Francis just sent in these latest images of the peregrine family on the cathedral. These are taken using his phone on the eye piece of a telescope which gives remarkable results and shows clearly just how big and rapidly developing the chicks are!
Peregrine falcon on Wakefield cathedral
Peregrine falcon on Wakefield cathedral
Peregrine falcon on Wakefield cathedral
Peregrine falcon on Wakefield cathedral
Eddie Andrassy sent in this superb drawing of the Pugney’s drake smew on the River Calder. Anyone familiar with Pugneys will recognise the location straight away
drawing of Smew on River Calder
Member Jon Cranmer has brought to my attention a series of lectures at Huddersfield University of which the last one of the season may be of interest to some. The talk is about Lyme disease and how it is passed to humans. The talk is on 18th March at 6.00pm and is free to anyone and all the details can be found by clicking here
I have had a not passed over from our friends at Wakefield’s RSPB Members’ Group who are running a coach trip to the Farne Islands in Northumberland. They are offering the opportunity for any of our members to join them on the coach. The details are as follows:
The Farne Islands host England’s most spectacular seabird colony including unrivalled views of 23 species including thousands of puffin. There is also a large colony of grey seals. The islands have historical and religious significance with links to Celtic Christianity and St Cuthbert.
We will meet at Holmfield House car park (free parking) by Clarence Park on Denby Dale Road for departure at 07 30. The plan is to journey up to Seahouses by coach with a stop at the services en route.
We will be taking a boat from Seahouses for an extended trip around the islands, landing on Inner Farne where we will spend a couple of hours before the return journey. There will be plenty of opportunities for bird photography and expect fantastic views of the nesting seabirds. The plan is to return to Seahouses for 4 30pm with a chance to get some fish and chips before setting off for Wakefield.
The cost of the trip will be £20 for the coach £16 for the boat trip plus the landing fee – expected to be £7.40 (free to National Trust members). Places are limited so early booking is recommended. A deposit of £5 is payable when booking.
Paul Disken
Outdoor meetings organiser
Telephone 01924 456352
Due to the imminent threat of Hurricane Bertha arriving anytime now, we have decided to call off this morning’s meeting to Adel Dam. It looks as though it would have been a pretty wet and windy walk had we gone ahead,
A very good butterfly day in my garden located centrally in Wakefield – speckled wood, orange tip were numerous and one or two holly blue.
I heard on the grapevine that two peregrines, male and female, were seen on Wakefield cathedral today and they were there for at least an hour. Let’s hope this is a sign that our male has finally found a mate. However, there’s no time for romance, they need to get down to business as it seems that most other peregrine projects that are being monitored show that eggs are already laid!
Venus and the moon were in alignment this morning appearing very close to each other in the morning sky. Having totally forgotten about it until I got up for work, I managed to snatch this shot from my garden. Had I remembered I may well have tried to get somewhere such as Sandal Castle as the foreground!
Venus appearing close to the moon over Hemsworth
Francis has been putting in the hours over the last three days looking for signs of the peregrine using the newly erected nestbox. However, over the last three days there have been no sightings of our bird on the cathedral! Maybe he’s away looking for a mate to bring back to the fabulous ‘des res’ that we put up for him.
On the plus side, the observations have resulted in Francis clocking up red kite, buzzard and sparrowhawk over the cathedral.
I received an email today from William Hesketh informing me of his sighting of two swallows passing over Smawthorne Marsh, Castleford on 11th November which is a very late record. Not sure what the latest date for swallow sightings in the district is, but this must be one of the latest.