Back to the Hills 1 and 2

Tuesday
A  evening on the tops produced , 1 Raven , 1 Marsh Harrier , 1 Hen Harrier , 1 Barn Owl , 1 Little Owl , Tufted Duck with 4 chicks.......
Friday ..
   An interesting  evening with Spotted Flycatcher , Willow Warbler 5 , Cole tit , Great Tit , Great Spotted Woodpecker , 2 Grey Wagtail , 1 Snipe , 5 Wheatear , 8 Golden Plover , 1 Barn Owl , 2 Raven , 2 Kestrel , 2 Common Sandpiper , 5 Greylags , Pied Wagtail , Oystercatcher  , |Tufted Duck with no chicks , 3 BH Gulls and 3 LBBGulls.............Roe Deer and a dead Wood Mouse...

More Green Sandpipers

2 more Green Sandpipers today at Ringstone , well hidden to begin with in the stones but eventually came out giving some good views. 2 Teal , 2 Raven , 3 Cormorant , 2 GCGrebes , 30 BH Gulls and 5 LBBGulls . Lots of Swifts moving when the clouds came overhead and a distant falcon could not be id to species....Painted Ladys on the move as well..............

pics John Marsh ..thanks

Common Scoter

                                            (  Found by and pic D.Franz)
8 Common Scoter at Baitings , 6 males and 2 females , 4 Great Crested Grebe ,1 Cormorant , 1 Oystercatcher  and a good move west of Common Gulls.
  Ringstone held , 1 Teal , 7 Tufted Duck , 400 Lapwing , 3 Golden Plover , 2 Great crested Grebe , 1 Cormorant , 1 Willow Warbler , 1 Moorhen + 1 juv , 1 Common Gull , 20 BH Gull , 6 LBBgulls , 2 Swift , 10 Swallows , 2 House Martins  and an adult and young Roe Deer...

White- letter Hairstreak 2

                              A single Elm surrounded by Oaks along the edge of a wood with plenty flowering thistles is perfect for WL Hairstreaks.
   A fantastic few days watching these seldom seen butterflies in my local wood.This single elm held about 8 individuals , I watched them doing the courtship display flight , spiralling high above the elm in two's and then falling back down to land on a chosen leaf. After a while I picked them up flying down and landing on the thistles close to the tree. They would then feed and fly back up to a chosen perch. In flight they look dark , where as Purple Hairstreaks always look pale.
I have seen 20 species of butterfly this year on my local walk .....!!!!!
This was a 2 hour walk yesterday................(16 species)
Small Tortoiseshell x 152
Comma x 9
Small Skipper x 8
Large Skipper x 2
Small Copper x 1
Purple Hairstreak x 7
White Letter Hairstreak x 4
Peacock x 10
Painted Lady x 1
Gatekeeper x 2
Ringlet x 18
Meadow Brown x 40 +
Large White x 5
Green veined White x 20 +
Small White x 20 +
Speckled Wood x 6

White Letter Hairstreak

So pleased to find 8 of these today , in full courtship display flight . Only my second Northowram sighting , the first one on 19th July 2008 was in the same place. I have searched for these high and low for 10 years on the same Elm tree and today Bingo....................

Northowram Butterflies 2019..20 species

Orange Tip
Small White
Large White
Green veined White
Painted Lady
Red Admiral
Peacock
Comma
Meadow Brown
Small heath
Gatekeeper
Small Tortoiseshell
Holly Blue
Large Skipper
Small Skipper
Speckled Wood
Ringlet
Purple Hairstreak
White - letter Hairstreak
Small Copper

Ringstone

5 Tufted Duck#
1 Moorhen with 2 juvs
2 GCGrebe
8 Stock Dove
200 + Lapwing
6 Golden Plover
3 Pied Wags
20 BH Gulls
9 LBBGulls
1 intermedius LBBGull
1 Common Gull (light blue ring on right leg)
Mallards with 8 chicks...............

Good news at home with 3 Buzzards seen today.(they could have been from Shibden , but still good news)

Local

Great to see 2 juv Pied Wagtail and 2 juv Mistle Thrush on the Cricket pitch this morning . The adult Song Thrush was busy again collecting worms , hope to see the young soon. A steady trickle of Black Headed Gulls are now been seen daily with the odd juv mixed in with them. Been very quiet on the Buzzard front this last week and with some bad news from Shibden Valley of one being shot , I hope there are all ok..!!!!!

Green Sandpiper and Little Egret

Ringstone was busy with birds , 3 Tufted Duck in eclipse , 3 GCGrebe , 1 Cormorant , 300 + Lapwing , Reed Bunt , 2 Oycks , Swifts , Swallows and I was lucky to flush a Green Sandpiper from the inflow by the keepers house it flew along the dam wall showing off its white rump and landed in front of the hide where it started to feed...After dipping on the GWEgret earlier this week it was good to see a Little Egret flying along the valley this morning...!!!!!!!!

Staithes........beautiful

A welcome break from work took us to Staithes in North Yorks , a small Kittiwake Colony near the harbour held a few pairs of Fulmar , Razorbill , Gullimots and a few Yellowhammer in the scrub. Manx Shearwater , Gannets , Sandwich terns out at sea and the Little Egret roosted in with the herring Gulls opposite my room window...............

Local

The cricket pitch was busy today with Song Thrush , Mistle Thrush , Blackbird , Starling  all scoffing worms it must be loaded with them just under the surface . House Sparrows , Jackdaws and Wood pigeons , 4 Greenfinch , 4 Goldfinch and 2 Linnets on the walls and wires.
   Confirmation of breeding Whitethroat , Nuthatch , GS Woodpecker and Dunnock.
 Had my first returning BH Gulls today  at Ringstone with one juvenile in with them.....80 + LBBgulls and 1 Herring Gull....................