Wednesday 30th April 2008

Sunny Spells, ( Showers pm ), E 2

No sign of either Grasshopper, Sedge or Reed Warbler at Cortonwood this morning, but half a dozen Swift & a single House Martin were patch year ticks. The first brood ( 5 goslings ) of Canada Geese were seen.
Not as many Butterflies as yesterday ( which i forgot to mention ), 1 male Orange Tip, 4 Peacock ( 16 yesterday ), 1 Comma & 3 Speckled Wood. The Orange Tip posed really well, with wings wide open, but it was one of those days where i was a bit on the fumbly side ( i even managed to accidently drop my notebook in a large puddle ).
The only pic i did get, was of this Hoverfly " Dasysyrphus tricinctus ". Many thanks to Lez Round for the identification ;



Called in at Broomhill Flash to see the adult Black Tern, that`s been present there for the last 3 days. It showed really well as it fed over the water. Very handsome bird indeed. Probably my favourite of all the commoner Terns.

Back at home, i got to see nature in the raw. Watched a Carrion Crow land on top of a conifer, where a pair of Collared Doves have a nest. Yes, you know what`s coming. It grabbed a fully fledged youngster and carried it off to a nearby rooftop and the rest is history as they say ( well, it was for the unfortunate Colly ).

As you can see, there`s only the 1 photo today. So here`s a couple that i held back from the weekend ;


Small Tortoiseshell ( my garden )


Archangel ( my garden )

( relevant ) Year Lists ;
Cortonwood - 90 ( Swift, House Martin ) ( will i reach 100 by the year end ? )
Dearne Valley - 115 ( Black Tern )

Tuesday 29th April 2008

Sunny, ( Light Showers pm ), S/SE 2>3

A Fieldfare W over my garden this morning was my latest ever spring record. The Wombwell garden has finally produced a few things, after a couple of blankish weeks ;

Pale Tussock ( a first of the year )


Speckled Wood ( 1 of 3 )




Mythropa florea


Solomons Seal


Cortonwood produced a couple of year ticks, with a Sedge Warbler singing from the island, on the lake & a Reed Warbler singing from the Post Office Pond. The Grasshopper Warbler continues to sing from the same area as yesterday.


Cootlet


Mitrophora semilibera ( 1 of 4 )

The above is a new species of Fungi for me. Surprised i did`nt see them yesterday.

Back at home, my first Hobby of the year went over the garden at 1:57pm, heading towards Old Moor.
Had an hour at the Old Moor this evening, but there was`nt much doing. Quite a few wader species about : Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Dunlin & Common Sandpiper.

Year Lists ;
Moths - 24 ( Pale Tussock )
Cortonwood - 88 ( Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler )
Garden - 67 - ( Hobby )
Dearne Valley - 114 ( Sedge Warbler, Hobby )

Monday 28th April 2008

Sunshine & Showers, SW 2>3 easing

Cortonwood produced my first Gropper ( Grasshopper Warbler, to anyone not in the know ) of the year. The bird was heard reeling from the western slope of the spoil heap. Although it did`nt take long to find the exact bush it was singing from, it took about 20 mins to get the pic ( not a very good one at that ) ;



Other highlights from here this morning, were : pair of Little Ringed Plover, 2 Lesser Whitethroat & a couple more flowering things ;


Ramsons


Bittersweet


Apple

Not a lot from home, 3 Swift & 2 House Martin blogging about this evening. The real highlight however, was that the Goldfinch have finally found my Nyjer Seed feeder ;

" Smart Birds "




( relevant ) Year lists latest ;
Cortonwood - 86 ( Gropper )
Dearne Valley - 112 ( Gropper )

Sunday 27th April 2008

Rain clearing to Sunny Spells, Thundery Showers, S/SW 1

Dearne Valley birding was put on hold today, due to it being a Pony Club rally. So, the day was spent at Rawmarsh. Nothing to report on the bird-front, but i did manage a couple of pics from the Stubbin area ;


Banded Snail


Cow Parsley ? ( i`m hopeless at Umbellifers )


Greater Stitchwort

Another good day at the Pony Club. Storm decided to take Saffie this time & unfortunately Saffie was up to her usual tricks and made several refusals in the 10 & unders jumping. However, she made up for it in the gymkhana by coming first.
Rudi, on the other hand got joint first ( again ) in the same jumping class. Merrylegs, her pony, is`nt half nimble for a 20 year old. And to finish off, Rudi also passed both her D & D+ test ;


Storm & Saffie


Rudi & Merrylegs


Yellow Dung Fly ( obviously loads of that about )

Talking of Rawmarsh. Last year, this village was "allegedly" a Raptor hotspot, but now it seems that it`s the Waders turn this year.

