Back to reality

Following the wonderful trip to Bulgaria last week it was back to reality with a thump as I ventured up to Dean Clough for the first time in a couple of weeks.  All the passage migrants had moved on as expected. While I was a way Janet Davie had a cuckoo by Upper Dean Clough but I wasn't to be so lucky.

The visit had two purposes - to check for Stonechat and to see if there were any odonata. I was pleased to see the male Stonechat by the upper res and I am hoping that this is a breeding pair.  It was with the female up a few weeks ago but has been missing on my previous few visits. The usual common resident bird species were present and its always nice to have a Redpoll flying around and one duly did while I was looking at damselflies by the waters edge. A Linnet flew over calling too.

I counted 10 blue-tailed damselflies and one large red (my second large red of the day having had one in the garden earlier).

There was an an abundance of white butterflies which were predominantly green-veined with at least 50 and probably over 100 around the reservoirs.  There were also 10+ Orange tips and a Red Admiral.

Hopefully this spell of fine warm weather will continue to produce good conditions for invertebrates.

A quick check of Parsonage on the way home and there is a growing area of stony mud around the upper res - it may turn something up.  Resident wise a pair of coot had four chicks. A pair of tufted duck didn't have any.

Blue-tailed damselfy, Upper Dean Clough

Stonechat 1m
Kestrel 3
Great spotted Woodpecker 1
LBB Gull 23+
Black-headed gull
Herring gull 5+
Reed Bunting
Meadow Pipit
Skylark
Linnet
Redpoll
Coot
Mallard
Tufted Duck
Canada Goose
Great-crested Grebe
Woodpigeon
Swallow
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Grey Heron


Odonata
Blue tailed damselfly 10 UDC
Large red damselfly 1 UDC

Lepidoptera
50+ Green-veined White
10+ Orange tip
1 Red Admiral

Swifts at last

I've finally seen a swift this year, with three flying north over Mellor on May 17th! I think this is the latest date I've ever recorded. Yet again it has been a cold week. Other late records include cuckooflower which is normally out in April around here. I still haven't seen any orange tip butterflies, but that is also partly down to me as I've not been out enough. There have been several green-veined whites in the garden during the week though, when the wind drops and sun breaks through. Silver birches are just coming into leaf and the Ash still has a week or two to go. The Ash is always last but surely its not waiting until June!

Overdue butterflies

The butterflies are late this year, just like everything else in the garden.  In previous years, orange-tips, small whites and green-veined whites have all been seen by now, but this year there have been none.  The first butterflies to appear were two small tortoiseshells on 14 April, and there were five more enjoying some rare warmth on the 20th.  Back on the 14th there were few flowers open in the garden and thus few nectar sources, however by the 20th there was plenty of aubrieta on display in the walls which was to the liking of the small tortoishells as the photo shows.

Small tortoiseshell nectaring on aubrieta

Family camping holiday in Picos De Europa

This year we went camping in Spain during the school holidays. I chose the destination and I picked the Picos de Europa mountains, which apart from being great for camping happens to be stuffed with wildlife - what a coincidence!

We sailed on the Brittany Ferries, Pont Aven from Plymouth to Santander and back and the seawatching was largely fairly quiet compared to other trips I've had across the Bay of Biscay.

Despite being whale migration time, I only saw a few blows from probable Fin whales on both legs of the journey. On the outward leg we saw a few schools of common dolphins and on the return we got a stunning close-up of a pod of pilot whales numbering about 12 individuals. On the birding side, nothing more spectacular than a few Cory's and Manx Shearwaters. Not that I'm complaining - Cory's is probably my favourite seabird, effortless and elegant in flight and so at home in the wide-open ocean.

As this was a family holiday I was mindful to keep time on deck to a minimum, although Jeanette and Annie were very patient with me.

For the first part of the holiday we stayed in the Picos mountains near Potes on a superb campsite set in woodland. Getting up early I was rewarded with Red Squirrels around the campsite, and once the sun got up the butterflies were simply breathtaking. I got some great photos with very little effort by just wandering around the camp site with my camera.

