www.spindlelegs.org.uk

Went to Fairburn Ings again in another attempt to see the adult and first summer Night Herons. After waiting for around an hour the immature bird flew out from the reeds and promptly vanished from view behind a bank of Crack Willow trees. Not the best view, but a view none the less. There was however no sign of the adult bird.

On my way home I got very close views of a Little Owl, unfortunately this was as it clipped the bonnet of my moving car. Hopefully it survived.

Jill and myself popped in at Fairburn Ings during our lunch hour to try to see the two Night Herons present on the reserve. Unfortunately it was raining heavily and all we saw were a few Snipe, a Common Tern and the regulation Mute Swans and Canada Geese.

The weather had cleared up by early evening and as I arrived home I noted a Swallow-tailed moth in the front garden.

My saturday nights television was pleasantly interupted by a small bat repeatedly buzzing the living room window.

GH and myself made an afternoon visit to this RSPB reserve, near Goole, in search of wading birds. After a couple of hours however the only waders we had seen were a flightly trio of Avocets, although we did note plenty of common duck and at least three Marsh Harriers. The last two hides we visited however proved much more productive with good numbers of waders present including Spotted and Common Redshank, Green Sanpiper, Lapwing, Ruff and Dunlin, along with a Barn Owl peering through the doorway of a distant nest box.

Billy, GH, Binner and myself spent this morning visiting Howell Wood, near Bansley and then Bullcarr Mires, near Pontefract. Birds were pretty thin on the groud at both sites, however as we arrived at Bullcarr it was late enough in the day for us to entertain ourselves atteping to photograph the local insect life, which was just becomming active. This included Burnet moth and several butterfly species such as Large White, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Specked Wood, Small Tortioseshell, Red Admiral and a very tatty Painted Lady.

After a pretty torrid time at work I took a lunchtime walk around this wild area, which sits between two housing estates and a busy main road, in an attempt to clear my head. During the short time I was there I noted Chiffchaff and Blackcap along with good numbers of Ringlet and three Comma butterflies, the latter of which I managed to photograph with my phone.