Be good to get back on the patch tomorrow.

Saturday 26th April 2008

Hazy Sunshine, SW 2>3

Not a bad day, with a few year ticks added to various lists.
The first of which came from Cortonwood, with 2 Oystercatchers W ( my 105th patch species ). Not a lot else though, with the best being : 2 Whitethroat, singles of both Song Thrush & Great Tit, nest building. Also, one of the Canada Geese was seen to be sporting an alloy BTO ring. Will try and get the ring number if and when it leaves the island.


Mallard

A couple of hours at home, produced 2 more firsts of the year. My first Ringed Plover from the garden, flew over ( calling ) heading SW. The other first of the year, was a Green-veined White butterfly. Other highlights were : 1 Swift, 8 Cormorant W, + singles of Small Tortoiseshell & Peacock ;


Green-veined White

My ( knobhead ) neighbour ( Gordon Williams - named & shamed ) is up to his old tricks again. I saw him pick something up from his garden and then he started to shove a House Mouse under my gate. Of course i confronted him over his actions and many expletives were exchanged. We`ve been on a running battle for about 9 years now, he even blamed me for Woodpigeons leaving the woods. God!!! i ask you, how F****** stupid is that. Honestly, he thinks he`s lord of the manor.





Decided to have a walk to cool off a bit. Just a short foray to the Gypsy Marsh, where i had my first Orange Tip of the year. Did`nt get a pic of that, but i did photograph these ;


Lady`s Smock


Common Field Speedwell

Back at home ( again ), i had a Speckled Wood and the Swifts have increased to 5 birds.

Year Lists ;
Cortonwood - 85 ( Oystercatcher )
Garden - 66 ( Ringed Plover )
Butterflies - 7 ( Green-veined White )

Friday 25th April 2008

Cloudy, Light Showers, SW 1>2

Cortonwood produced my first Lesser Whitethroat of the year, but that was about it. The male Common Whitethroat continues to sing from the same area as the last 2 days.

Don`t know why, but i had a walk along the side of the Dearne Valley Parkway at Hemingfield. A Lesser Whitethroat was also seen here. Then, in the ditch that runs adjacent, i found a clump of flowers that i`d never seen before, but i happened to figure out that they were a Snowflake species. Took a couple of pics, then went home to check through my wildflower guide. They are none other than the rare Summer Snowflake.
I then let Mike ( Richardson ) know. He soon arrived to pick me up, to show him exactly where they were. Really beautiful plants, in having at least 3 flower heads to each stem ;





Mike then asked if i wanted to go through to Potteric Carr, to see a Morel that he found yesterday. Can`t remember its exact ( latin) name, but it was a monster, the biggest morel i`ve ever seen ;





As you can see, not a lot on the bird-front today, but nevertheless it was still a good one.

Year Lists ;
Cortonwood - 84
Dearne Valley - 111

Thursday 24th April 2008

Rain clearing to Sunshine & Showers, W/SW 2

Managed to get Yellow Wagtail onto the garden year list, this morning. A single bird flew W at 6:50am.

The rain failed to dump anything new at Cortonwood, with the only notables being : 1 Whitethroat, 2 Grey Wagtails & a 2nd pair of Moorhen nest building.


Pied Wagtail

A friend of ours found a Pipistrelle on the floor, on Monday. She rang the RSPCA, and the only advice they gave her was to feed it. The problem with it is that it can`t/won`t fly. The wing membranes are intact and it seems lively enough.
I rattled a few pictures off, but as it was indoors and not wanting to use the flash ( for obvious reasons ), they did`nt turn out too well. So i only salvaged the one shot ;



Very quiet back at home, with only the following worth mentioning ;


Tawny Mining Bee


Shining Cranesbill

Garden year list - 65 ( Yellow Wagtail )

It`s got to that time of year again, when i`m more than ready for our annual holiday. Only 5 to weeks to go.

