A nice Kite day

The wind has dropped but its cold and overcast, surprising its not raining considering its a Bank holiday.  A short walk through the woods, doing a circular loop  over the fell was very quiet. For a change I dropped down and over the overgrown bridge near Brass Castle and through the conifers.

 

Bridge over the South Burn

There was quite a scent from the Honeysuckle all along the path with most plants still with flowers and a good berry crop.

Honeysuckle flowers and berries

Many of them attracted Red-tailed and Carder Bumble Bees and several species of hoverfly including Eristalis horticola. 

The Hoverfly Eristalis horticola

A good flock of 60 Greenfinch were in the stubble field but were very flighty, presumably this flock has already been found by the local Sparrowhawks. I saw one of the latter over the fell a little later but that one was content to be gently soaring off at height to Sacriston. Single Blackcap and Chiffchaff were also in the hedge, both feeding on the numerous flies along it, despite the lack of sun. The rather cool conditions meant the only butterfly I saw was a single Green-veined White that was perched up on a Creeping Thistle and presumably in a stupor because of the temperature. It certainly wasn't feeding

Green-veined White

35 Linnet were counted on the telegraph wires and a few Meadow Pipit were flushed out of the Heather. Whilst scanning the skies for any movement of birds, I saw the Sparrowhawk and a little later a much larger bird of prey over the small plantations near Daisy Hill. It turned out to be a Red Kite, presumably one of Gateshead's birds. It was an adult bird (or sub-adult) but I couldn't see any wing-tags and the first I've had over the Fell for a couple of years.