What's that in the Sky...
...Is it a bird? Is it a swift? Is it a swallow? Is it Superman?!
I was as nervously excited as the next film addict slash geek, at last week's announcement of a film featuring both Batman and Superman! But both Batman and Superman would look on in envy at the aerobatics of swifts, swallows and martins!
I've had quite a few people ask me of late how you tell the difference between swifts, swallows and martins. I figured I would use this weeks Wildlife Weekly to help highlight the difference between these awesome birds...
Swifts
The swift is probably the easier of these birds to distinguish. Larger than swifts and martins and darker in their overall appearance. You won't see these guys on telephone wires; you're more likely to see them high overhead or, in the evening, darting about between houses with unbelievable speed and precision.
Swallows
Swallows are arguably the more famous of these summer visitors. They are also the more ornate in appearance, with their iconic long tail feathers and deep red throat. They can be seen feeding low over fields and rivers as well as taking a breather on overhead cables.
House Martins
House Martins are well known for building their mud nests below the guttering of houses. They are of similar size and colour to swallows. There are two main differences in appearance. The first is the tail which is shorter and less elaborate than the swallow, however young swallows can also have a shorter tail. The key to identifying them is the black hood and white front (they don't have the red face of the swallow or the dark bar of the sand martin)
Sand Martins
Sand Martins are the smallest of our super flyers. They can be a little trickier to identify from House Martins. They are more brown in appearance but the key difference is a dark coloured bar that runs across their chest.
Illustrative pictures kindly provided by RSPB
In my own observations of these spectacular birds, I've noticed that mostly they seem to feed in different areas and altitudes. Swifts being highest swallows often centimetres above the grass or water which is really awesome to watch, while house martins can often be seen flying over and around tree tops. It's probably these different feeding habits that allows these birds to thrive together in one place, ensuring that they're not competing with each other over one resource. If only we humans could be this savvy!
Burley in Wharfedale is lucky to have healthy numbers of all these birds. Swifts can be seen (and heard!) throughout the village but are particularly prominent around Peel Place green and the Sun Lane side of the village. The best place for swallows and house martins is Greenholme Mills, while sand martins can be spotted (in lesser numbers) along the Wharfe in either direction from Greenholme Mills. It's not uncommon to see all these species together (again at different altitudes and areas) by the weir and stepping stones.
Burley really does offer great sightings of all these aerobatic specialists, this isn't the case for everywhere so we shouldn't take it for granted!
Here's some recent photos of the swifts, swallows and martins we've been talking about...
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Burley in Bloom... Part Deux
The wild garlic and bluebells have withered but their disappearance simply paves the way for a more diverse array of colourful and vibrant plant life. As the bloom of flora picks up pace in Burley so does the wildlife and there's so much of both out there right now.
In my Heat Wave Hits Whafedale post a couple of weeks ago, I expressed my suspicions that there were a family of dippers (the bird species that is, not folks looking to cool off by immersing themselves knee high in water) around the weir but had not actually seen clear evidence to confirm this theory. I later got a comment from local wildlife photographer Richard Greenwood. He confirmed that he had seen a young family of dippers there. Taking his advice I headed to the weir a little earlier than usual. Sure enough, I immediately came across several dippers including a juvenile hunting (with limited success) and begging for food from a parent.
Since then I have also caught sight (albeit for less than a second) of a kingfisher on several occasions. Hopefully at some point I'll get a longer encounter! Here's the photos from the week...
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All Roads Lead to... Wall
Due to the huge amount of walks and photos desperate to be given life on this blog I have decided to cut down on the usual waffle that is typical of these accounts and attempt to keep things brief. ("Hoorah!" I hear you say "At last!")
This walk began and finished in the creatively named village of Wall. We were meeting some friends that we hadn't seen in a while, who brought their two beautiful and HUGE grey hounds. We were dog sitting, so we brought the in-law's dependable and always entertaining Lurcher-Cross, Sam and quietly hoped for the best. (The best being Sam not getting eaten by these gorgeous but mahoossive dogs!).
The highlight of the walk was watching John rescue a heavily pregnant sheep stuck on its back.
At the time of this walk, we were on a run of choosing disastrous short cuts. Indeed, we joked about the fact at the beginning of the walk. Oh how we laughed (to my European friends: this is sarcasm) when the curse of the short cut struck again! We ended up having to walk back on the busy(ish) road leading into the village. By the time the pub was in sight it was every man, woman and dog for themselves.
The Hadrian Hotel was a very welcome sight and so was their beer. With my favourite (so far) Nothumberland brewer on tap, I had a pint of Golden Plover, brewed just down the road in Hexham at the Allendale Brewery, ace!
This walk was one of those strange ones. Despite starting in a village called Wall and finishing in a pub called The Hadrian Hotel there was very little 'wall' (as in Hadrian's) to be seen. The walk did however offer a unique landscape, with many vistas looking like a cross-section from a Time Team reconstruction. The mix of archeology, agriculture, industry and housing all blurred together creating a rather unique environment to take in. An alpaca farm and a sighting of a hare were great highlights too, although spotting the latter without three fast strong dogs on a lead would have been more ideal! Oh dear, it looks like I failed on the waffle front... Sorry. Well, here are the photos anyway:
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Burley in Bloom
The last couple of weeks have been real scorchers. It seems the weather is making up for the summer we missed last year! All this sunshine has brought out the best of Burley in Wharfedale's flora. This abundance of plant life is great news for Wharfedale's wildlife scene.
