Photos:
Curlews, Lapwing and Red Grouse family at Arkengarthdale
Black Grouse, Golden Plover and Oystercatchers at Tan Hill
Meadow Pipits, Wheatear and juvenile Ring Ouzel at Butertubs Pass
Grey Heron and Common Sandpipers at Halton
Saturday 11th June
I wandered over to Swaledale this morning for a good spell of birding. I tried to find the Black Grouse site at Arkengarthdale but I had left my map at home and hadn’t a clue where it was. I spent quite a bit of time wandering slowly up and down the road between Reeth and Tan Hill and watching the various comings and goings.
I wandered over to Swaledale this morning for a good spell of birding. I tried to find the Black Grouse site at Arkengarthdale but I had left my map at home and hadn’t a clue where it was. I spent quite a bit of time wandering slowly up and down the road between Reeth and Tan Hill and watching the various comings and goings.
The place was alive with Curlews, Lapwings and Red Grouse, many of them having young. The best find was a Ring Ouzel which flashed across the road in front of the car. I stopped quickly and got out in time to see a male appear by the road and then flit off up the hillside. It’s interesting that in the few times I have been here I have yet to see a raptor – no Buzzards or Kestrels never mind Hen Harrier or a Short-eared Owl. As the grouse are clearly doing well I wonder if the raptors just get blasted? At one point a small group of Curlews and Lapwings went bananas up on the moor - presumably some land predator was threatening. I didn't see it.
I then went over to Tan Hill where, while photographing an Oystercatcher, a Golden Plover came wandering over the moor. I believe they breed here but this is the first one I have seen – cracker! I then tried the Black Grouse spot here and was rewarded with a cock which showed well through the scope on high zoom (no good for digiscoping though). I couldn’t see any other so I headed off to Buttertubs Pass.
The weather started closing in at Buttertubs and I was treated for several hours to hail and torrential rain interspersed with short spells of fine weather. It was cold, well down in single figures Celsius and apparently it snowed there yesterday!
When I got out of the car I could hear the hard Tuk Tuk call of a Ring Ouzel and a female shot off from the butter tub on the south side of the road. During one of the showers I watched from the car as a male and a juvenile fed on the slope on the north side and managed to get a few shots of the latter. Later I found the male, female and a juvenile (same one maybe?) on the south side. They are shy and restless birds and never gave me longer than a few seconds to view them before they moved to another location.
Also here were two pairs of Wheatears, one with a single juvenile and several Meadow Pipits mostly feeding young. I heard the kronk of an overflying Raven in the mist but never saw it.
This evening I wandered down by the river at Halton. Nothing unusual here and I wasn’t really in birding mode. I watched a pair of Common Sandpipers here – one of the birds had only one leg. I couldn’t tell if the leg had been lost or was injured and tucked up under the belly feathers. Given the other bird started displaying and was therefore male it looks like the female has a handicap. A pair of Pied Wagtails were feeding two juveniles and a single Grey Wagtail appeared. 50+ Sand Martins and a few Swifts were feeding over the water. No Dipper or Kingfisher though.
I then went over to Tan Hill where, while photographing an Oystercatcher, a Golden Plover came wandering over the moor. I believe they breed here but this is the first one I have seen – cracker! I then tried the Black Grouse spot here and was rewarded with a cock which showed well through the scope on high zoom (no good for digiscoping though). I couldn’t see any other so I headed off to Buttertubs Pass.
The weather started closing in at Buttertubs and I was treated for several hours to hail and torrential rain interspersed with short spells of fine weather. It was cold, well down in single figures Celsius and apparently it snowed there yesterday!
When I got out of the car I could hear the hard Tuk Tuk call of a Ring Ouzel and a female shot off from the butter tub on the south side of the road. During one of the showers I watched from the car as a male and a juvenile fed on the slope on the north side and managed to get a few shots of the latter. Later I found the male, female and a juvenile (same one maybe?) on the south side. They are shy and restless birds and never gave me longer than a few seconds to view them before they moved to another location.
Also here were two pairs of Wheatears, one with a single juvenile and several Meadow Pipits mostly feeding young. I heard the kronk of an overflying Raven in the mist but never saw it.
This evening I wandered down by the river at Halton. Nothing unusual here and I wasn’t really in birding mode. I watched a pair of Common Sandpipers here – one of the birds had only one leg. I couldn’t tell if the leg had been lost or was injured and tucked up under the belly feathers. Given the other bird started displaying and was therefore male it looks like the female has a handicap. A pair of Pied Wagtails were feeding two juveniles and a single Grey Wagtail appeared. 50+ Sand Martins and a few Swifts were feeding over the water. No Dipper or Kingfisher though.
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