Helmshore; Valley Voices

I never seem to see black caps; I only ever hear them around the Riverside walk. Until this week, when they were everywhere! I spotted males, females and fledglings all twittering and darting through the trees; they are beautiful and have the most delightful, sweet piping song. Have a listen here; black cap singing

Another beautiful singer, but often overlooked with its dull brown plumage is the dunnock or hedge accentor (or hedge sparrow depending on the book you consult!). Dunnock singing

I met this beautiful bird on Wednesday morning, perching on wire near Kiln Clough barn.

More familiar singers are our native thrushes; who boast regional accents. Song thrushes get all the attention (the clue is in the name), but mistle thrush are not bad soloists.

The park at Snig Hole is a treasure chest of birds, thanks to the variety of trees and dense bushes. I have been trying and, so far, failing to get a decent picture of a gold crest. This is the UK’s smallest native bird (and also an incredible singer!)

I spied this one in the pine tree but it was both high and moving incredibly fast, darting among the needles. I will continue the quest!

I was standing on Park Lane last week and there was so much birdsong, I set Merlin running and it picked up a cacophony of voices in just a few minutes; you don’t realise how many different birds can be found in a really small area.

I’ve become a little tired of late of the same morning walk and have been varying my route, but this week I was back on the hills, with the deer as the main event.

The roe deer calves appear to have now been weaned; Mama has been absent from the birthing area for several days, but the calves have remained. I caught This young doe sleeping in the grass; isn’t she beautiful?

The bucks are very active as the season moves towards the rut in late July/August. This fine man was barking and displaying his strength as I passed by. Soon they will move to the rutting stands where the does gather and the fight will be on!

There has also been a lot of kestrels of late. the chicks have fledged and I’ve been seeing family groups hovering over the moorland as the young birds learn to hunt. This one helpfully landed just slightly out of focal range, but you can still see the distinctive barred wing feathers.

I’m heading over the border to Yorkshire next week (I have my passport!) and planning to visit a bird of prey centre. Cheating a little, but looking forward to getting some nice shots of our beautiful raptors!