Snowdon Horseshoe

 

Raggalds Flood *******

It was great to see the 3 Lapwing chicks fly from breeding at Raggalds flood  , in the same area Little Owl , Wheatear and Curlew.......

Last few days

 I watched an adult male Merlin at Bridestones the other day , twisting and turning  just below the stones it was after a Meadow Pipit ,then a small group of Swallows were alarming and dive bombing the Merlin,It gained height and stooped , plucking a Swallow out of the sky. breath taking........Still plenty Snipe activity at Bridestones and  a good display of common Dragonfly's on the ponds. Adult female and juv Wheatear looked good for local breeders and Stonechats raised one young at least.

13 Pied Wagtails on the cricket pitch and a steady stream of BH Gulls over north.....White Letter Hairstreaks and Purple Hairstreaks have also been seen this week

Chambers Farm Wood

 Silver -Washed Fritillary x 15 + seen in display flights and a pair in cop. White Admiral x 2 , Purple Hairstreak x 5 + , Red Admiral x 4 , Large and Small Skipper , 3 common whites , Ringlet , Meadow Browns , and a few Commas , Small Torts and Peacock ......

A stunning adult male..................

Test

 

Cricket Pitch

 A busy morning on the Cricket pitch  , the Pied Wagtails are up to 9 birds 2 x adult male , 1 adult female and 6 juvs , 7 LBBGulls  4 adults , 3 juvs , 3 BH Gulls all adults  , 55 Starlings , 6 Blackbirds , 8 House Sparrows , 3 Woodpigeon and 4 Linnets ,2 adults and 2 juvs.....It was nice to bump into a Badger the other night and  loads of bats about........

Stocksbridge

  Had a walk around an area near Hunshelf today , the first bird I saw was a juv Wheatear , closely followed by 2 Lesser Whitethroats in some brambles , it was an area of pretty traditional farmland and before long a few Skylarks could be hear calling from the fields. It was great to see Yellowhammers and Linnets in a flock of 35 + birds . Then a small group of 5 Tree Sparrows 2 adults and 3 juvs. A Red Kite drifted over and a few calls of Meadow Pipits going over...a great sound to hear and the onset of Autumn migration........