What a great place to chill

 

From the Undergrowth

A few pics of the female Black Redstart from this morning, and a couple from yesterday.

Small bird long distance Black Redstart

ditto

dittooooo

ditto

ditto

Buzard mobed by crows

Heron Fishing

Coal tit 

gwh

This juvenile heron was fishing by the weir yesterday afternoon.

From the Undergrowth

A few from the last few weeks, The Cuckoo's are from Taylor Lane and taken on Friday morning 28th august.

Little Egret

Adult Male Cuckoo

DITTO

DITTO

ditto

Juv Cuckoo

ditto

Southern Hawker

Brown Hawker

Common Darter

Brown Hawker

Openday

Hi all I would just like to thank everyone for making Saturday a great event , special thanks to the ladies for keeping our refreshments going and to the guys for setting up and pulling down all the gear, and last but not least to all the visitors we hope you all enjoyed the day . Yours Graham

Open Day at Cromwell Bottom - goods on display

We're spending our AVIVA grant money now, and the Open Day was a great chance to show off some of our purchases - and to talk to people about how we'll be using them. Here's our pond dipping equipment - enough for a group of 20 to all have a go at scooping creatures out and inspecting them safely close up.
We've also got bat detectors and our next purchase will be a moth trap so there'll be lots of things happening down here at Cromwell Bottom through the year.

We'll publicise dates here on the blog as we get organised, so keep checking for updates!

      

We hope you can spot the AVIVA certificate amongst all the items on display?

Open Day at Cromwell Bottom Nature Reserve 22nd of August 2015

The weather (always the priority) started a little doubtful, however the day turned out fantastic. Lots of families called in to have drinks and cake and to take part in Tombola and raffles. Pictures, books, DVD's were bought for our donations, there were animals to pet, including pythons, coral snakes, hissing cockroaches and bearded dragons - all harmless!

The bird display was very popular with little owl, Brown Wood owl, Gyrfalcon and Harris Hawk being fed. The Soft Toys on the "Little Paws Rescue" were a hit with the children. Biscuits, cakes, tea and coffee in huge quantities. Two guided wildlife walks were given during the day.

                                       
                                                          Little Owl

Some of the buns and cakes




More pictures HERE

WATCH OUT FOR THE THIEVES!

I thought everybody might find this interesting.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3200221/Get-lunch-Incredible-pictures-barn-owl-fighting-hungry-kestrel-s-mid-air-swoop-snatch-vole-caught.html#ixzz3j4E52dZJ

As if surviving man & cold spells wasn't enough!
 

Little Egret

Taken on Tues 11 August.

Little Egret today.

Little Egret

         Little Egret spotted on river before flying towards Brighouse,
         so keep your eyes peeled it might pop up again.

Work Party this Saturday the 8th

Hi all
A reminder.

There will be a volunteer working party meeting this Saturday the 8th to finish off painting, path clearing and grass cutting.

Please meet at the Cabin at 09:30 am

Moth Night at Low Moor

Hello All
I spotted this notice of a fairly local Moth Night on 1st August - not sure I can go, but it might be interesting as we prepare to get our own Moth Trap etc?

http://www.lowmoorwildlife.co.uk/

Regards - Margaret

Rewilding Britian

I came across this site Rewilding Britain via Peter Cairns' Facebook page.  Is it of any interest or use to anybody?

http://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk

Ric J

We had a really good meeting last night, making plans for our stall at Kershaw's Garden Centre on 1st August and for our Open Day on 22nd August.  Hope we'll see lots of you there.

Now, these might not be the best photos ever but perhaps you can appreciate the transformation of our cabins from ugly duckling yellow to nature reserve green!

 Some of our volunteers had already put in a good few hours painting during the day, so a sociable gathering in the evening sun was very welcome. Well done guys!!

..... Still a bit to do though....

WORK PARTY THIS WEDNESDAY

Anyone wishing to help on Wednesday this week will be more than welcome meet in the compound at 10am jobs to Do are painting the cabin , erecting outdoor tables , and making a path to the cabins in readiness for the open day ,please come dressed for painting. Yours Graham

Aerial Views

These were shot from my drone on a rare sunny day last week, hopefully at a time when it did not upset the birds.

Some recent sightings on the reserve

                                      A few of these Burnet Moths are around at the moment

                  Poss Moorhen chick. There were four of these little fluffy things around

                                                         Reed Bunting looking for insects

                              Juvenile Moorhen and Little Grebe. They seem to have done Ok this year.

 

                                                           
 Bumble Bee. Poss white tailed. I think they have had a difficult time so far this year

                                         Hoverflies. I love the detail when you see them close up

                                                         Burnet moths. I love the vivid colours

                                                                 Ringlet Butterfly

 Small Skipper Butterflies. I love the detail you can get on seeing butterflies close up

                                      Speckled Wood. A lover of sun and shade

          Heron on the prowl looking for a meal. Hope it wasn't one of our fluffy little chicks!

                                  One of our friendly Robins skulking around the reeds for food.