Birds on a wire

Yellow hammer - 1 of a number of species on the wires over the fell

It was late afternoon before I got a chance to have a look around today, but it was still warm and sunny and very pleasant to be out and about.
Walked through the South Burn Woods, the first part of Fell Edge Wood and over the fell to Daisy Hill and back home again.

Butterflies were in abundance today, with Meadow Browns, Ringlets, Small Heath and Small Skipper out in force, together with a few Small White, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral and Common Blue.
Still a few warblers singing, particularly Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs and a Grasshopper Warbler singing by the edge of the hugely overgrown main pond at Daisy Hill. Still not that many hoverflies about but did manage to add two species Eristalis pertinax and Myathropa florea  and it was too late in the day for  any dragonflies.

Eristalis pertinax (top) and Myathropa florea both on Hogweed

Willow Tits were noted at 2 spots on the fell. It was nice to note good numbers of singing Yellowhammers and Linnets here, especially as both have nearly disappeared from the adjacent farmland. Interestingly I had several pairs of Reed Buntings in the hedgerows where in the past these would have been occupied by Yellowhammers, whereas the fell was the domain of the Reed Bunting.

Several Greenfinches were also on the wires

Added a few more to the flora list today, with the Small-leaved Lime along Waldridge Lane, Meadow-sweet, Phragmites, Reed-mace (Typha), Marsh Thistle  and Common Valerian at Brass Castle Pond,  Wavy Hair-grass, Creeping Soft-grass, Rough Chervil and Apple Mint in South Burn Wood, Fen Bedstraw at Daisy Hill and Tufted Hair-grass, Purple Moor-grass  and Mat-grass on the fell.
The  Apple-mint is a hybrid species and has been here as long as I have lived here.It's a tall, wooly mint and I got it's identity confirmed by an expect a number of years ago hence my confidence in it's identity.

Linnet - the fell still has a very healthy population

OFFH List this year

Flowering plants - 294

Birds - 104

Moths - 170

Butterflies - 17

Dragonflies - 5

Hoverflies - 11

Mammals - 10