Last night at Hardcastle Crags ,I caught an Orange Footman Eilema sorocula .
20 years ago when I first started recording moths locally there was only 1 species recorded the Common Footman , since then Muslin Footman , Red-necked Footman , Buff Footman , Dingy Footman , and Scarce Footman are all recorded in good numbers.
Had a walk round St Aiden's today and Lin Dyke , its another world on the other side of Leeds ,
Superb Slavonian Grebe in summer plumage and Black -necked Grebes at St Aidan's , at least 12 singing Cetti's Warblers and a Booming Bittern which showed only briefly. Lin dyke had 6 Cattle Egrets , 2 Little Egrets , 1 Great White Egret and 5 Cetti's Warbler...With the Red-necked Grebe at Leeshaw , great Crested and Little locally , its been a good year for grebes.....
The other night at Bridestones I saw a distant flock of duck aprox 130 + , they looked dark but they were distant , they did that typical duck moving over the sea movement where the ones at the back move to the front and then go out in straight lines and then crunch up in a tight flock ... If I would have been on a sea watch I would have called out Scoter flock. I knew that Common Scoter had moved in late March but was not sure if this was just a one night thing and have never looked into it tbh,..
You generally find a small flock somewhere during the year on one of the upland reservoirs.
After looking through the internet its pretty common for them to move in late March , April and May. I feel pretty confident they were Common Scoter and my first as a vis - mig bird...better to be cautious .
Lots of SEO's about....as well
Well in the first 100 days of 2025 in Calderdale I managed 112 species...see below
1) Red Kite , 2) Peregrine Falcon , 3 ) Kestrel , 4) Sparrowhawk , 5 ) Hen Harrier , 6 ) Buzzard , 7 ) Barn Owl , 8 ) Little Owl , 9 )Tawny Owl , 10 ) Med Gull , 11) LBBGull 12 ) GBBGull , 13 ) Herring Gull , 14 )Common Gull , 15 ) BH Gull , 16 ) Pink F Goose , 17 ) Whooper Swan , 18 ) Mute Swan , 19) Coot , 20 ) Moorhen , 21 ) Mallard , 22 ) Pochard , 23 ) Tufted Duck , 24 ) Scaup , 25 ) , Goldeneye , 26 ) Shoveler , 27 ) Mandarin Duck , 28 ) Widgeon , 29 ) Teal , 30 ) Goosander , 31 ) Little Grebe , 32) Greylag Goose , 33 )Canada Goose , 34) Red Grouse , 35) Pheasant , 36 ) Red-legged Partridge , 37 ) Cormorant , 38 ) Grey Heron , 39 ) Kingfisher , 40 ) Dipper , 41 ) Grey Wagtail , 42 ) Pied Wagtail , 43) Lapwing , 44 ) Golden Plover , 45) Feral Pigeon , 46 ) Woodpigeon , 47 ) Stock Dove , 48 ) Collared Dove , 49 ) Great Spotted Woodpecker , 50 )Green Woodpecker , 51 ) Treecreeper , 52 ) Nuthatch , 53 )Wren , 54 )Robin , 55 ) Dunnock , 56 ) House Sparrow , 57 )Tree Sparrow , 59 ) Meadow Pipit , 60 ) Skylark , 61 ) Chaffinch , 62 ) Brambling , 63) Goldfinch , 64 ) Greenfinch , 65 ) Redpoll , 66 ) Siskin , 67) Crossbill , 68 ) , Bullfinch 69 ) Reed Bunting , 70 ) , Blackbird , 71) Song Thrush , 72 ) Mistle Thrush , 73 ) Fieldfare , 74 ) Redwing , 75 ) Goldcrest , 76 ) Jay , 77) Raven , 78 ) Rook , 79 ) Jackdaw , 80 ) Carrion Crow , 81 ) Magpie , 82 ) Starling , 83 ) Blue Tit , 84 ) Great Tit , 85 ) Long - tailed Tit , 86 ) Cole Tit , 87 ) Stonechat , 88 ) Common Snipe, 89 ) Jack Snipe , 90 ) Blackcap , 91 ) Curlew , 92 ) Oystercatcher , 93 ) Barnacle Goose , 94 ) Egyptian Goose , 95 )Ringed Plover , 96) Short -eared Owl , 97 ) Redshank , 98 ) Woodcock ,99) Merlin , 100) Chiffchaff 101) Linnet 102) Great Crested Grebe .103) LRPlover 104) Shelduck 105)Wheatear 106) Twite 107) Swallow 108) Sand Martin 109) House Martin 110) Yellowhammer111) Willow Warbler 112) Common Scoter....11th APRIL ONWARDS , 113 ) Common Sandpiper 114) Ring Ouzel 115) Cuckoo , 116 ) Common Whitethroat 117 ) Garden Warbler , 118 ) Grasshopper Warbler , 119 ) Dunlin , 120 ) Ruff.....
