A new nature reserve for me, one that was difficult to enter into the sat nav, but I did it, I ended up parking in the Common lane parking space, this is at the end of a very rutted track, so taking it steady along here would be advisable. I will probably try the one at the top side next timed Warblers
Why was I here, I was looking for the Variable Damselfly, on a Yorkshire site, the weather wasn’t good but should be ok for Damselflies maybe not so the Dragonflies.
After a good search, and getting used to a new spot, I started finding Damselflies, Blue tailed and Azure Damselflies at first, checking thru all the Azure’s I eventually came up with the Variable Damselfly, there were a few about but in low numbers. A nice surprise was coming across a few Red eyed Damselflies male and female and a lot closer than the ones seen at Old Moor.
Other highlights here were Golden bloomed Grey Longhorn Beetle, lots of Helophilus pendulus Hoverflies, I also think I kicked up an Emperor Dragonfly that was in the grass. Bird Highlights were Marsh Harrier, Reed Warblers, Cetti’s Warbler and a fly thru Hobby.
After Broomfleet I went onto North Cave Wetlands, which is only a few miles away. There was no sign in the weather improving which again showed in the insects I was finding at North Cave. The Damselflies seen at North Cave were Azure Damselflies, Blue tailed Damselflies, Common Blue Damselfly and Red eyed Damselfly. Other highlights at North Cave were Scorpion Fly, Volucella pellucens Hoverfly, Silver Ground Carpet Moth, Yellow Shell Moth. Bird Highlights at North Cave were Cetti’s Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Swifts, House Martin and Sand Martin
Well the day looked promising when I arrived at Old Moor, I was hopeful for some insect action today. I started at the Visitor Centre pool, here there were plenty of Azure Damselflies blobbing about on the surrounding vegetation, along with a few Blue tailed Damselflies, they weren’t very active due to the weather, it was overcast, with a bit of wind, which makes taking photos harder. Along with the Damselflies around the pond there were a few Hairy Shieldbugs. I moved on then to the other ponds, I had little luck around here only finding a single Dingy SkipperButterfly, so after that I decided on having dinner and on doing on the walk back to the car park, I came across a Peacock Butterfly and a Common Blue Damselfly.
After dinner I decided on a walk around the Green Lane Loop, where there seemed to be a little bit more action, there were a lot more Blue tailed Damselflies down here, along with a few Azure Damselflies, no butterflies. Swollen thighed Beetles were enjoying sheltering on the Ox-eye daises, whilst looking at these I also came across a Common Malachite Beetle, also down here I found a Tiger Cranefly and it wasn’t till I passed the Wader Scrape Hide that I found a new Cranefly species for me, a black and red one, with black winged markings, one I believe to be a Ptychoptera contaminata, a nice ending to what was a very dull day, I didn’t find what i was hoping for but nature showed me what it wanted me to see
Back down to RSPB Old Moor, for another go at the insects, but due to the weather I didn’t have much hope in seeing a lot, the conditions were, overcast and cloudy, at the end of the day it was a day out in nature.
Gear together and off I set, my first insect contact turned out to be a new sighting for me in the form of a Dock Bug, located near the first pond, before you get to the hub, on the left side, it was resting on the Ox-eye daisies.
My next contact was at the Visitor Centre pond with lots of Azure Damselflies, resting up on the vegetation surrounding the pond, closer inspect of the pond reeds revealed a large Exuvia, this was probably Emperor Dragonfly. Moving on I saw a couple of guys taking photos near the reed bed, I had to be nosy, it paid off, they were looking at two Dragonflies that were rested up, one a Four spotted Chaser the other was an Immature Male Black tailed Skimmer. Looking around the other ponds I found little elde of note, no butterflies either, there were a few Swollen thighed Beetles about, especially on the Ox-eye daises.
I decided on dinner and then doing the Green Lane Loop after, it was about 2pm when I started back on the reserve, catching sight of Hairy Shieldbugs around the visitor centre pond, with the Azure Damselflies as well, but this time I did find a couple of Large Red Damselflies and Blue tailed Damselflies.