Wednesday 23rd April 2008

Murky, Light Rain ( am ), clearing to Sunshine, W 1>2

Another good day was had, with a few year ticks here & there.
A pair of Teal SW over the garden at 6:40am & a Swift blogging around at 7:15am.


Blackbird

Sometimes bad weather is a good thing, especially when it forces a few migrants down. As was the case at Cortonwood this morning. Cracking males of both Yellow & White Wagtails feeding around the lake, were both new species for the patch. The latter does`nt actually count on the current tally, as it`s the nominate race of Pied Wagtail and not a different species. Nevertheless, the Yellow was my 104th species to be recorded at Cortonwood.
The only other notables were : Whitethroat (still singing from the same area of scrub as yesterday ), 2 Grey Wagtails & 1 Green Woodpecker.


Looking W from the spoil heap


Oxford Ragwort

Back at home, the Swift was still around. At one point it landed below the guttering on a neighbouring house, but the owner has had new suffit & fascia fitted. So they won`t be nesting in that one this year.
Not much else, apart from a few Greenfinch ;


female

Had an hour down at the Old Moor, late afternoon. This reserve produced another year tick, in the form of a cracking adult Little Gull. There was also a drake Garganey present on Wath Ings, but it decided to do the disappearing act while i was there. Not to worry, there`ll be others to be seen.
On the way home, i happened upon 2 Speckled Wood butterflies, by the Knollbeck ( another first of the year ) ;



Year Lists - latest ;
Garden - 64 ( Teal )
Cortonwood - 83 ( Yellow Wagtail )
Dearne Valley - 110 ( Little Gull )
Butterflies - 5 ( Speckled Wood )

Tuesday 22nd April 2008

Low Cloud ( am ), Sunny ( pm ), E/SE 3

It was glorious at 6:00am, but then an hour later, the low cloud rolled in. Anyway, it brightened up eventually.
A morning visit to Cortonwood produced my first Whitethroat of the year. Not much else about, with the only notables being both Moorhen & Wren nest building.


Skylark - a bit too distant

Again spent the rest of the day at home, where the main highlight was a Swift feeding over the garden for c20 mins at 11.40am. Another first of the year came in the form of an Angle Shades, that i found resting up, on my Corsican Hellebore.


Angle Shades


Peacock


Bittercress


Dusky Cranesbill


Green Alkanet

Year Lists - update ;
Cortonwood - 82 ( Whitethroat )
Garden - 63 ( Swift )
Dearne Valley - 109 ( Whitethroat, Swift )
Moths - 23 ( Angle Shades )

A bit of the wet stuff forecast tomorrow ( for a change ;)

Monday 21st April 2008

Overcast ( am ), Sunny ( pm ), E 3>4

No sign of the Great Crested Grebes at Cortonwood this morning. The only highlight being a pair of Grey Wagtails nest building.


Honesty


Common Dog Violet ( not for id purposes )

Decided to spend the rest of the day at home, where i had my first garden House Martin of the year. The Kestrel continues to hover directly over the garden. Other notables were all of the butterfly kind : an unidentified White sp, 1 Comma & 2 Peacock ;

Kestrel




Peacock




Garden year list - 62 ( House Martin )

Apparently, tomorrow`s forecast to be proper spring-like. Bring it on :)

Sunday 20th April 2008

Overcast, Rain, E 2>3

What god awful miserable weather. The day was only brightened up by 2 Common Terns flying SW over Cortonwood ( patch year tick ). Other than that, it was the same as usual, with the Great Crested Grebes still present ( they seem to like it here ) and there are now 3 Pairs of Canada Geese nesting.


Canada


Canada hybrid


Coot - sitting tight on eggs

Really hoping tomorrow`s weather is`nt as bad.