1) Red Kite , 2) Peregrine Falcon , 3 ) Kestrel , 4) Sparrowhawk , 5 ) Hen Harrier , 6 ) Buzzard , 7 ) Barn Owl , 8 ) Little Owl , 9 )Tawny Owl , 10 ) Med Gull , 11) LBBGull 12 ) GBBGull , 13 ) Herring Gull , 14 )Common Gull , 15 ) BH Gull , 16 ) Pink F Goose , 17 ) Whooper Swan , 18 ) Mute Swan , 19) Coot , 20 ) Moorhen , 21 ) Mallard , 22 ) Pochard , 23 ) Tufted Duck , 24 ) Scaup , 25 ) , Goldeneye , 26 ) Shoveler , 27 ) Mandarin Duck , 28 ) Widgeon , 29 ) Teal , 30 ) Goosander , 31 ) Little Grebe , 32) Greylag Goose , 33 )Canada Goose , 34) Red Grouse , 35) Pheasant , 36 ) Red-legged Partridge , 37 ) Cormorant , 38 ) Grey Heron , 39 ) Kingfisher , 40 ) Dipper , 41 ) Grey Wagtail , 42 ) Pied Wagtail , 43) Lapwing , 44 ) Golden Plover , 45) Feral Pigeon , 46 ) Woodpigeon , 47 ) Stock Dove , 48 ) Collared Dove , 49 ) Great Spotted Woodpecker , 50 )Green Woodpecker , 51 ) Treecreeper , 52 ) Nuthatch , 53 )Wren , 54 )Robin , 55 ) Dunnock , 56 ) House Sparrow , 57 )Tree Sparrow , 59 ) Meadow Pipit , 60 ) Skylark , 61 ) Chaffinch , 62 ) Brambling , 63) Goldfinch , 64 ) Greenfinch , 65 ) Redpoll , 66 ) Siskin , 67) Crossbill , 68 ) , Bullfinch 69 ) Reed Bunting , 70 ) , Blackbird , 71) Song Thrush , 72 ) Mistle Thrush , 73 ) Fieldfare , 74 ) Redwing , 75 ) Goldcrest , 76 ) Jay , 77) Raven , 78 ) Rook , 79 ) Jackdaw , 80 ) Carrion Crow , 81 ) Magpie , 82 ) Starling , 83 ) Blue Tit , 84 ) Great Tit , 85 ) Long - tailed Tit , 86 ) Cole Tit , 87 ) Stonechat , 88 ) Common Snipe, 89 ) Jack Snipe ,,,,,,,
I was aiming for 90 species in January but missed it by 1 ,,,,,, missed , Yellowhammer , Grey Partridge , Woodcock , Twite , SEO , Great Crested Grebe , Little Egret and Shelduck so 90 + is possible in a good January...or maybe 100 if you have the time and a bit of luck.....!!!!!
xxxx Stop press Male Blackcap first bird seen on the 1st Feb..that is the way it goes...xxxxx
Curlew and Oystercatcher makes 92 17th Feb.....
Barnacle Goose , Ringed Plover and Merlin 22nd Feb.....95
Short -eared Owl ..24th Feb ...96
Egyptian Goose x 3 at Cromwell Bottom ..97
Its been hard going so far in Calderdale , the best way to describe it is ..GREY...but its been good for Duck's
9 Goldeneye , the displaying males and females at Cromwell Bottom Ski lake are superb , Shoveler 3 (1m and 2 f) , Scaup (m and f ) , Pochard , Tufted Duck 27 + , 40 + Mallard , 6 Teal have all put in an appearance at Cromwell , a pair of Widgeon feeding along the dam wall at Ringstone and 19 Mandarins on the River Ryburn . Lots of Goosander about on the River Calder......