On then to the Green Lane Loop and all was quiet, my first insect find were more Azure Damselflies, second was a Speckled Bush Cricket, tiny things these, it wasn’t in a good position for photos so I moved on eventually finding a better positioned one near to the Wader Scrape hide
Dragonfly List ; Azure Damselfly, Black tailed Skimmer, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Four-spotted Chaser, Large Red Damselfly
That time of year again, I turn my attention to the insects and away from the birds a bit, today’s weather wasn’t the best start, but the season was slipping away, due to the awful UK weather, I was trying Bullcliffe NR toady.
On arrival the birds did make themselves known, with calling Goldfinch, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, and eventually a Garden Warbler, but my attention today was Butterflies.
The first area I knew produced my first target species, a single Small Heath. Moving on then to the second area I had in mind, for my next target, but this produced nothing, on then to the final area and my first encounter was with a single Dingy Skipper, this was also the area that I found the Garden Warbler in.
A couple of Moths species were seen, a Straw DotMoth and a first for me in a White-pinion Spotted Moth
The day started early at Rutland Water, on arrival we headed straight out to the Bittern Hide, it was now 8:15am, on entering the hide we found out that the Savi’s Warbler had been showing well, we settled in.We waited four hours, the Savi’s was not playing ball, it was heard ‘Reeling’ a few times in those fours hours, those that did get a view was very, very brief.
In those four hours there were other birds to see, Osprey gave good views has they came by, two birds on occasion, we had excellent views of Cuckoo, coming in close to the hide, Marsh Harrier came by on a couple of occasion, there was a a Reed Warbler continually calling next to the hide for all of those four hours. Other highlights too and from the hide were Sedge Warbler, Willow Warbler, Common Tern, Swift and Sand Martin.
The plan was to see the Savi’s Warbler, then travel to the Great Reed Warbler site then on to the American Golden Plover. Getting back to the car, I decided on a toilet stop before travelling onwards, on arrival back at the car, then my colleague broke the news of a MEGA in Whitburn, an Indigo Bunting, a three and a half hours travel away, North, he needed it for is UK list, it would be a lifer for me.
It was thanks to a person in the area, that people got to see this bird as it was first ID on their bird feeders. They let lots of people into their house to be able to view this visitor, we didn’t see it from here but had views from other gardens nearby.
It wasn’t an exciting day, but there was a lifer at the end of, alas no pictures.
A very early start to arrive at the Gorge for 6:30am, the first noted was a calling Cuckoo from the nearby moor, I wasn’t heading that way, I was going down into the gorge itself, this was my first time here.
I was guessing where I was going, I chose the right hand path and headed down, I was looking for the Padley specials, namely the Pied Flycatcher and Redstart. I had parked up at the Ice Cream car park.
First encountered birds were Blackbird, Song Thrush, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Robin, Blackcap, and Wren, on my way down into the gorge, no Flycatcher’s or Redstart on this leg, so I headed back up.
The return journey held little reward, with Blue Tit, Crow, Treecreeper, Chaffinch and a heard only Pied Flycatcher. I found out later at Wyming Brook that the Pied Flycatchers nest boxes are near the top of the gorge and a little way in, about a dozen of them, try again next year.
I moved on from Padley Gorge to my next destination Wyming Brook, target here was Wood Warbler, I was having a bad morning, I drew a blank on this species too 😔. The species I did encounter were, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Green veined White Butterfly, Orange tip Butterfly, and a Silver Y Moth.
I was drawing a blank and needed a pick up, I thought Dragonflies and Old Moor 😊, I headed off, it turned out to be a good move. On arrival at Old Moor the weather had changed to warm and sunny.
