Sunday 13 June 2010

Farleton Knott and return - Sun June 13th 2010


It has been very noticeable all week, for me down at Burton In Kendal, that Lesser Black Backed Gulls have been crossing over the Morecambe Bay in a North West to South East direction, and can only presume they are birds which have come from the breeding colony at Walney Island.

It has also been reported from other sites around the Country, that similar migrations have also been going on elsewhere.

For today, we had a circular walk to Farleton Knott, starting from the laybye at Hutton Roof (accessed from the Clawthorpe hamlet)...

I noticed the Gorse flower is now showing signs of starting to die off.

A party of four Mistle Thrush where seen to cross over by Newbiggin Crags area, although I do suspect there could well have been more, because just earlier, we had heard a solitary bird, singing in grated fashion, from the uppermost branch of a nearby tree. Also there was several Chaffinch calling from the Gorse regions, with strange unsuspecting calls to which parts I had never heard before. In fact at times part of their calls seem to resemble the part call of the Yellowhammer!! although you knew you where watching the Chaffinch singing immediately in front of you.. As you approached the Eastern side and climbed steadily up the incline towards the Knott, lots of Skylarks where taking off, before being disturbed and calling with their familiar "thrupp" calls...


Climbing that incline it was quite noticeable that the beautiful "Thyme" flower where springing up everywhere, especially so in the limestone scree bridleways.

On that summit today, the wind was blowing quite strong, and views where being hampered with the off and on light rain. Around the cairn at the summit I noticed all sorts of flowers growing, taking up any tucked away nook and cranny which they could muster, and there was plenty of Herb Robert, Stonecrop and Clovers..

On our way down, and after leaving the actual limestone pavement areas, we met a large party of Starlings feeding up on the more grassier lower levels of Farleton, I presumed they where collecting food for their young. I noticed this many years ago whilst down in Rossendale, that when the young birds (still in their nest) but getting bigger, the adults would travel up to two miles to reach the outlying grassy fields where they would feed in group frenzies before returning with a full bill of food to feed their squaking young. I wonder what it is they find so interesting?