Got round to sending in all my local moth records this week to the YNU...highlights for the year at Northowram were..Clay triple lines , Double striped Tabby , Vines Rustic , Scarce footman , Red necked Footman ,and Box tree Moth
New to VC63 – Northern Belle Phiaris palustrana ( gen det CF) Walshaw Moor
Went to look for a reported Green Sandpiper at Jay House lane ponds , when I got out of the car I could see a dark wader bobbing up and down in the steam , had to be it , got scope on it Jack Snipe a real bonus..Then onto Walshaw Dean Plantation where I flushed 2 Woodcock and a party of 8 Crossbills were high in the tops eating pine cones..An excellent crop this year....Also 1 Barn Owl and a cracking male Sparrowhawk hunting a small flock of 20 Siskin......
It was nice to find a single Waxwing today , I was driving up Pellon Lane and in the corner of my eye I saw a Waxwing in the top of a tree in Kick fit car Park , just managed to stop and get a couple of photos .. Not seen any locally for a few years so fingers crossed a few more turn up. A Woodcock was flushed from the path up at fly flats ...little else on a very cold day....................
Frozen all round the reservoir and the reservoir its self. A single Common Gull , 4 distant skeins of Pink footed geese , 2 Stonechats , 12 Meadow Pipits , 2 Kestrels , 2 Carrion Crow , 1 Magpie and 11 Herring Gulls,. I was lucky to briefly seen a Snow Bunting on the way up and on the way back it showed really well feeding in the grass next to the road . Thick fog should keep it grounded till tomorrow
Had a walk around Widdop Reservoir on Thursday , and was surprised to find a cracking adult male Ring Ouzel my latest local sighting. Also in the area Barn Owl , Woodcock , 6 Ravens , Male Merlin , 4 Stonechat , Song Thrush , 14 Meadow Pipit , 3 Reed Bunting , 2 Teal , 34 Mallard and a few Redwings and Fieldfares....
29th October .....5129
31st October ......1245
4th October .....24278
Juv Western
Not a birding trip but a great couple of days dedicated to birding , one in Central Park New York and 1 day in the San Francisco bay area ( the Botanical Gardens are fantastic). Heermann's Gull , Pygmy Nuthatch , Stellers Jay , Long billed Curlew and Black Turnstone were outstanding.....
Pied Billed Grebe x 1...Botanical Gardens
American White Pelican x 4 ..Crissy fields
Brown Pelican x 2000 + common seen all the time flying over and around the bay
Double Crested Cormorant x 400 + common
Pelagic Cormorant x 10 +
Brandt's Cormorant x 200 + common around the bay
Great White Egret x 11 together at Crissy fields
Great Blue Heron x 20 + common
Black Crowned Night Heron x common
Yellow Crowned Night Heron x 1
Surf Scoter x 10
Red Tailed Hawk x common
Turkey Vulture x 8
American Coot x 1 Botanical Gardens
Killdeer x 10 together at Crissy fields and 2 flyovers
Black Oystercatcher x 2
Marbled Godwit x 8 Crissy fields
Long billed Curlew x 1 Crissy fields
Black Turnstone x 2
Western Gull x Common
Mew Gull x 1 Crissy Fields
Heermann's Gull x 6
California Gull x 25 Crissy fields
Ring Billed Gull x 4 Crissy fields
Elegant tern x 300 + common in the bay area
Caspian Tern x 10 +
Pigeon Guillemot x 20
Common Mure x 10
Mourning Dove x common
Anna's Hummingbird x common
Acorn Woodpecker x 2
Ladder Backed Woodpecker x 1 Botanical Gardens
Western Wood Pewee x 1
Black Phoebe x 8
Steller's jay x 2
Western Scrub Jay x 6
Common Raven x common
American Crow x common
Chestnut - backed Chickadee x 2 Botanical Gardens
Bushtit x 6 Botanical Gardens
Pygmy Nuthatch x 14 Botanical Gardens
House Wren x 1 Botanical GArdens
Winter wren x 4
Western Bluebird x 6
American Robin x 20
Orange Crowned Warbler x 2 Botanical gardens
Townsend's Warbler x 4 Botanical Gardens
California Towhee x 8
White Crowned Sparrow x common
Song Sparrow x common
Oregon Dark eyed Junco x common
Brown headed Cowbird x common
Tricolored Blackbird x 2
Brewer's Blackbird x common
House Finch x 10
Lesser Goldfinch x 10
New York
American Painted Lady x 1
Monarch x 30
Question Mark x 1
LArge White x 10
San Francisco
West Coast Lady x 3
Painted Lady x 2
Common Buckeye x 1
Anise Swallowtail x 1
Western Tiger Swallowtail x 1
Fiery Skipper x 40 +
Monarch x 15 +
Umber Skipper x 10
Red Admiral x 3
Large White x 10
A really exceptional weekend watching Owls , Little Owl and Barn Owls were seen hunting , but the star of the show was an Adult male Short eared Owl feeding 5 young , again and again the adult was off catching voles , the first night it caught 6 voles in an hour and 10 minutes. Second night 4 in an hour and on the third night 5 in an hour...
A n adult Long eared Owl was feeding 2 young very close by..Teal , Hen HArrier , Adult Cuckoo , Spotted Flycatcher , Grey Wagtail , Dipper and good numbers of Golden Plover......A stunning adult male Brimstone today at Hollas Bridge was my 24th local species this year.
Small and Large Skipper , Small , Large and Green veined Whites , Orange Tip , Holly Blue , Common Blue , Holly Blue , Green , Purple and White letter Hairstreak. Small Copper , Red Admiral , Painted Lady , Small Tortoiseshell ,Peacock , Comma , Speckled Wood , Wall Brown , Gatekeeper , Meadow Brown , Ringlet and Small Heath. Which is by far my best year locally.....