11 Whooper Swans at Lower Gorple in terrible conditions , 8 Crossbills , Redpoll , Siskin , Cole Tits and Goldcrests in Walshaw Plantation 15th . Had 3 Brambling (thanks Martyn and Carol) today which made 80 species in Calderdale so far this year...
The Stonechat was still kicking about today which was a good way to start the year and Barn Owl at dusk.
Hen Harrier , Peregrine Falcon and Crossbills today and some big flocks of Fieldfare at last , around Walshaw plantation.
Scaup at Cromwell with Tufted Duck , Goldeneye ,Goosander Grey Heron , Little grebe and Long-tailed Tits.
Ringstone was busy with Adult Med Gull ,Kingfisher , Great-Black Backed Gull high west , Lapwing 245 + , Golden Plover 260 + and 8 skeins of Pink-footed geese west 1000 + birds involved, 3 Buzzards , Kestrel , , Bullfinch , Goldfinch and Fieldfare...5 days 60 species
9th Jan , had a quick look at Ogden but very little except a smart male Sparrowhawk , Goldcrest in the back garden and a Ring necked Parakeet at Shibden Park kept the year list ticking over.70 species in 9 days....its tough out there , every path frozen and one slip and its a broken ankle,,stay safe.....
A excellent couple of evenings at Lower Gorple, 5 Crossbills , Raven , Sparrowhawk , Kestrel , Buzzard , Barn Owl , Fieldfare, Redwing , Reed Bunting , 6 Goldfinch , 4 Common Gull , 6 Herring Gulls , 50 Mallard and some excellent views of Hen harriers .......
Julia was shouting down the stairs... there is small smart bird in the garden..sat on top of the Hydrangea it was a male Stonechat..its a great garden tick , goes well with Redstart and Whitethroat over the years in the same bush....
Yorkshire Sculpture Park ..
Great Egret , Shoveler , Gadwall ,
Great to see 2 Peregrine Falcons together behind Walshaw Plantation today , spooked 5 Crossbills and a flock of Fieldfare , 1 Raven and a Ringtail Harrier also here.
The first Short eared Owl since the summer was a treat at Lower Gorple , the adult male Hen Harrier put on a real show ,another 12 Crossbills over and a Barn Owll hunting close by. Another 2 ringtails and a Kestrel made for a great afternoon...
RED Throated Diver in Hebden Bridge today....!!!!!!!!!!..
Seen a good run of birds recently in Calderdale ..Slav Grebe , Red Throated Diver , Caspian Gulls , Crossbills , Short -eared Owl , The Tanager , Barn Owl and Little Egret (from the garden ) Scaup ,Common Scoter , Male Hen Harrier's and Yellow -legged Gull's ,
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When we set off I was hoping to see as many Hawkmoth especially a Deaths head species as possible , as I knew the other species would be hard to Id for a first timer in Malaysia. I sort of thought 30 in my head would be a great total (but unlikely). We ended up on 32 species......amazing
The recent trip to Malaysia with Anthony Arak to see the moths of Fraser's Hill (with David Fisher , Stephen Hogg and Khalid Fadil , 3 of the worlds expert's on Malaysian Moths) was truly mind blowing. There was at least 7/8 traps on every night and we wandered around seeing some of the most amazing moths on the planet . They were everywhere , Malaysian Moon Moths , Atlas Moths , Silk Moths , 30 + Hawkmoth Species , Hearsey's Owl Moth Brachmaea , Genus Sacada , Grambidae like you've never seen , Tiger moths sp , Goat Moth sp ,etc etc . 500 + species that we took photos of and could remember , but over 1100 species recorded by the group....There was also the most varied selection of Stick Insects , Beetles , Snakes , Spiders , Birds all around the Hotel , it was 100% concentration needed to keep on top of it all....If you ever get chance to go...just go for it....
MCM Discovery Villa , Fraser's Hill ,Malaysia............
The Orange Drinker Euthrix Laeta
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