Crocus and Commas
At long last five days of constant sunshine with a maximum temperature of 27°C which is a local record for the 1st October. There has been a massive increase in the number of butterflies with nine Commas,seven Small Tortoiseshell, three Speckled Woods, three Red Admiral and two Small Copper on Hopwood but strangely enough […]
Fly Agaric Bonanza
There is little doubt that September is the best month of the year for fungi. On Hopwood this week there have been the best examples of Fly Agaric that I have ever seen. Also present this week there has been a continual passage of Swallows and House Martins with more Siskins arriving all the time. […]
Grey Phalarope Sorte
On the 12th I received word that the gale had blown a Grey Phalarope inland to Ashworth Moor reservoir on Owd Betts. As I didn’t think I would be able to obtain any film of the bird in the strong wind I decided to wait until first light on the 13th when, in calmer conditions, […]
Magpie Record
Despite the fact that no food is now being placed in the garden we had a record four Magpies together on one day. Coal Tits and Wren have also been seen but sadly a Collared Dove has died of the disease this week so it looks like it is going to take some time to […]
Reflective Heron
This week’s photo is of a Heron that I filmed on the Rochdale Canal in Castleton. Normally Herons can be wary birds but this one would tolerate being looked at from across the canal. It was the best day of the week weather wise and the Heron produced some good reflections as it patiently hunted […]
Feeding Suspended
The entries for the last two weeks about the record numbers of birds in the garden all pale into insignificance with the outbreak of Trichomonosis amongst the finches. The last straw came with both male and female Bullfinch becoming infected and I was able to pick up the female to save it from being taken […]
Garden Takeaway
I wished I hadn’t mentioned in recent weeks about the lack of young Sparrowhawks this year as this week we have been plagued by them. An adult male Sparrowhawk has taken up residence and in one week he has been seen to capture six finches from the garden. To make matters worse he was accompanied […]
One Good Day
This week we have had only one decent Summer’s day but at least the butterflies have made full use of it. On Hopwood there were many Speckled Woods flitting about the glades with at least one Peacock for company. The photo above of two Graylings was taken in North Lancashire a little earlier. I have […]
Sparrowhawks Fledge
Just when I thought it was going to be a blank year for breeding Sparrowhawks along came three young in Hopwood Woods that were being fed, very noisily, by two adults. I have yet to locate the nest that they have fledged from but at this stage they do not move very far from the […]
Adders Galore
Taking a break from the search for the Hobbies I visited my old site for Adders during the week and was not disappointed. Six Adders were seen including four females together in some rushes alongside a drystone wall. I returned several times to film the interaction between these females and was surprised to find that […]