Bronte Country

Widdop

A stunning day to be out on the moors...
Common Heath very common at least 50 +
Brown Silver lines x 2
Mother Shipton x 2
Emperor male x 1
Small Heath x 20 +
Green Hairstreak x 4
Large White x 1
Green veined White x 5
Orange Tip male x 1
Green tiger Beetle x 11
Common Lizard x 2
1 green form and 1 brown/orange form...

Starlings..............

The local Starlings have had a good breeding season with 120 + on the cricket pitch in the afternoon , one of the juvs had been taken by a Sparrowhawk and i think a few more will go the same way.....

I am pretty sure I have never seen 3 adult LEO's hunting in the same field at the same time , until last night., I am thinking it was 2 males and 1 female , the female having tatty primarys and secondrys. A fantastic evening..cheers Roy....

Butterflies..... Feb - May

A great Spring for Butterflies so far -
1 .Brimstone
2 .Orange Tip
3 .Small White
4 .Large White
5 .Green Veined White
6 .Small Copper
7 .Small Tortoiseshell
8 .Peacock
9 .Green Hair - streak
10 . Wall Brown
11 .Speckled Wood
12 .Comma
13 .Small Heath
14 . Painted Lady
15.Common Blue
16 .Large Skipper

Calderdale Way...

Pendel Hill

No Dotterel but a great walk...a few Goldies on the top and a lot of people.......

Cragg Vale Coiners Walk

                                                      Not this route

                                                                   King Davids House

                                                 Broadhead Clough from Erringden moor

                                      Robin Hood Rocks the 'Long Tom'

                                                Heptonstall Church ,the final resting place of 'King David'

                                     The old Water Wheel at Cragg Vale

Fox and an Owl

Fox moth on the Hills and Puss Moth at home

So the moths that were flying around the other night were Fox Moths not Emperors as I first thought.I counted at least 25 which is the largest count in Yorkshire of adult Fox moths...Brown Silver lines and Orange Tips and Green veined Whites  loads of Swifts , Swallows and Sand Martins kicking around ....

Puss Moth a beauty  found on the wall next to the moth trap........

Evening out

Nice to see an Owl at last.....other birds about 185 large gulls east mainly Herrings but a few LBBGulls , 1 Curlew ,  3 Linnet  , 2 Displaying Snipe , 5 Swift , 6 Sand Martin , 4 Swallow , displaying Greenfinch , 10 + Emperor Moth (I think) and the odd Skylark..

Cricket Pitch and surrounds

With the grass being kept long the cricket pitch was pretty busy this morning although there was quite a frost...2 Mistle Thrush , 27 House Sparrow , 1 Dunnock , 5 Linnet , 1 Skylark , 2 Goldfinch , 36 Starling , 3 Blackbird , 3 Pied Wagtails and the bird of the morning a Meadow Pipit ...I managed to find 2 Whitethroat , 2 Blackcap , 1 Chiff and 3 Willow Warblers all in good voice .....Kestrel , Sparrowhawk and Buzzard briefly...... Late afternoon saw 10 + moving Swifts , whilst watching these through the scope a distant and very high large bird was picked up circling on thermals drifting in and out of the heat haze , it looked to have long trailing legs and as much in front as behind but too distant to be sure.......not picked up down the valley despite a few phone calls..!!

What a view

With crystal clear sky all around  these last few weeks I have been looking at the views from local high points, From Soil Hill its easy to see The White Horse at Kilburn , North Yorkshire , Pen y Gent , Inglebrough were stood out like sore thumbs and Great Whernside  was crystal clear . Today I could see Drax and Ferrybridge power stations and for the first time   even the top tower on the Humber Bridge from Queensbury .  Holme Moss to the south in Derbyshire , Castle Hill in Huddersfield and the two towers at Emily Moor...

                                                          3 Peaks and Great Whernside x 2

                                                                Emily Moor

                                                                 White Horse at Kilburn

White Horse at Kilburn

                                                      Drax

                                                Ferrybridge

                                                        Humber Bridge at 80 km

Last week of April.......

Fluked another Sandwich Tern on the 26th April  by counting every Gull that passes the house you sometimes get lucky ,,the Sarnie was at the back of 11 Herring Gull being mobbed by 2 Carrion Crows.

                             Jackdaws have been see collecting hair of the local cows...

Ned hill track the other day was a refreshing small walk , again Curlews and Lapwing can be herd most of the time.Orange Tip , Peacock and Small Torts , 4/5 Willow Warblers , Stonechat and Skylarks and Linnets a plenty....Sparrowhawk and Kestrel were both hunting around the farm....good to find 2 Willow Warbler , 1 Blackcap and 1 Whitethroat on territory...