Since this bloom I have noticed a variety of bees and butterflies. I'm not well read enough to tell you what types of bees I've been seeing but I am observant enough to notice there's a real variety out there! The butterfly species that have hung about long enough to identify include:
Orange Tip
Gatekeeper
Comma
Large White
Green-viened White
Ringlet
It's been a tough couple of years for butterflies but hopefully this summer can help revive numbers. People can help assess the butterfly number by taking part in the big butterfly count.
I've also noticed that dragon and damsel flies are starting to make an appearance by The Goit and Coldstone Beck. Really looking forward to trying to capture (on camera) some dragon flies, I love a challenge!
Here's some photos of Burley in bloom...
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Heat Wave Hits Wharfedale!
Summer has arrived with a vengeance! We've been enjoying some stupendously good weather in the last week or so. I'm sure it wont be tool long though before we start to hear the cries of "e;It's too hot!" To those struggling with the humidity and high temperatures, I thoroughly recommend heading up to the moor where there's a cool breeze that (to me) is just perfect!
The moor is just teaming with life at the moment. A short walk will often produce sightings of skylarks, curlews, oyster catchers, red grouse and with all this life about predators have started to appear more active too with kestrel and red kites commonly seen hunting.
In other areas of Burley: I caught sight of a male red start by the stepping stones earlier last week which was the first time I've seen one there. I'm also sure there is a dipper nest near the weir but haven't been able to confirm my suspicions.
With so much happening it's very difficult staying indoors. So, I'll just leave you with some photos from the week while I sign off and get back outdoors!
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A Sheepish Walk to Harewood
It was a sunny bank holiday Sunday and our only obligation for the day was a BBQ in the early evening. Having wanted to check out Harewood House for quite some time, this the perfect opportunity. Encouraged by a discount for people arriving on foot we decided to walk.
Parking in Bramhope we started our Harewood House walk. The walk begins on Breary Lane East, which possesses an eclectic mix of houses, all of which seem to have no linking characteristics other than that they all look like they cost a rather large amount of money!
After walking through several large fields with enough sheep to send the hardiest insomniac to the land of nod, we reached a point where we could either continue onto Harewood or make a detour via Eccup Reservoir. I'd heard rumours on twitter that Eccup was a bit of a wildlife hotspot and the fact that we were sandwiched between two large walking groups (clearly taking the direct route to Harewood) made the decision that much easier!
When we made it to the reservoir we realised walking round it and making it to Harewood House may be a little too ambitious, so we settled with sitting on the reservoir wall eating our Branston pickle and roast chicken sandwiches before getting back on track to Harewood.
For those unfamiliar with the area of Harewood (near Leeds), the Harewood Estate is (to me at least) mahoosive! The grounds (and house) have been in the Lascelles family since it's completion in 1771. The landscape within its expansive borders is both vast and diverse, with many views looking like they've been copied and pasted straight from a Constable painting! Lancelot ""Capability" Brown is the man to take much of the credit (not to mention the contemporary grounds staff, who I'm sure should take a good slice of credit too!) for the stunning scenery. Brown designed these grounds that have undoubtedly influenced many artists including Thomas Girtin. It's a funny realisation that something we now consider to be so natural is, in fact, very manufactured!
We appeared to arrive tantalisingly close to the house, yet couldn't find an entrance! It seems (as far as we could tell) you can only enter through the main entrance, which is accessed via the main road. By the time we had walked the boundaries and made it into the village of Harewood we had missed the last entrance to the house. Inevitably, armed with this knowledge, we simply went into the first pub we came across! After a refreshing pint and packet of roasted peanuts in the Harewood Arms Hotel we headed back to Bramhope; via the direct route!
By the time we made it back to the car the BBQ was in full swing, and by the time we made it home we were very tired, hungry and feeling particularly unsociable. We opted for some hot food and some bottles of Ilkley Pale on the sofa while watching Swedish crime drama on the internet!
While you could be tempted to label this walk a failure, not achieving any of our aims and then missing our only social commitment of the day, it was still a very memorable and enjoyable walk. A pub was frequented, beer and bar snacks were consumed which for many (myself included) constitutes a successful outing!
Some people may also be interested to know that on this walk we passed by the set of Emmerdale which lies within the Harewood Estate. The route offers great views of Red Kites who were (introduced to Harewood as part of a very successful conservation initiative). Other wildlife highlights included a Yellow Hammer and spotting two hares bathing in the sun near Weardley. (I know, awesome name for a small village!)
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Wharfedale Wildlife Weekly (24th June): Blue Skies, Sun & Chicks
Sunshine brings out the Chicks on Burley Moor...
OK so Burley Moor might not be the best place to hang out if you are looking for a date but if you're looking to spot some cute birds of the feathered variety I can thoroughly recommend it!
