This Blog covers nature sightings and related news in the Calderdale area.
It includes all groups - Plants, animals and fungi with links to specialist sites.
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Monday 2 April 2012

Birds, etc at Mosleden

I went round Mosleden Quarry, Dean Head, Scammonden today for Marshalls twite monitoring. No public access, unfortunately, but twite records in the vicinity would be welcome. They are happy to start a feeding station, if twite are around.

No twite today, but these species present:
Meadow Pipits - at least 10
Carrion Crow 1
Goldfinches 3 over
Heron over
Curlew pair
Pair Lapwing on sheep land to SW
Partridge (probably grey) 2 together
Pied Wagtail pair
Skylark 1
Magpie pair
Chaffinch 1

Mammals:  Hare 1, moles, vole runs, deer slots in mud.

Plants
Twite food - very few dandelions and coltsfoot for early food, but likely to spread.
Much common sorrel and sheep's sorrel for later in the summer.
Much cats-ear for seed later. Various other ruderal plants, e.g mouse-eared chickweed, common dock.
Much rough, broken land with thick grasses and rushes.

Water supply for twite - a few small ponds still holding water after this very dry spell.
Four clumps of frog spawn.

Breeding sites for twite - no wide area of tall heather or bracken, but much planted gorse (more favoured by linnet) and a few small self-seeded pine.

Other notable plants - small amount of sphagnum and various hair mosses, Polytrichium spp, among the grass.

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