Despite being August and crowded with holiday makers we headed for the cable car at Fuente De. This is well known as one of the easier locations to find wallcreepers in Europe due to the rapid ascent made possible by the cable car. We almost regreted our decision as the queue for the cable car was huge and we had to wait about three hours for our ride up the mountain. We were entertained with red squirrels in the grounds of the cable car station, many different butterfly species, Griffon vultures overhead and Alpine Choughs circling the top cable-car station.

The ride up the mountain was worth the wait and the views were truly spectacular. As a rule on family holidays I keep the birding to the early morning and don't let it interfere with the holiday - but we were at the mirador at the top of the cable car station and I was half a mile walk from a wallcreeper site for **** sake. I was excused for what turned out to be about an hour as I made my way around to the scree slope documented in the guide book where the wallcreepers hang out. I walked slowly along the bottom of the scree slope looking up at the cliff face when a small passerine flew along the cliff. I though it must be the wallcreeper but after getting a good view in the bins it looked like a snow bunting - white with black wing tips. Then it dawned on me - Snowfinch! I had heard they were here but almost impossible to find in summer so this was real bonus. I watched it for about 30 minutes make several journeys to and from a ledge on the cliff. I could not get a good view of the ledge but it looked like it was taking food back to a nest.

I didn't see any Wallcreepers or for that matter any Alpine Accentors which I expected, however I didn't have long and had to get back to the others who were relaxing at the cable car station.

The journey back down in the cable car was equally spectacular.

We spent the last 3 nights on the coast at a forgettable campsite full of young, loud Spaniards. However it was situated in a spectacular cove with a great beach where me and Annie spent a couple of days body-boarding. Regrettably the Daniel Craig-esque images of me walking out of the surf didn't make the final cut.

The campsite was on a headland and although I was resisting the urge to get the binoculars out there was a notable passage of Black Kites along the coast with few lingering overnight around the campsite.

All in all, not bad for a non-birding holiday.

Griffon Vulture, Fuente De

Jersey Tiger, at the Campsite near Potes

The spectacular cable car at Fuente De

Alpine Chough, at the Mirador, Fuente De

Brimstone at the campsite

Piedmont Ringlet?, the Mirador Fuente De

Large White, at the campsite

(Iberian?) Marbled White, at the campsite

Clouded Yellow, at the Campsite

Common Blue, at the campsite

A snail at the campsite

Warton Crag, 16th June

Spent a very pleasant morning in warm and sunny weather at Warton Crag. Small heath and Northern Brown Argus butterflies were present in good numbers. Bird highlights included a couple of singing lesser whitethroats, 5 buzzard overhead and a peregrine in the quarry.

A quick visit to Leighton main reserve to check if the Great White Egret was out of hiding proved to be predictably fruitless.

All photos below taken on Warton crag.


Small heath


Small heath


Small heath


Northern Brown Argus


Northern Brown Argus



Northern Brown Argus


Northern Brown Argus


Cinnabar


Yellow shell moth

Brockholes Quarry 12th June 2009

Fairly quite on the bird front at the quarry. No hobby sightings whilst I was there today. There was at least a bit more going on with other winged creatures.

This teneral black-tailed skimmer was on the public footpath by No.1 pit


There were several banded demoiselle by the river and on the butterfly front over 20 speckled wood along the public footpath alone. Speckled wood in particular seem to be doing very well on site this year.
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Bowland Fells

I've spent a quite a few days in the Bowland Fells this month getting off the beaten track. I've been encouraged by the numbers of raptors that I've seen with regular sightings of peregrine, hen harrier, merlin and buzzard (can't say where exactly for obvious reasons). It also good to seen ravens increasing in Bowland, due no doubt to lower levels of persecution. I do wonder what the success of the raptors and ravens will mean for other moorland birds; there are no ring ouzels in the white greet area for example (although they are doing ok in other areas) and a regular quarry nest site in area is now occupied by ravens but with the ring ouzels absent for the first time in years. Could be chance, but maybe not.

This gorgeous whinchat and raven were both in the White Greet area. The grey wagtail and green hairstreak were at Cross of Greeet Bridge.