Monday 28 August 2017

27th August

A few signs of birds on the move this weekend – warblers passing through our garden…


And the first Meadow Pipits re-appearing in the parish…


In the Magic Garden there were at least half a dozen Blackcaps today with none seen yesterday…


A feature of recent days has been an evening movement of Curlews over the village with 60 odd birds moving north-east (to Teesside to roost?) . We found the flock today in the sheep pasture on Langlands…


Nearby there was a flock of 120 Lapwing and around 2000 Starlings feeding in a freshly turned field

Along the river yesterday there was a single Green Sandpiper…


A Little Egret…


And at least four Kingfishers…

(One day I will get a good shot of this species!)

Other sightings in recent days have included a Hobby over the village, four Swifts still present and evening gatherings of hirundines above the Magic Garden including over 50 Sand Martins.

I’ll finish with this striking fungi photographed on Langlands Farm…



...according to Mal, the very knowledgeable mid-Yorkshire fungi recorder, this is Ganoderma resinaceum or the Laquered Bracket. Looking this up it seems to be a very rare species this far north. 

Sunday 20 August 2017

20th August

Bird-wise it’s been very quiet. A Kingfisher has taken up its usual late summer residence on the Magic Garden lake. A Swift was over the village yesterday (along with three Buzzards) and around 50 Swallows were feeding low over the village green.

On the insect front the pick of the sightings was this Small Copper butterfly in the Magic Garden. This is the first I’ve seen in the village for many years…


Also there today, along with the usual whites, were half a dozen Speckled Woods…


Red Admiral, Peacock and two Walls.

The first Migrant Hawkers were seen last week. Both female…


and male...


But this Common Darter was the only other dragonfly seen today…



Sunday 13 August 2017

Shetland

We’ve just come back from a fortnight in Shetland, almost thirty years since our first visit (our honeymoon!). We were blessed with amazing weather…


It even got mentioned on Radio 4 that we had more sunshine than Cornwall!
This wasn’t conducive to great birding (the only migrants I found were four Crossbills, a couple of Swifts, Chiffchaff and Grey Wagtail) but really showed these beautiful islands at their best…



And even their commonest birds are interesting…










And one of my favourites, the Shetland race of Wren…


Chunkier and with quite a distinct song.

Mammals included both Common and Grey seals (the latter almost climbing into the replica Viking ship we were sailing in!) pods of Risso’s and White-sided dolphins and this little cracker ‘nesting’ in the cliffs at Eshaness…


Unfortunately the list didn’t include Orcas with several sightings whilst we were there but we were always just a little too late…

We will be back...