Tuesday 7 August 2018

Churwell Urban Woodlands

The woods had a brief reprieve when we had a couple of days of rain about 10 days ago, the pond filled up and some of the streams too.......not for long though!


There are birds everywhere at the moment and the new feeders and viewing screen is proving popular. You can just see a little of the stream from the screen and we watched a Blackbird and a Greenfinch drinking from it one morning.

Robin


Flowers by the dipping pond


One morning this female Blackcap was chirping in the bushes



There are a lot of young Tits - Great, Blue and Long-tailed, it's difficult to leave and go to work when you have the place to yourself and are surrounded by birds!

Blue Tit



Dunnock


I spotted a Song Thrush nest with at least one chick, the nest is empty now and my daughter spotted what looked like a fledgling nearby. 


Robin


Woodpigeon


Great Tit - the usual shot I get as the flocks don't stay still for long!


Long-tailed Tit


A Hedgehog 


Last week I had a day off so we took the extended walk around the woods, which takes you over the motorway bridge and by a couple of farms. I was doing a Big Butterfly Count along the way.

Speckled Wood


Green-veined White


Speckled Wood


I saw my my second Red Admiral of the year


The views are great 



Blackberries are starting to ripen but are still a little sour as my daughter found out!





Common Blue




Last year the Pit Hill fields at the end of the woods were fantastic for butterflies but of course there was the fire, which resulted in the whole lot being ploughed over. Although the grass has come back lots of the flowers that were full of butterflies and bugs has not, I don't know if that's partly down to the heat this year too but we didn't see a single butterfly which was really disappointing. I'm not sure it will ever be quite the same now.


This tiny flower, which I struggled to get a photo of was right in the middle of the path so maybe there is hope for the area......

Common Field-speedwell


On a happier note as we were walking in the field I could hear a bird calling and after a bit of searching managed to spot it on top of the bush........a Yellowhammer! I haven't seen one in a while and now it's a new patch tick, as we watched it another flew in and joined it, amazing!!


We watched until they flew off and we headed off back through the woods and home. My little patch just keeps throwing out surprises!

10 comments:

  1. It's always a treat to see a yellowhammer! Lovely post to read and I enjoyed seeing all the different species you saw.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely especially as I haven't seen one in about three years!

      Delete
  2. One of the great treats about being retired is that I don’t have to leave the birds and rush off to work. I never missed work for even a minute. It is hard for me to imagine people who claim to long for it. Now everything I do is related to nature. Everything I do is what gives me great pleasure with no schedules most of the time. And as Louise says above a Yellowhammer is very special.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It sound perfect David, though I'm a way off it myself yet, i'm looking forward to it!

      Delete
  3. So nice to see birds! I haven't been on a bird outing in a few weeks...just too hot and with baby birds all over the place it would send me into a tail spin...LoL. So good your patch is rewarding you for your efforts. I do hope the burned lot recovers, it could take several years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The temperatures have finally lowered a little here so it's not quite as bad now! I hope it recovers too, it's was such a butterfly/bug haven before.

      Delete
  4. It looks a wonderful place to walk and you had some great sightings especially the butterflies :) Well done on the yellowhammer - such lovely birds and always a treat to see one :) Such a shame about the fire - hopefully the fields will recover given time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was so pleased to see the Yellowhammers! We'll see with the fields, such a contrast to last year :(

      Delete
  5. Lovely to see so many birds and butterflies spotted and a hedgehog too! Haven't seen one of those for ages:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're still getting a Hedgehog sometimes two in the garden on an evening :)

      Delete