It was another sunny, summer's day in the Dearne Valley with some unusual wildlife stories but first, here’s the summary of the birds seen today at Old Moor…
I should probably start with that ‘hummingbird’ which in this case was a variety of moth, the hummingbird hawkmoth to be exact. This colourful, large, day-flying moth was the star of Old Moor’s courtyard today.
The hawkmoth hummer from Old Moor volunteer, Nicola. Thanks!
One sight not to be missed at the moment can be found around the ‘cowslip’ pylon – the one behind the wildlife ponds. Here there are four, recently-fledged kestrels along with their parents. These youngsters are still being fed, though they are slowly venturing further and further from the nest.
OM rule #8 – always check the pylons
Summer may be in full swing but there are still many young chicks out there, the youngest probably being the tufted ducklings. For example, today at Wath Ings there were two large broods of tufties on the left of the hide, one with thirteen young, another with nineteen!
2 of 32. Always watchable!
The common terns were also fascinating to watch today. Again at Wath Ings, two adults and their single offspring are using the near end of the ‘spit’ as a base. It is here the fledgling is fed. Except, today it didn’t quite work like that.
Sure enough an adult tern brought in a fish but instead of giving it straight to the chick, it teased its partner with the meal. Having forgotten all about their youngster, the two adult birds then indulged in a tug-o-war over the fish with one eventually flying off - and around - with it for many minutes.
Erm, hungry chick… behind you
I’m glad to say that eventually the chick was fed, but the other adult tern then appeared to lose all interest in this ‘feeding the baby’ malarkey. More puzzlingly, it sought comfort in the company of another species!
I’ll finish up this evening with one last piece of news from the day. This afternoon at 16:30 a probable honey buzzard was spotted over Old Moor. Regular readers will know that on July 2, we had a definite honey buzzard sighting. Is today’s bird the same one that flew over last time? Watch the skies – and this space - for more information when we have it.
And now, I’d best be off. Until next time.