Cortonwood ( year list ) - 81 ( Common Tern )

Saturday 19th April 2008

Cloudy, E 4

It`s been a week, since i added anything to my year lists. So it was about time i had a bit of luck and today was no exception.
Started the day off around Manvers Lake and what a start it was. At 08.05 i got onto 2 COMMON CRANES that were coming over the Old Moor and were heading towards Bolton Ings and they kept on going East. WOW!! F***ING WOW!!! could`nt believe my eyes. Of course, the adrenalin kicked in and by the end of it i was a quivering mess. Very surprised the guys at RBA could understand a word i was saying when i phoned the news in ( unbeknown to me, they were seen on the ground at Wombwell Ings 30 mins earlier ). These birds were obviously the same 2 that were reported flying N over the Sheffield area yesterday evening.
Other firsts of the year from here were a House Martin, that was in with about 300 Sand Martins + a Reed Warbler that was singing from a stand of Phragmites. Also had my first Black Swan of the year ( below ) ;





Called back home for an hour and after my heart rate got back to something like normal, i set out for Cortonwood. The pair of Great Crested Grebes were still present and they were the only birds of note.


Garlic Mustard

2 Common Terns W over the garden at 3:20pm, were a relevant year tick. Nothing much else happening, so at 5:00pm i decided to have an hour down at the Old Moor, where i added another 3 species to the year list. Singles of both Common Sandpiper & Ringed Plover and 5 Yellow Wagtails. Other notables from here were : 5 Little Ringed Plover, 3 Common Tern & a pair of Wigeon.

Year Lists - latest ;
DEARNE VALLEY - 107 ( Common Crane, Reed Warbler, House Martin, Common Tern, Common Sandpiper, Ringed Plover, Yellow Wagtail )
GARDEN - ( Common Tern )

Don`t suppose tomorrow will be as productive. But i won`t be bothered if it is`nt, the Common Cranes will take some beating :)

Friday 18th April 2008

Cloudy, E 3>4

Todays highlights;

Cortonwood : Great Crested Grebe ( pair ) & 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Mistle Thrush : My Garden




Wentworth Estate : 28 Great Crested Grebe, 3 Cormorant, 2 Common Tern, c200 Sand Martin, 4 House Martin & c100 Swallow.


Marsh Marigold

Stubbin ( Rawmarsh ) : Snakeshead Fritillary ;





Although the Common Terns & House Martins were my first of the year, they don`t qualify for any of my year lists.

Thursday 17th April 2008

Cloudy, Showers, Sunny Spells, E 2>3

The weather`s taken a step back ( again ) and it`s not set to get any better for the next few days. I suppose we should be thankful for the Easterlies though. Trouble is they have`nt brought anything my way.
Another tedious day, with the pair of Great Crested Grebes being the only noteworthy sighting from Cortonwood.
Nothing from my garden, apart from a couple of pics ;


Carrion Crow


Magpie


Bumble sp

Wednesday 16th April 2008

Murky, Showers, E 1>2

Nothing much today folks. A single Swallow flew N over the garden this morning. I was hoping this grotty weather had forced something new down at Cortonwood, but no!!!. The pair of Great Crested Grebes were still present and were the best species on offer.

Spent the afternoon post & rail fencing again, so did`nt get the chance to watch from the garden. Sorry no pics from today, so you`ll have to make do with a couple of Starlings from the garden, on Monday ;

Tuesday 15th April 2008

Frost, Sunshine & Heavy Showers, Light W 1>2

While having my breakfast at 6:30am, i caught a glimpse of something dropping into the garden. A look through the kitchen window, revealed a pair of Mallard waddling around the garden. At one point they even had a swim in my modestly small pond. Very bizarre ( did`nt get a pic of that though, the kids trampoline was in the way ) ;


( through the kitchen window )



Cortonwood : the pair of Great Crested Grebe`s were still present. The best of the rest were, a single Great Spotted Woodpecker and the 4th breeding pair of Coot. This pair had 3 very fresh youngsters in tow.

Great Crested Grebe`s



( painted )

4 Avocets on Bolton Ings this afternoon. Trouble was, i was stuck in a field helping Richard ( a farmer friend of ours ) with some post & rail fencing. Same again tomorrow, but in our pony field. Not too bothered about missing the Avocets. They might stick around, but if they don`t, i`m pretty sure there will be more to connect with.