I got my gear together and headed o to the reserve, stopping at the small pond near the visitor centre first, here I picked up on lots of, Azure Damselflies and a couple of Large Red Damselflies, moving further into the reserve, I decide on taking the the left path and to do a loop on these pools. I encountered the same damselflies here, plenty of Azure and a few Large Red, there was also about half a dozen Four Spotted Chasers and a single Hairy Dragonfly, a nice surprise was a Dingy Skipper Butterfly, I found nothing new moving around the rest of the pools. I moved onto the Toyota platform and here I found a lot more Azure Damselflies and also Red-eyed Damselflies.
My next move was to do the Green Lane loop and here I found a few Blue-tailed Damselflies along with a few Common Blue Butterflies. I decided now on having an Ice Cream, I headed back out to the visitor centre, on my way I saw Orange tip, Brimstone Butterflies also a Mint Moth.
Lastly, after the ice cream, I decided on one last look around the pools on the left side, a good move, I finished the day on my favourite Dragonfly, the Broad Bodied Chaser. 😊
Padley Gorge List : Blackcap, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Cuckoo, Nuthatch, Robin, Song Thrush, Treecreeper, Willow Warbler, Wren
Wyming Brook List : Blackcap, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Robin, Song Thrush, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Green veined White Butterfly, Orange tip Butterfly, Silver Y Moth
Old Moor Lists :
Butterflies : Brimstone, Common Blue, Dingy Skipper, Green veined White, Orange tip
Dragonflies: Azure Damselfly, Blue tailed Damselfly, Broad Bodied Chaser, Four spotted Chaser, Hairy Dragonfly, Large Red Damselfly, Red eyed Damselfly
A late afternoon visit to Pugneys Country Park, first impressions on arriving was that it was very quiet. The first birds seen around the Jetty/Cafe area were Black headed Gull, Mallard, Canada Goose, and Great Crested Grebe being the most notable, it was quiet.
I walked around to the nature reserve hide, it was now open or I thought until I entered the hide, there was a lot of fire damage to the hide, I didn’t stop long, it was apparent that I shouldn’t be in there, I couldn’t get my head around, WHY, why do this, why ruin other peoples pleasures? and put their lives in danger in doing so
After the upset, I carried on my walk thru the small wood out towards the main lake hide, Blackbirds were about along with Blue Tit, Crow, Magpie, Wren, and in the nearby reeds were Reed Warblers, chattering away.
Back on the main path a flock of House Martins were hawking over the tops of the trees, the main lake hide had now been fixed, fire damage to the floor, but there wasn’t a lot to see from here, a few Sand Martins were present, along with Herring Gulls, Cormorants, and Tufted Duck.
Moving from the hide to the seat opposite, this overlooks the Nature Reserve Lake, from here I could see the Tern Raft, and here I saw three Common Terns, these were nicely flying around and landing back on the raft occasionally giving me good views of these birds, also seen from here were Teal.
Walking down to the beach a Male Reed Bunting was seen, giving its presence away by its calling, finally around at the kids playground was a good size flock of Swifts hawking low over the trees.
Birds Seen: Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chiffchaff, Common Tern, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Herring Gull, House Martin, Kestrel, Lesser Black backed Gull, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Sand Martin, Swallow, Swift, Teal, Tufted Duck, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren (31)
A late night visit up to the Langsett Res. area, mainly around the weir side in the hope of Redstarts and Cuckoo, I didn’t see either on the walk. The first half of the walk, I was struggling for species, only Chiffchaff was the most notable seen or heard along with Willow Warbler, a Grey Wagtail was seen along the river, and a Grey Heron was seen flying in and on to the river.
On my return journey I noticed a flock of House Martin going thru the valley, along with a few Swallows, a couple of Common Buzzards drew my attention, a bit distant for the camera, and then a Red Kite drifted in, this is a bird I don’t see a lot of in the Huddersfield area, the last one I saw was back in 2010, so a 14 year gap, a pleasant site in deed, I took some shots, but only as a record due to the distance.
