Bolton Abbey Dippers

This weekend we visited Bolton Abbey and enjoyed some fine sightings of Dippers on the River Wharfe. Andrea spotted one on her previous visit so we arrived at our destination hopeful but certainly didn't anticipate four separate sightings.

Dippers are fascinating to watch, when feeding for aquatic invertebrates they dive underwater staying submerged for 10 to 30 seconds at a time due to the fact that their blood has high levels of haemoglobin which increases their ability to store oxygen. We didn't manage to get any pics of the bird diving into the water but were pleased to come away with a few of the Dippers perched in the midst of the riverbed.

Also on the river this pair of Goosander male (front) and female (rear).

An unexpected pleasure to see this pair of Mandarin Duck travelling downstream.

A more familiar sight, Nuthatch are abundant throughout the woodland walk and are particularly easy to see at the stone shelters along the riverside walk where visitors leave seed for the birds. Other visitors included Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Chaffinch, Robin.

Warkworth

We stopped off at Warkworth for a cuppa and a stroll to the beach, within minutes of our walk we spotted a Roe Deer in a field adjacent to the beach road. It made its way slowly through the field & paused to feed in the hedgerow. Its coat matched the colour of the dock weeds dotted throughout the field.
Here its is to the far right of the pic almost hidden within the first patch of foliage and Coquet Island in the background (I like a bit of context now and again).

On the approach to the dunes this eye catching male Stonechat (thanks to Rambling Rob for very graciously alerting me to my initial bloomer)settled in a tree & then kindly perched atop the Public Footpath signpost.

As we walked up a steep North West facing dune the sun broke through and transformed the area into Butterfly central. Dotted with 12 or 14 Burnets a number of them in pairs, Small Whites fluttered around, a small blue butterfly flew at a distance, a couple of Small Skippers.

Small Skipper

6 Spot Burnet moth, Zygaena fillipendulae. Its a daytime flier, identified by 3 pairs of red spots on each wing. Caterpillars feed on trefoil and vetch which contain traces of cyanide, a nifty strategy to deter predators. The club shaped antennae can be seen clearly.

A patch of dainty Harebells

Large White, Pieris brassicae

A weather worn Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta on a flowering Teasel

On the borders of the marshland a Spinach moth Eulithus mellinata. The moth holds its wings at an angle to its body, with the hindwings virtually hidden behind the forewings.

On the banks of the River Coquet near the bridge. A mandarin duck Aix galericulata which I didn't notice it at first. What a pretty duck!