Holywell Today

Planned to meet my friend Brian Moorhead at Holywell this morning for a walk down the Dene, I arrived late at about 10:15.


On the pond there was 2 Common Tern, 6 Little Grebe, 2 Mute Swan + 3 Cygnets, 19 Mallard + 2 medium ducklings, 24 Coot, 2 Tufted Duck + 7 ducklings, 4 Moorhen, 5 Grey Heron, 1 Sedge Warbler singing too the right of the hide, Black Headed Gull, House Martain, Swallow, Swift, Sand Martain, Lesser Black Backed Gull.


Also about were Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, and a Flock of Racing Pigeons.

We left the hide and headed for the North Pool, which contained water but was well vegetated around edges preventing a view of the mud, although we did see a Whitethroat at the top of one of the Hawthorns along the way. I was keen to have a walk down the Dene with Brian as his knowledge of other flora and fauna is vast compared to mine, there was a large number of Butterflies about and Brian began showing me the different species. During the day we saw Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Comma, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Green-veined White, and Small Skipper. My confidence has now significantly increased in the identification of Butterflies thanks to Brian, and am very keen in continuing this newly sparked interest.

Green-veined White Artogeia rapae Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta

Small Skipper Thymelicus flavus

Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria

During our walk through the Dene and surrounding farmland we also seen Linnet, Yellowhammer, Whiethroat, Skylark, Female Sparrowhawk, 2 Grey Partridge, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Rook, Lapwing, and a Harris Hawk on the soar near the obelisk.

At the small dipping pond within the dene 1 Common Darter was seen.

After dropping Brian off I stopped at Backworth flash, well now Backworth lake, for a quick look, and noticed a Juvenile Herring Gull in a bit of a tangle, it had a Morrison's carrier bag attached to its leg which was preventing it from taking off, so I waded in grabbed it and took it back to the gate, where I removed the bag and successfully let it go, it made a bee-line straight back for the tip. Only other bird present was a single Snipe which I flushed during the rescue.

An interesting day, gaining somemore knowledge and experiences.