A party of 50+ Redwings briefly stopped off at Caldene Fields this morning before moving off to the N/W.
The happy Frogs…
On our local patch the first recorded Frog Spawn was on the 18/3…
Red Kite over Tong…
Not in my recording area but had excellent views of a hunting Red Kite at nearby Tong village at 15.00 on 15/3
Early spring sightings…
During the last couple of days springs seems to have jumped into life as high pressure settles over the country bringing milder temperatures and sunny periods. The local wild has responded.
A Skylark was observed flying N over Caldene Fields on 12/3 suggesting it was returning from spending the winter further south. The first butterfly a Small Tortoiseshell was seen today with at least 3 queen Bumblebees nearby and 4 Smooth Newts were observed at the pond at Raw Nook Nr.
Contrasting days…
Yesterday morning the weather was cold with bright sunshine and I noticed early spring was in the air as Mistle Thrush, Robin and Dunnocks all sang their hearts out. Today there was no signs of early spring as heavy winter snow enveloped the landscape.
A snowy Toad Holes Beck, bleak but beautiful at the same time. Sadly because of the driving snow very little wildlife was observed.
That is apart from a single Canada Goose at Toad Holes Beck and an additional single Coot that appeared at the pond at Caldene Fields
Robins on the Spen Valley Greenway…
You can start the Spen Valley Greenway walk to Cleckheaton from the southern side of Raw Nook Nr. So whilst I do not record in the Greenway I thought today it would be interesting to see what I could find whilst walking the two and a quarter miles to Cleckheaton. Due to the time of year birds were the only species I was looking for.
A total of 22 different species were recorded. Which is not really a great total, however I gathered some valuable information firstly rating to the Bullfinch which is appears to be common on the Greenway as well as Toad Holes Beck. But the biggest surprise was the abundance of the Robin an excellent total of 32 were recorded in a space of two and a quarter miles which shows how well the species is doing in the surrounding area.
Bullfinches doing well…
There were at least 5 Bullfinches at Toad Holes Beck this morning, 2 pairs and a single male so 2016 could be another good breeding season for the species.
Another male Goosander has joined the pair at Toad Holes Beck.
Low Moor C.E. Primary School visit Raw Nook nature reserve…
This morning at Raw Nook NR I had just finished photographing a really nice selection of Scarlet Elf Cup mushrooms which I have not seen before at the site when I saw a group of school children and their teachers from Low Moor primary school walking towards me.
I engaged in conversation with one of the teachers to find out that they had come down to their local nature reserve to learn about water courses and that a second class was attending later in the day…
As I walked away still hearing the children’s happy voices as they enjoyed learning about their local environment and ecology I thought how brilliant it was that now local schools are now taking advantage of this wonderful local nature reserve.
Further down in Toad holes Beck there was a pair of Goosander that had just flown in.
Pink-footed geese…
Two skeins of 186 Pink-footed geese flew N/W over Caldene Fields this morning.
A bonus from the wet weather !
Caldene Fields thankfully are not flooded but they are very very wet and muddy. However, certain bird species are taking advantage of these conditions with large quantities of invertebrate now available.
This morning I recorded 21 Pied wagtails feeding in the mud..a record count for the site. Also a single Lesser Black Backed gull, 4 Common Gull 21 Black Headed Gulls and 18 Jackdaw also took advantage of the easy meals..
There was a Kingfisher and 12 Siskin at Toad Holes Beck and yesterday 5 Linnets fed at Caldene Fields.
A total of 32 species were recorded today.