There are currently a number of birds on the moor acting very protectively including lapwings, curlews and skylarks. This leads me to think that if there isn't already, there will soon be some pretty cool fledglings hopping about the moor!
Recently I have had sporadic encounters with various red grouse chicks. These experiences tend to be more by accident than design. To me, they remain invisible until they're nearly underfoot! I was lucky enough to spot a single chick last week, as I knelt down to get a better camera angle three siblings, who had apparently been just centimetres away, made a break for it! It was a startling but very cool encounter.
I was delighted to observe the arrival of bats feeding nearby our house last week. I noticed them through a window as we were heading for bed-ford-shire but couldn't resist grabbing my camera and trying to get a couple of photos.
Still so much wildlife going on around Burley in Wharfedale so get out there! Also, it's Otley Walking Fest this week and there are some great walks planned.
Here's some photo highlights from the week:
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Wharfedale Wildlife Weekly (17th June): Had a Tough Week? Try Being a Bird!
There is still so much wildlife going on here in Burley, I'm starting to think I should write to the BBC Springwatch team and suggest they use our house as a base for next years series!
House martins arrived in significant numbers last week, I came across them by a natural spring near Greenholme Mills where they appeared to be collecting mud to build nests.
Last week I became aware that I had got a little distracted slash obsessed with the weir near Greenholme Mills along with the goosander family, grey wagtails and my quest to take a good photo of a dipper. A concern quickly grew that I had neglected one of my favourite environments to ramble... Burley Moor. I hastily headed up to the moor and reminded myself the sense of freedom exploring the moor brings.
I couldn't believe transformation that had taken place. In just a couple of weeks the landscape had dramatically changed and I was now entering a battle field. Birds darted passed in every direction, an array of battle cries were almost disorientating as several species determinedly marked out their territory and warned off potential predators.
I can't recall experiencing so much wildlife activity in such a short space of time. Here is a highlights list of sightings in just 45 mins...
Skylark
Red Kite repeatedly mobbed by lapwing and curlews
Close encounters with two curlews who must be nesting nearby
Lots of young lambs
Nearly stepped on a grouse and several chicks: they are so well camouflaged, as they often freeze to avoid detection, it's nearly impossible to spot them until they're literally underfoot!
Later in the week I couldn't resist heading back to the weir (a couple of times in fact), all the usual suspects were about (grey wagtails, heron etc.) on an early morning I stumbled upon the Goosander mother and chicks resting in the pebbled island, they quickly headed out and disappeared. Goosander seem to be particularly cautious and shy. There are several young Mallard families by the weir now, all of which are particularly cute! There is also a young pied wagtail popping around too.
There is literally so much going on at the moment it's impossible to record it all... Yet I continue to try!
Here's some photo highlights from the week:
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Wharfe Wildlife Weekly (10th June): Spring it on!
Spring it on...
Spring has a arrived! And I'm not just saying that because BBC's Springwatch is in its last week... My hard drive (not a euphemisim) has been struggling to keep up with my camera! There is action (again, not a euphemism) everywhere!
This week you'd be hard pressed to find a corner of Burley where there wasn't some kind of wildlife occurrence...errrr... occurring?!
Here's some highlights of what was occurring last week:
Very excited to spot a female goosander along with 5 youngsters on the river Wharfe
Also heard a cuckoo by the river Wharfe.
Loads of small fry in the river keep hoping to spot a kingfisher but no luck yet.
Swifts are still as mesmerising as ever and can be seen all over Burley in Wharfedale but are quite good to watch on the green by Peel Place in the evening.
Keep catching glimpses of one dipper but very shy
Plenty butterflies around the hedgerows including orange tips and speckled woods
The week in pics...
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Wharfedale Wildlife Weekly (4th June 2013)
Last weeks weather was as eclectic as a John Peel mix tape! Heavy and lengthy downpours failed to put me off, in fact, I relished the heavy showers as it meant I got to test out my new DSLR rain coat!
Burley Wildlife Spotting: Notes From Last Week:
Spent a lot of time watching Swifts, swallows & Sand Martins. These birds are amazing, so agile and fast! Been watching them mainly from my skylight window, often poking my head out when I hear that sharp shrill, indicating that they're about! The best places (I've found) locally to catch these awesome aerial displays are around the green off Peel Place, Sun Lane and the stretch of the river Wharfe that runs adjacent to the A660.
Herons seem to be quite active. Often seen fishing by the weir and flying overhead from the village.
Family of long tailed tits on the boundaries of Sun Lane Nature Reserve
Have been observing a grey wagtail along with several young fledglings feeding around the weir area.
Caught a brief glimpse of dipper flying up stream
On a late evening walk I spotted a Hedgehog (!!!) on Leather Bank rd and a number of bats (need to research how to identify different species!). Shortly after seeing the Hedgehog I caught a glimpse of a barn owl, the ghostly figure silently glided in front of my path near Ghyll Royd School grounds, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. No wonder these guys were mistaken as spirits! Barn Owls should be breeding soon so hopefully there may be some more sightings as they start to feed their young.
Have heard a cuckoo twice now by the stretch of river that runs alongside the A660.
Here's the week in pics!
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