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

On the moors

                     Most birds will have had a good breeding season as the weather and food supply have been excellent, 3 Curlew Chicks today and an alarming Golden Plover

Cornish cats

                                                               The Lackey

                                                                    Yellow - tail

Seawatch again....

Thick fog till 13.20 then a clear day with sunny spells

Manx Shearwater .......1092
Shearwater sp                     1
Puffin                                 2
Artic Skua ) pale phase)    1
Storm Petrel                        2
Sandwich Tern                10
Basking Shark                    1
Dolphin sp                        3
Gannet  , Fulmar , Kittiwake .....

Long tailed Skua

Another seawatch today -
 Long tailed Skua - 1 ad summer plumage
Artic Skua - 1 Dark phase
Storm Petrel - 3
Manx Shearwater - 785
Fulmar - 10
Sandwich Tern  - 2
Gannet - 42
Kittiwake - 9

The Lizard

                              730... great ID  tip for SPBF once you see it you will always remember it..........

Very busy with people but the wild flowers were spectacular as were the Small pearl bordered fritillary's......................A few Red kites and  Chough feeding in the surrounding fields..
Marazion...1 ad summer plumaged Baird's Sandpiper in with 30 Sanderling and 10 Dunlin

Seawatch 2

 I wanted to try and get some good views of European Storm Petrel and this was looking like a good opportunity so I headed for a small headland just to the south of Coverack. I could see about 5 skimming over the water and dipping there feet in the surf . They were as close as they could be about 100 meters away , I could see them fanning there tails and showing off there white rumps. A very active species and you can easily loose them behind a wave and then they will pop up 20 feet away in a different direction. The most I had together was 6 but there must have been at least 30 + in the couple of hours I spent there all headind North east along the coast . 100's of Manx Shearwaters ,Gannets , Gullimots , Kittiwakes and 12  Sandwich Terns made for a great morning.

Coverack

                                                              Common Blue

                                                                       Drinker

A list of butterfly's so far include Common Blue , Large , Small , Green -veined Whites , Orange Tip , Red Admiral , Small Tortoiseshell , Small Copper , Small Heath , Small Pearl -bordered Fritillary  and day flying moths have been Galium Carpet , Green Carpet , Garden Tiger , Clouded Buff , Silver -Y  and Garden Carpet .

Cornwall Seawatch

Long time since I did any sea watching............

Manx Shearwater      2000 + south
Iceland Gull 2cy             1  south
Bonxie                            2   south
Great northern Diver     1 present
Red throated diver         1 south
Kittiwake                   200 south
Sanderling                   35 south
Dunlin                        3 south
Gannet                    300 + south
Fulmar                        6 north
Sandwich tern            4 south
Ringed plover            2 south
European Storm Petrel  27 north (at least)
Dolphin sp                    5 north

Stonechat , Cuckoo , Whitethroat and Willow Warbler in the scrub...

Cornwall

A Red Kite was a good start when we stopped for a well earned break. 2 Great Northern Diver , 10

                                                             Common Blue

                                                                        Orange Tip

                                                         Small pearl bordered Fritillary

Speckled Wood

Guillemot, 25 Swallow, 5 Swift , 200 Manx Shearwater, 157 Gannet, 9 Great Black-backed Gull, 4  Fulmar, 7 Kittiwake, 11 Herring Gull, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull , Whitethroat , Willow Warbler , Stonechat , and 2 Shag.

Peregrine Falcon

This site near Huddersfield was the first peregrine Falcon Nest site I ever went to some time around 1985 , its was great to hear them alarming today as I got near the nest site. Still at the same site and the first in West Yorks some 30 odd years ago. It was also good to note a healthy population of Curlew , Golden Plover ,Dunlin and Red Grouse on the surrounding moors.....The Red Grouse was a Peregrine victim but they only take what they need...

The Seraphim 

Only ever recorded one of these in Northowram before , last night there were 3 in the light trap..

Golden Plover

Juv Blackbird in the garden

More moors.............

                                                     Short eared Owl

                                                           Green Hairstreak

                                                              Red Grouse

Mountain Hare

                                                                       Dunlin

Curlew 18th May...

Widdop

A few recent bits and bobbs , 1 Red Kite and a few Common Buzzards above the rocks at Widdop stones, Swifts and Swallows have been piling through the last couple of days and my first Linnets of the year on the 10th May..Whitethroat and Blackcap have been  herd singing around the village. White Pinion Spotted and Oak Nycteoline have been in the moth trap.

Recent bits

Had a Barnacle Goose and a Greylag Goose with a red neck collar the other day ( the red neck collar I think comes from Windermere ). Plenty Common Sandpipers on the upland reservoirs and the odd LRP. Plenty of gulls on the move with BHGull , Herring , LBBGull and the odd GBBGull heading west. Swallows also trickling through in small numbers and small groups of Chaffinch also heading west. The SEO population seems to be having a very good year with many birds been seen all over the uplands. 2 Common Terns At Cromwell Bottom with 6 Mute Swans here....Cuckoo and a Spotted Flycatcher on the 29th April and my first Greylag goslings of the year............

Marsh Harrier and SEO..(honest)

Been a good year for raptors and Owls  so far with , Marsh Harrier , Hen Harrier , Osprey , Merlin , Peregrine , Kestrel , Sparrowhawk  lots of Buzzards..Barn , LEO , Little , Tawny and lots of SEO.

Osprey No 2

Also in the area Merlin , Peregrine , SEO ,Raven , Buzzard , Wheatear , Swallows and Sand Martin.

SUN

Its was hot today ...red hot........popped to Jay house lane , Blackcap ,Chiffchaff ,Willow Warbler , Skylarks , Curlew and Swallows.10 Guinea fowl....

Sun at last........

Headed for the high moors this morning , Chiffchaff singing , 5 Common Sandpipers , 1 LRP , 1 Sand Martin north , 4 Swallows north , Male and female Sparrowhawk display , 9 Buzzards (1 with pale rump below) , 1 Peregrine , 4 Kestrel ,1 SEO (display clapping) 8 Snipe , 2 Redshank , 1 Golden Plover , Lapwing , Curlew , Oystercatcher(lots of display  and calling) , 3 Jays (a bit odd up there) 1 Raven and 2 Goosander

First Swallow

First Swallow today at Cooper Bridge flying down the river....
2011......1st April
2012.....21st April
2013....10th April
2014....12th April
2015....13th April
2016......4th April
2017.....21st April
2018.....7th April

Oak Beauty

Grey Shoulder Knot

Caught this little beauty last night in the trap at Northowram , its not been recorded before in Calderdale and was a rare moth in Yorkshire till 2004 .It is now recorded as regular in many parts of Yorkshire. First Small Tortoiseshell in the garden on the 5th April..............

Tatty HH

Good to catch up with Little Owl and Common Scoter over the weekend, but no migrants back yet....