A disappointing trip out overall, no Redstart, Cuckoo or Red Grouse, but the Red Kite did give me something to say it was worthwhile coming out
Birds seen or Heard : Buzzard, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, House Martin, Lapwing, Pheasant, Red Kite, Swallow, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren
I decided on a brief to the local ponds after work, sun was out, it would be more of a reccy visit to see how the area was after the winter period.
The birds took president, first with Willow Warbler then Song Thrush, Chiffchaff, and Whitethroat, being the most notable. The reason for my visit of course were the ponds and surrounding area, for Dragonflies, I was a bit dubious before my visit, due to the lack of management from last year, but the ponds looked good, so I’m hopeful of a good year.
The only Dragonfly/Damselfly showing today, after lots of searching, were a few Azure Damselflies.
Other birds noted today were Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Lapwing, Robin and Woodpigeon
Arriving at Broadstone’s Reservoir at 6:30am to the sight of a Barn Owl flying over the wall had me stopping, an unscheduled stop, but worth going after, so getting the gear together off I set.
Willow Warblers were very prominent and seemed to be calling from every bush. Moving further on into the heath, a few Linnets were moving about, no sight of the Barn Owl. Moving further on, Common Whitethroats got my attention, this also brought me into an area where there were a few Blackcaps and a Garden Warbler, good to hear these two confusion species together, still no sign of the Barn Owl, so I moved off back towards the car, picking up on Skylark singing away as I did so. On my way thru I stopped at an area good, in the past, for Grasshopper Warbler, but no evidence of one today.
Getting back to the car, I set off for Langsett, my original first stop of the day, and parked up at the Barns Car park on arrival. The time was now 8:30am, there were plenty of Blackbirds around the car park area, along with Chaffinch, and a singing Blackcap.
Gear together, I set off towards my target species here, seeing Song Thrush, and Oystercatcher, near the dam wall, but no Common Sandpipers’ this morning or Pied/Grey Wagtails. Down in the woods, the target area for today, the sounds of Nuthatch,Robin, Blue Tit and Great Tit. Looking thru the foliage, I eventually caught sight of a Spotted Flycatcher, which was nice to find.
Further into the woods, things became rather quiet in the wood, then a quick movement and I’d found the target bird, a Pied Flycather, male. After watching the male bird for a while, and occasionally losing it, I caught sight of the Flycatcher giving a Great Spotted Woodpecker a hard time, diving bombing, trying to move the Woodpecker on. I eventually traced the Pied Flycatcher and got sight of the female coming and going with nest material, with the male looking on and giving song on various posts, safely keeping my distance
It was time to move on and I found myself down at Manvers lake, looking for the male Garganey which had taken favour with a female Mallard. I eventually found it tucked away out of sight along with the Mallard.
It was then down to Edderthorpe Flash, here I saw plenty of Swallows and Sand Martin moving thru, but no sign of the bird I was looking for, Willow Warblers, Chiffchaff, Reed Warblers, Shelduck, Oystercatchers, a pair of Common Sandpipers, lots of Avocets, Cormorants, but still no sign of my target bird for here. it was now moving on to 4pm, after talking with someone else, who decided to move on after I said I’d been there for an hour and a half and there was no sign of it, he moved on down to Old Moor. I however decided to stop for another thirty minutes, it took about ten minutes before I saw the bird in question, flying in from the right and landing down in front of where I was sitting, Black winged Stilt in the bag and giving good views. It was good to see it, after the one from Frampton where I only saw it from a video I’d taken, and to finish the day, a single Swift went thru.
Langsett Area Birds :Barn Owl, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Crossbill (H), Curlew, Garden Warbler, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Linnet, Long tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Robin, Siskin (H), Skylark, Song Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Treecreeper, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon, Wren (33)
Manvers and Edderthorpe : Avocet, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black headed Gull, Black winged Stilt, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Common Sandpiper, Coot, Cormorant, Gadwall, Garganey, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Herring Gull, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Black backed Gull, Mallard, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Robin, Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Swallow, Swift, Teal, Tufted Duck, Willow Warbler (35)
Huddsbirder 