Canal - Carnforth - Borwick then Priest Hutton to Burton

A very nice morning and having left the car at Carnforth for repairs decided to walk back along the Canal to Borwick, then off the Canal entering the village of Borwick, onto Priest Hutton and then over the fields to Burton....


Just after leaving Carnforth, a calling Grey Wagtail passed us, then we saw no less than three sitting Moorhen all within the space of maybe quarter of a mile from the bridge at Carnforth, also had another 6 males at various points to Borwick where the females must have been sitting tight.. Blackcaps: 1 in song near Carnforth, then another at Capernwray staging (near to Mobile Homes/Holiday Caravans?) and also another singing in the Woodland to the left on entering Priest Hutton.


Also along the route I had 6 calling Chiffchaffs, 5 full call crescendo Willow Warblers, a male Reed Bunting singing its little heart from the top of a hawthorn tree overlooking "a phragmites patch".


Getting closer to Borwick and a farmer was seen on the opposite side ploughing his field (last years spent maize stubs) and there was lots of Black Headed Gulls following the furrows, and also a party of approx 30 calling Linnets constantly flying around and then going down on the furrow tops for food.

Other stuff was seen, a party of 8 Goldfinch, and several pairs of Redpolls. Yesterday I had lots of Redpoll over Capernwray, Lords Lot Wood and Havelock House areas, best a party of four, but lots of pairs, probably forest hopping...

Also had 1 Peacock Butterfly, and 2 Comma butterflies near Coat Green Farm..

Flowers: Wood Anemone (side of Canal), also at Priest Hutton. Butterbur very thick area between Borwick bridge and next bridge towards Carnforth direction. Lots of Celandine everywhere. Also Herb Robert in the walls at Priest Hutton.

"Canal with all your twist and turns,
Your shivering rippled waters, ebb and flow,
Waterhen's sits on their eggs, so tight, not to let go
And Celandine, Coltsfoot and Butterbur and many others grow"......

Warton Crag

Spent a couple of hours on the Warton Crag following the main path to the back of the quarry... the weather was good in fact it was superb with blue almost cloudless sky, warm with just the slightest of welcome breezes...

Chiffchaffs seemed to be almost along the full route with at least six calling, also it was great to hear Blackcaps with at least five calling, and it was'nt long before I was listing to the full crescendo calls of the beautiful little Willow Warbler, in fact five Willow Warblers...

Another bonus was so welcome, quite near a boundary wall, which adjoins the "kissing gate" to the rear of the quarry (Silverdale side), I had a couple of Common Lizards, one of which allowed me to watch for over 15 minutes - see photo (click over photo twice to enlarge)....

Also had a couple of Peacock Butterflies, and lots of very large bumblebees....
Flora is also coming through with, lots of Common Dog Violet Colonies, Celandine, Barren Strawberry, Cowslips starting to come through etc...

"All shades of blue as I look West,

Where sea and sky do meet.

High up on here, this Ancient crag,

Where lizards play on Kingdoms seat"

Holme Park NR & Clawthorpe Fell NR...

Yesterday turned out to probably have been the best day this year, and one of those days when you just had to get out into the field!! and also the first day to be warm enough to stir butterflies to move.

At Holme Park Nature Reserve (Clawthorpe) two beautiful strong yellowy male Brimstones where seen and also two Peacocks (one photographed and shown here whilst settled on last years expired bracken -click over photo to enlarge). There were also countless numbers of large bumble bees which seemed to be surveying every quarter they could muster...

I could also hear two if not three separate Chiffchaffs, constantly calling to tell everyone "We have arrived"... and I thought at first I had a Willow Warbler calling with its soft two syllable "woo-wit"contact call.. but on closer examination it turned out to be the Chaffinch which also has a very similar call which when uttered soft, can so easily be confused..

Just now and again the large Raven would make its presence known with a quiet "honk" as it broke the skyline above me, before settling down on the rugged man made slopes of the Holme Park Quarry, where I presume it must have claimed its ledge for the coming months..

In the distance the Green Woodpecker could be heard "yaffling", also the quiet "piping" of the Bullfinch which now seem to be so common in these parts..

