Wharfedale Wildlife Weekly (20th May 2013)

Last week’s weather played out like a typical English Summer’s day… Rain being the predominant feature, with just enough sunshine to keep the optimistic hopeful!

As I had to go London for a few days last week, I didn’t have as much time to discover Burley’s wildlife but I still managed to squeeze some wildlife, slash walks, slash photography in…

Swifts have arrived, I see them daily now from my home studio skylight, they’re brilliant!

Much to my amusement (only because it was a sociable hour) I watched a greater spotted woodpecker hammering away at the metal top of a telegraph pole in the village, it made a brilliant noise.

I’ve also noticed now two black bunnies, one on Burley Moor near the entrance by Coldstone Beck and one by Stead Hall Wood. Apparently they are more common in Yorkshire than other UK areas. There seems to be a debate on whether a lot of black bunnies are melanistic or just the result of a domestic pet embracing freedom! Having done a little inter-web research, it appears that black rabbits have been hopping about the UK for over 100 years, who’d of thunk it!

As I said, I didn’t get much time to get out in Burley with the camera last week but the interchangeable weather made for some cool landscapes and one evening I just couldn’t resist heading out. As well as the landscape at the top of this post I took the following two… too!

In this last photo, you can see a tuft of grass in the foreground. I walked right by it only to discover a Skylark, who quickly chirped up, beautifully requesting that I vacated his ‘patch’!  To have such a close and serendipitous encounter was a real thrill!

That’s it for now, I hope to catch some new plant life with me lens next week, so watch this space!