And last but by no means least. I`ve been contacted by a guy from Sweden ( Marcus Voellmy ). He`s been searching for a photo of a Globeflower, and he found mine from last year. He is going to work from it as part of an art project. He`s promised that he`ll send me a picture of the finished article, but it won`t be an exact replica. Can`t wait to see his interpretation. When he does email it to me, i will of course display it on here.

Monday 14th April 2008

Frost, Sunshine & Showers, N/NW 1>3

The pair of Great Crested Grebes were still present at Cortonwood, this morning. That was it apart from a couple of Leps : Eriocrania subpurpurella, 2 Small Tortoiseshell & a single Comma ;


E.subpurpurella


Small Tortoiseshell


Daisy`s

Again, nothing of interest from the garden.


Collared Dove

It`s about time vis-migging ( visible migration ) got itself into gear. Fed up with seeing empty skies.

Sunday 13th April 2008

Cloudy, Showers, Light N

A pair of Great Crested Grebe`s were new in at Cortonwood this morning. These were my only 2nd record of this species for my patch. The first one was of a single bird, back in February 2006.

Nothing worth mentioning from my garden & no pics at all today. It`s just been too damn dark & miserable.

Cortonwood yeear list - 80

Saturday 12th April 2008

Sunshine & Showers, Breezy W

Dunnock




Linnet


Honesty - White variety ( garden escape )


Field Pansy


All the above were photographed at Cortonwood this morning. That was about it really, with the only highlight being a ( completed ) Long-tailed Tits nest.

Very quiet from the garden, with the only notable being 1 Stock Dove.

Hope tomorrow brings some better results.

Friday 11th April 2008

Cloudy ( Sunny Spells, Showers pm ), Light>Breezy SW

The run of decent birds came to a halt today. No sign of any Wheatears at Cortonwood this morning. In fact there was`nt much at all, apart from the usual Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers & Blackcap.

Back at home, the main highlight was my first garden Swallow of the year, with a single bird over, heading W.


Stock Dove


House Sparrow - male


Red-tailed Bumble sp

Regards yesterdays Sparrow. I`ve had a couple of feedbacks ( thanks Mike & Paul ), they both say it is a Tree Sparrow, but also agree that it is an odd looking one.

Garden Year List - 60 ( Swallow )

Thursday 10th April 2008

Frosty, Sunny, ( Showery pm ), Light S

A bit of an Invert theme today. A visit to the Wombwell garden this morning produced my 22nd moth of the year, with the micro Eriocrania subpurpurella. Did`nt actually get a shot, but i got a couple of pics of other things.


Eupeodes corollae ( thanks to Lez Round for the id )


Andrena haemorrhea

The only bird news from here, were pairs of both Goldfinch & Chaffinch, nest building.

Then onto Cortonwood and can you believe it ( i could`nt ), there were 3 Wheatears ( 2 male/1 female ) on the spoil heap at 11:00am. These birds were nowhere as obliging as yesterday`s.
That was about it bird wise.
3 butterfly species were seen, but only 2 photographed ;


Small White


Comma
The other was a Peacock.

Back at home, the pair of Stock Doves made several visits. I was just about to take a few pics, when this little chap dropped in. It may look like a Tree Sparrow, but look closer. I`m pretty sure this is a Tree x House Sparrow hybrid. Any experienced birders out there, please feel free to comment on this one ;



Regards the Stock Doves. With all the visits they`re making to the garden, i thought they must be nesting somewhere nearby. At 6:30 my suspicions were confirmed, when the 2 adults arrived with a youngster in tow. My first fledgling of any species for 2008.


Lesser Black-backed Gull ( 1 of the 2 birds from yesterday )

Wednesday 9th April 2008

Frosty, Sunshine & Showers, Light W

A mid-morning visit to Cortonwood produced my patch dream bird. It`s only took just over 2 years and f*** me ( pardon my French, but it does`nt take a lot to get me excited ), it was well worth waiting for ;

"You BEAUTY"

Wheatear - male ( species number 103, for the patch )

It showed really well on a pile of boulders at the top of the spoil heap at 10:55am. Talk about hitting my G-Spot. Wooooh!!!
Other highlights : 2 Lttle Ringed Plover, 5 Sand Martin, 1 Blackcap & 3 Willow Warbler.