One of the main draws to bring me to such a beautiful little spot today was to see if there could possibly be any Early Purple Orchids starting to show. Its probably still another fortnight away before the flower can be seen but I was able to find a little spot where a colony was coming through, although you can see from the photo (Click over photo to enlarge), the leaves had been attacked already by some nibbly predator.

Also on show in one area was Barren Strawberry and the beautiful little Common Dog Violets.


(Click over photo to enlarge)

"Brimstones and Peacocks flutter on high,
Chiffchaffs sing their ditti's.
The Raven displays its majesty,
Whilst bonnie Violets die and Orchids
are born".......

Derwentwater yesterday

After passing the pleasure cruise boats and perhaps some 100 plus Mallard, Greylags Canada's and other sorts, we headed down to a magnificient spot called Friars Crag, (see photo left), on the way passing the memorial stone to John Ruskin (see photo right, click over photo to enlarge). The inscription on the stone says: "The First thing which I remember as an event in life was being taken by my nurse to the brow of Friar's Crag on Derwentwater".

On into the lovely bay of Strandshag which had fine examples of mature oaks, with their trunks covered on their North West Side with familiar local green lichens, the coverage was so complete that it made them look "green" trees on your approach, not unlike the rock colour around here. Those trees offered even more to the interested, inquisitive eye. Most of the trees were showing off their phenomenal complex root structures which criss-crossed in and out fashioning their beauty in pure arterial maze. It made you wonder what anchorage these trees still bore.

After leaving the bay you entered into "Great Wood", and on the right hand side it was a sort of swamped out habitat. On the left there were two large trees with their hefty root system which had become past victims of a storm and had fallen over almost side by side, and water and weed had now established itself within that very area which once occupied those roots. Making a natural pondlike area.

At this point we were to witness nature again at its very best.... it soon become obvious that this spot was a prime breeding area to the local frogs, we saw scores of them all large mature frogs with much variety in their colour markings, there could have been up to one hundred maybe more, some intermingled in the surface weed, some had climbed their partners in mating stance, heads where constantly popping up all over the place, and they all seemed to be calling at once, making it a very special communial choir.. Many had already spawned, this was obvious by the amounts of spawn you could see.

CLICK HERE if you want to watch a small video clip of the Frogs Breeding Pond...

Great Grey Shrike back at Hutton Roof

The Great Grey Shrike has been back on territory around the Trig Point/Ploverlands area since Wednesday.

I went up today and I was not dissapointed, I managed to get some good views as it moved around the Ploverlands area just South/South East of the Trig Point.

Also coming down I had a pair of Willow Tit at the clearing just before ascending the Hutton Crags.. Also Meadow Pipit and Chaffinch where going over..

Addendum:

8th April 2010: I have checked out on most days since (Fri March 10th 2010) and it was still there until about the 27th March 2010 and its not been recorded since.

HERE IS MY RECENT POEM SIMPLY ENTITLED "GREAT GREY SHRIKE"

On Hutton Roof I search for thee,
Up here you are elusive and free.
Sometimes you leave that hawthorn perch,
For beetle, fly or insect search...

It is so grand to sit and watch,
You stop mid air and flutter,
Whilst prey goes past, for you to catch,
No sound of Joy you utter...

Each time I try to get close to you,
Before long your up and away,
You watch over me, like I over you,
Fair distance is kept at bay...

Will you be here tomorrow, my friend,
Or will you have flown the Roof,
Whichever way, I'll wish you well,
Until the next time, Farewell, Farewell.
Bryan Yorke - 2010

Grange Over Sands & Levens

I always knew there were Bowling Greens to the front of Grange Over Sands.... They were far distant memories from 55 years ago when I last trod this very path of the Grange "esplanade". Until today I had forgot about the Tea Rooms, The "Open Air Swimming Baths" (now sadly bordered up and out of bounds for the past 15-20 years), the Tennis Courts, a well stocked Children's play area. And more recently they have added a skateboard facility...

It would have been so easy to have come to Grange and missed this "little gem" quietly tucked away on the town's West side. Dropping down and crossing over the railway track, which leads trains anywhere between Preston in the South and Barrow in the North, this track runs almost parallel to the esplanade and sandwidged between, is bordered with trees, shrubs and many varieties of flowers. Even today there was the vivid blue coloured Iris species.

