Red Carpet

This is the first Red Carpet in Calderdale since the 1920's near Widdop  , its a high mountain species  and its strong hold is Malham Tarn in Yorkshire...Why this turned up in Northowram is anyone's guess but I am glad it did......

Little Owl

                                                         Seen near Coley yesterday

Birds ,

Had the most fantastic view of a Buzzard carrying a dead rabbit yesterday it was really struggling with the weight of it..Great spotted and green Woodpeckers both bred in the local wood and Blackbirds and House Sparrows  have had an excellent breeding season with 14 + blackbirds and 30/40 House Sparrows feeding in the newly cut fields. Greenfinch also had a good year. 5 lapwing in the fields was a surprise yesterday. Lots of gulls on the move north at the moment but all LBBGulls so far. Still plenty Swifts about.

Butterflys

A real day today for butterflys in and around Northowram fields, 48 Small Tortoiseshell , 60 Ringlet , 50 Meadow Brown , 5 Large Skipper , 5 Small Skipper , 1 Large White , 3 Small White , Small Heath 2  , 1 Comma  and 3 Speckled Wood. ( a distant butterfly above oak looked like Purple Hairstreak but was too brief to be sure)

Swifts...........

After a very slow start Swift are now been seen daily in good numbers , yesterday a flock of 20 - 25 were feeding in the lower fields all afternoon in with these 4 House Martins and 20 Swallows a male Sparrowhawk had a couple of goes at them but I did not see him catch anything.......4 large Skippers, Meadow Browns and Ringlets are also starting to increase after a very quiet period for butterflys....Small Tortoiseshell are just starting there second generation with 5 today.

Peak district

                                              Very annoyed Common Sandpiper

                                                    GP next to Sykes Pillar

                                                  2 Curlew and a Marsh Harrier

                                          Tufted Duck with 7 chicks

Meadow Pipit

Meadow pipit still on eggs 12.06.18 must be a second brood .

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.