Pied Wagtail - female

It happened again. What happened again ? A Red Kite ( this time ) went W over Old Moor at 5:30pm. This would have come straight over the house. Problem was, i was in the bath at the time. That`s it, from now on, daylight hours are strictly for birding. I can always have my next bath when the clocks go back an hour, towards the end of the year :)
So i had to make do with the pair of Stock Dove ( feeding again ) & 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, over.

Year lists ;
Cortonwood - 79 ( Wheatear )
Dearne Valley - 100 ( Wheatear )

Tuesday 8th April 2008

Cloudy, Light Showers ( Sunny Spells pm ), Light S/SW

The day started with a garden year tick. A couple of Lesser Redpoll landed ( briefly ) in my Silver Birch, before flying off N.

A visit to the Wombwell garden produced only my 2nd Brambling of the year. Other highlights from here were : 1 Tawny Owl ( calling ), 3 Redwing W & 4 Jay.


Goldfinch

Cortonwood was as lifeless as yesterday.


Forget me Not`s

Back at home, very little about & nothing moving overhead. The Blackbird with the damaged beak looks healthier than it did when i first saw it the other week ;



I`ll finish this post with a Racing Pigeon that i found dead at West Melton, this evening. One of its rings had a telephone number on it. It turns out it was from Ripley, Derbyshire. The owners seemed very grateful that i`d gone to the trouble to let them know about it.

Garden year list - 59 ( Lesser Redpoll )

Monday 7th April 2008

Wintry Showers, Light N/NW

Think today will be remembered for what i did`nt see rather than what i did see. I`ll explain.
I was out this morning when i got a pager message of an Osprey flying N over Old Moor at 09.40. There`s every chance that this bird would have been seen from my garden. BUGGER!!!

Then while at Cortonwood i got onto a Treecreeper. Problem was, it was about 5 metres out of my recording area, just across the road at Smithy Bridge ( Hemingfield ). I spent about 10 minutes willing it to fly across to my patch, but no, it went the other way. This would have been a new species for me at Cortonwood. Double BUGGER!!!.


Canada Geese


Coot - 3rd pair now nesting


Black-headed Gull

Back at home, it was very quiet, save for a Kestrel hovering over the garden. And then to cap it all off, at 18.20 i looked up and saw a large bird circling way up in the clouds. Thinking it could have been a raptor of some description, i went in and got my bins. By the time i got back out it had stopped soaring and was making its way N. I immediately saw that it was a Corvid, and judging by its size & deep lazy wingbeats, i knew it could have been a Raven. Could`nt get any other key identification features. Treble BUGGER!!! So not being 100% sure, i`m not claiming it ( i`m no STRINGER, but i know someone who is ;).


Kestrel

Sunday 6th April 2008

Icy, Sunny ( am ), Clouding over with Wintry Showers ( pm ), Breezy N

Out onto the patch ( Cortonwood ) early this morning. Trouble was there was`nt much about, with the best being 1 blackcap, 4 Goosander N & several Reed Buntings.
The only obvious nesting birds so far, are 2 pairs of Coot & a pair of Canada Geese.

Reed Bunting




Then it was down to the Manvers area. Plenty of Sand Martins ( 100+ ) over the lake, along with 2 Swallow, but no hoped for House Martins yet. The only other notable was 5 Willow Warbler.


Cowslip

Nothing from the garden during the rest of the day, but it was good to see the male Blackbird ( with the damaged beak ) still around.

Saturday 5th April 2008

Wintry Showers, Light>Blustery N

Headless chicken syndrome this morning. I just did`nt know what site to visit, what with the weather. In the end i decided upon Cortonwood.
On approaching the lake, i was very surprised to see a grounded Pink-footed Goose. Not sure if this was a genuine wild bird or a feral one. It did however, appear very wary, choosing to stick to the middle of the lake. Hence the rather poor shots ;





The only other highlights from here, were : 2 Grey Wagtail and singles of both Blackcap & Willow Warbler.

The rest of the day was spent at home, where the only notables were : Peregrine 1 N at 16.50 & a leucistic Collared Dove. The latter was seen on a couple of occasions but each time it kept getting hassled by a pair of everyday Collared`s.