The Tea Rooms -see photo (now closed for Winter). I was intrigued to read the plaque on these tea rooms - see photo of plaque, stating that the Tea Rooms and Bandstand had been given to the town of Grange by a Helmshore businessman named Harold Porritt J.P. who had fallen in love with the place..

There are many beautiful buildings within Grange, but probably most striking is the Netherwood Hotel which is seen to the right, immediately on entering Grange. Another superb place is the rich ornamental Park which lies next to the Grange Railway Station. Here is a duckpond with all sorts of beautiful ornamental duck and geese species some of which included: Several Red Crested Pochard, Red Breasted Goose, Pochard and many others, see photo here of Hawaiian Goose or Ne Ne

On the way back from Grange, we parked up at Levens Bridge and did the circular walk going up one side of the River Kent and coming back down the other side. On the way passing the Force Falls Fish Pass (see photo) and also following the footpath through Levens and keeping within the boundaries of the canopied Avenue of Ancient Oaks. Soon we came upon the large party of dark phased Fallow Deer which reside in the park. Also further down the way we came across the herd of Wild Goats.

Burton In Kendal & Dalton - Snow photos from yesterday...

(Click over photo to enlarge)
Yesterday was great for taking a few snowy photos, so had a walk through Burton, then up the footpath at the Square, going up alongside the old Royal Pub, turning right at the top and making way SE to nearby Dalton Hall.  Then up the small lane to the village of Dalton, coming back via Vicarage Lane.

1) First photo is just after leaving the main road (just after Dalton Hall and heading up the lane towards Dalton Village.
2) The photo top right is of the older buildings at Dalton.

3) Just could not resist this sheep in the grounds of Dalton Hall.

4) Above right is Clawthorpe with Farleton taken from Vicarage Lane.

5) Hutton House almost opposite the Kings on the Main Street in Burton. They say that Bonnie Prince Charlie spent the night here..

6) Taken on the top behind Mowbray Drive and shows Arnside Knott in the distance.
7 and 8) Vicarage Lane.

9) This photo is just has you enter Burton almost opposite Burton House

A short video of Leighton's Roosting Starlings from last Saturday 12th December 2009

And here's another very short video just seconds before going down to roost again from "Island Mere" Leighton, on Saturday 12th December 2009.

Please click here to view

Gait Barrows - Friday 4th December 2009

Here is a selection of photos taken yesterday at Gait Barrows. 1) Forestry Management 2) above - Fungi resembling climbing stones 3) upper right - Fruit Berries of Spindlewood.  4) middle left - Gait Barrows Cairn to mark the opening of the Nature Reserve.  5) middle right - Staircase  6) Bottom left - Pavement view looking towards Arnside Knott. 7) bottom right - close up view of pavement.  Click over photos to enlarge...

Hutton Roof via Dalton Crags

It was a fair old day so had a walk up Dalton Crags on Hutton Roof and went maybe some 300 yards further than the Trig Point, before returning the same route. I looked everywhere for the Great Grey Shrike (last reported seen on 30th November 2009), but today was not the day. Had a pair of Mistle Thrushes, and could hear Golden Plover (whether overhead or coming from the Ploverlands direction, I am not sure.
On way down met up with 3 other birders from Bradford. I already knew one of these guys from a meet up earlier in the year at Gait Barrows, they to where looking for the "Shrike", combining it with a day out at Leighton Moss.

Heathwaite & Arnside Tower 30th Nov 2009

Arnside Knott taking in the splendid views, went via Heathwaite, slight detour to Arnside Tower and then back via the Knott...

Photo top left: of the junction of footpaths to the Tower and to the Knott.

top right: A very large fungi growth or something which maybe 2ft in diameter gripping the main trunk of this Birch.

Centre left: Looking across from Heathwaite Arnside, across the Bay.

Centre right: Arnside Tower

Bottom left: Heathwaite looking across the Bay with sun setting

Botom right: Heathwaite....


We finished off by going to watch the Starlings come in to roost at Leighton Moss.  It seemed the ideal position parked alongside the road across from the "Island Mere" closeby where the Egrets come to roost.  It was so good I filed the photos on the next blog....