Birk Bank.

A pleasant spring day for upland birding, with one or two good rewards and three decent butterfly records.

Not the most attractive of woodlands at the start of the path to Clougha, but by the time I got here 20 minutes from the car park on Rigg Lane, I had seen/heard 10 of the 22 Willow Warbler on the day.

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Finding 5 Stonechat on Birk Bank today, including two seen as a pair. I reckon possibly four breeding pairs here to date. One lone male seen, had the largest white wing patches and neck collar I've ever seen. I really need to get back up here again to try for an image of this 'unusual' Stonechat.

My other notes include, 2 Green Woodpecker, one around the area of Rigg Plantation, the other at Gibson Wood. Also, 5 Red Grouse, 4 Wren, 3 Mistle Thrush, surprisingly only 2 Meadow Pipit, one of which I watched take off to take out a small white moth on the wing flycatcher style. Raptors seen, 2 Buzzard, and a Kestrel.

Butterflies.

Green Hairstreak. Pete Woodruff.

I made casual records of 12 Green Hairstreak, no doubt many more to be found here today if my focus had been on them. Also, 9 Peacock, and an Orange Tip.

Particularly with dragonfly larva in mind, I definitely didn't like the look of this pair of Mallard on the bog at Birk Bank. Despite throwing a few small missiles to flush them, they remained unmoved. 

Rare & Scarce. 

A Brimstone was rare, and the first ever in our garden, and a scarce here male Orange Tip also seen.