselfly

                                                             Green Tiger beetle

                                                                 Common Sand chick....

SEO and Dunlin