Lawnswood Cemetery Sightings

During a sunny interval at Lawnswood Cemetery we spotted this Peacock basking graveside, I guess the stone retains some heat as they often perch on the stonework.

A Jay, a bird often seen at the Cemetery, seemed unperturbed by our presence as we stood still to watch it hop from stone to stone for a good few minutes.

Whilst watching the Jay, a Nuthatch flew onto a nearby tree and proceeded to check out gaps in the tree trunk. We watched it remove leaves lodged in the nooks and crannies presumably searching for a tasty snack. Here you can see it tossing aside a leaf removed from the split in the trunk.

Nuthatch at Goldenacre Park

We watched a pair of Nuthatch work their way around the trunk of a fallen conifer at Goldenacre Park near the Arthington Road entrance.

Adel Dam Nature Reserve

On Sunday afternoon we jumped on the bus to Goldenacre Park, how cold it was or rather how cold I was, words cannot convey. Discomfort aside we headed for Adel Dam, a local Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserve. The Marsh Hide feeders were busy with smaller woodland birds including of a pair of Bullfinch, Nuthatch, Robin, Blue Tits, Long Tail Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, along with a sorry looking Magpie, Blackbird, a pair of Moor Hen, and 6 Squirrels, though sadly no sign of the Great Spotted Woodpecker today.

From the second hide, overlooking Adel Dam, only the far reaches of the dam remained unfrozen, kept clear by the current of the inflowing Adel Beck. An assortment of footprints were visible across the frozen surface.

From the left, flying low, heading directly for the unfrozen patch of water zipped the electric blue of a Kingfisher, our first ever sighting of the bird here at Adel Dam. This pic is taken at a distance, but its plumage colouration is unmistakable, it perched here for a few minutes before heading off, hopefully with better luck elsewhere, according to the RSPB website they're particularly vulnerable to hard winters. 

As the Kingfisher made its exit, on the far bank we could just make out the profile of a Roe Deer, well camouflaged amongst the snow and bare branches.

 

Having endured enough of the cold temperatures made worse by sitting still in the hide for a few minutes, we followed the woodland trail back through the reserve and found this fungi.  I'm guessing its Pleurotus sp. Buff coloured, convex cap, the gills are cream coloured and decurrent, growing in abundant clumps on a deciduous stump. Any help with the ID would be greatly appreciated.

Kirkstall Abbey & the banks of the River Aire

On Saturday afternoon we wandered down to Kirkstall Abbey stopping off at the Abbey House Museum Cafe for a mid-walk lunch which was delicious as ever. The park was uncharacteristically empty, covered with a layer of snow that had fallen in the early hours of Saturday morning.  Following the curved path down towards the river a pair of Pied Wagtail bobbed around thawed patches of ground and 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker flew overhead.

On the River Aire were 6 Goosander, familiar winter visitors to this stretch of the river, a group of 4 upstream and a pair further downstream that eventually joined the main bunch. Whilst gazing along the river, a Kingfisher zipped upstream a metre or so from the near bank.

Suddenly the two Great Spotted Woodpecker re-appeared, noisily chasing each other from tree to tree.

The cold started to kick in so we headed back towards the Abbey, in the branches of a Sycamore a mixed group of small birds were feeding, comprising Blue Tit, Long Tail Tit, Dunnock, Chaffinch and the first time I've seen a Wren in such a group.

A Nuthatch flew into view and landed at the base of this trunk making its way upwards in a spiral motion.

As we were about to leave the park we spotted movement in a Yew tree  situated at the boundary wall next to the gate. We counted approximately 8 birds, a mixed bunch of Thrush and Blackbirds were feeding on the berries, we managed a few pics and quickly left them in peace to continue feeding on the berries, no doubt a welcome source of food in these wintery conditions.

Beckett Park Lunchtime Woodland Wander

Yesterday lunchtime the earlier blue skies and sunshine had become slightly overcast so I opted for a nearby woodland walk. Almost immediately I heard the calls of a Nuthatch, as it scoured the nooks and crannies of a tree stump. Blue Tits and Long Tailed Tit zipped around the treetops above and a Robin perched nearby.

With fleeting glimpses of sunshine I headed towards a clearing, hoping for better light and the vague possibility of some butterfly action. Listening to what might have been a Bullfinch I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. It winded its way in my direction and landed nearby, a familiar woodland friend the Speckled Wood, this one identifiable due to two diagonal scars on its upper left forewing.




A second Speckled Wood strayed into its territory and the two set off on a duel, disappearing into the woodland. Moments afterwards the original butterfly returned to settle in almost the same spot presumably content with its victory.

As it flew away again I looked up to see a Blue Tit watching me from above.

On my return another Speckled Wood flew past me shoulder to settle on the right of the path, a notably different Speckled Wood with a more saturated ground colour and much bolder markings.

As I turned and stood I heard a call to my and caught a glimpse of a Treecreeper in the process of working its way up a trunk, another satisfying lunchtime wander.

St Chads Churchyard

St Chad's was a sunny haven this afternoon and on stepping into the churchyard almost immediately a pair of Jays flew overhead. Both birds carried twigs, landing briefly in view before settling safely out of sight.

High up on a neighbouring tree, a Nuthatch called out loudly, and sat amongst the bursting buds preening itself in the sunshine.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker flew overhead, Robin and Dunnock darted between the hedgerows, a pair of male and female Blackbirds collected worms from the grassland, and a Blue Tit continually flew to and from a nestbox. To my delight my first Speckled Wood butterfly of the year landed smack bang in front of me and darted off as soon as I lifted my camera, the other butterfly sighting an unidentified white.

I noticed this plant growing through the grass on my previous visit, its Field Wood-rush or Good Friday Grass (Luzula campestris) so named as it emerges around Easter time. It is relatively short, between 5 cm - 15 cm in height, has three to six stemmed clusters of flowers. Its common on grassland in acid conditions, and spreads via short stolons and seed.

Beckett Park woodland sightings

Yesterday, during a lunchtime wander through Beckett Park woodland I spotted a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Bullfinch, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Mistle Thrush, Robin, Great Tit, Jay, Chaffinch and Goldfinch. Around campus I caught sight of another Nuthatch on a Beech tree adorned with emerging buds and still bearing last years fruit.

The most exciting sighting of the day was a Comma on the wing, it made off too quickly for me to get a pic, so Ive included a photo of a Comma feeding on a Verbena that I took up at Goldenacre Park last October. It appeared in a boggy area of woodland which apparently is a preferred habitat for the species. The Yorkshire Branch of Butterfly Conservation has a recent sightings page and I noticed that a Brimstone and Peacock were also seen in Headingley yesterday afternoon. With good weather on the way this weekend perhaps we can look forward to more appearances, fingers crossed.

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.