Snippets of Wealth - Saturday 17th August 2019 - Dalton Crags THE WIG/Stonechats/Painted Ladies......

The Wig on 17th September 2018 (LAST YEAR) - Dalton Crags
thanks to Lyn F for pointing this one out.......

"He's taking liberty of the court your honour! well then he must be "dunked" or maybe placed in the stocks.  I will have a think about it whilst I sip my coffee.........court adjourned ........"

At the start of the Crags (Dalton) this morning, I just had to look to my left to "cock my hat" in salute to the WIG and to check how it was going on! I am pleased to say things are starting to get going and here are a couple of photos showing lots of tiny puffballs in the process of making up your honour's curls. 

The Lawyers Wig - how it is today with lots of little puffballs

Photo: 17th August 2019 - Dalton Crags

The Lawyers Wig (close up) - how it is today with lots of little puffballs

Photo: 17th August 2019 - Dalton Crags

It was windy, in fact very windy, blowing at 25mph or maybe about 5 or 6 on the beaufort scale. A little light drizzle thrown in as well. I did not expect to see any butterflies, but I did, but only in the most sheltered parts were I was lucky to have a Large White and even more Painted Ladies. Without doubt it's been the best year on record for the amount of Painted Ladies having hit our shores and spread throughout our great island.... they have been springing up or fluttering almost everywhere - these little beauties....

Birds well I did have a few whilst traversing the upper parts of Dalton Crags deforested, with two male Stonechats from different parts, one with far more colour than the other, also lots of Swallows, a party of 7 going North, then another party of 5 going North and maybe up to 10 hawking throughout that very area.  I can't suggest whether some of these birds were heading out North (which they do) or whether they were just re-aligning their positions ready for another low down attack. They were happy and twittering to themselves has they flew past with a open gape!  A Windhover hovered in all the usual places, I guess looking for field voles.  Coming back down through the Lower Crags I had a party of some 15 Mistle Thrushes obviously feeding up on the many Rowan or assorted berries.

I guess Red Bartsia maybe the flavour of the day, but the Herb Robert are still hanging in there!