Monthly Archives: May 2017

Wild flowers at Anglers Country Park

Anglers CP has always been a favourite for bird watching but the wildflowers are also improving year by year: dog roses, guelder rose and dogwood are in full splendour at the moment edging the path as we passed the right … Continue reading

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Peregrine Ringing, 2017

A big event on the peregrine calendar is the ringing of the peregrine chicks. This year’s ringing took place on Saturday, 27th May, when the youngsters were three weeks and four days old. The youngsters were collected from the nestbox … Continue reading

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Urban Birding

For those who like to observe wildlife close to home, here are a few sightings from Chantry Bridge. My first visit at the end of April found a male goosander alongside the common species such as 20+ mallard, which included six … Continue reading

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Richard Brook

Richard Brook, conservationist, plant breeder and 60s music fanatic, who joined the Society in the 1960s and served as excursion secretary and later conservation officer, died on 20 April, aged 74. Extracts from his diary (below) were compiled by Richard’s second cousin, Ann  Brook … Continue reading

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Baby bird boom

Happily, this spring appears to have been kind to many baby birds with good numbers of fledglings of various species seen during my local wanderings.  At home, noisy queues of starlings and house sparrows jostle for position at the garden … Continue reading

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Dingy skipper and small yellow underwing moth

A walk around Haigh provided me with good views of yellowhammer and dingy skipper, while Billy’s Wood produced small yellow underwing moth. At both Billy’s Wood and Haigh, the leaves of common spotted orchid were showing so it wont be … Continue reading

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Peregrine Chicks, 2017

The peregrines on Wakefield Cathedral have been incubating four eggs for almost five weeks. The first hatching was expected on Tuesday, 2nd May, 34 days after the laying of the third egg. On Tuesday afternoon, it was clear that something … Continue reading

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Yellow is the colour at Stanley Ferry Flash

The colour yellow was certainly in fashion today during my walk around the woodland and waterside edges at Stanley Ferry Flash. Most eye-catching was a number of wandering brimstone butterflies often flying too fast to follow and to get a … Continue reading

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