wildlife

Sometime in the last couple of weeks, I didn’t notice at first but the sky seems very quiet now. No screeching, wheeling black commas!  If they went a couple of weeks ago at the start of August then that’s very early - but who could blame them given our wet weather this year!

On a late evening walk yesterday I noticed a large brown bird of prey, flying 2 or 3 meters above the West Pennine Moors. It flew irregularly, and seemed to be looking in amonst the peaty gullies and brown streams. As it came closer I could see that it was a Tawny Owl, presumably looking for small mammals and fros that are its prey. Normally moorland isn’t one of their commonest habitats, but I realised that woodland and farmland were nearby, so perhaps I shouldn’t be suprised to see one. I also managed to shoot this video, which show how the owl was flying, but not much detail of the bird itself.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCQaSphES7c]

(photo by Donald Townsend - my photo didn’t come out!)

I’ve heard many times that deer can be seen in the Rivington area but I’ve never seen them - until today. On our way back from a Sunday morning walk I turned round and watched a Roe deer calmly cross the path behind me, pause once to look at us, then walk calmly into the woods on the other side of the path, disappearing before I had chance to get my camera ready.

At first I thought it was a large greyhound, but then I realised it was much too big for a greyhound, then I noticed its graceful poise, red-brown fur and finally saw a flash of white at its rump. The whole episode was over in flash, certainly before I’d had chance to load my camera.

And all this on a Sunday morning, probably the busiest day of the week in Rivington, with all the paths crowded with Sunday joggers, dog walkers and bike riders.

(Photo courtesy of Richard Carter)

Finally, the swifts have returned to Rivington. Usually they’re here at the very start of May, but for some reason I only spotted the first today. As harbingers of summer they are a welcome sight, and their life story is an incredible tale of endurance.

1. Swifts can eat as many as 20,000 insects per day.
2. Swifts are relatively long-lived: often reaching 9 years of age and sometimes reaching the age of 20 years.
3. Swifts are related to hummingbirds
4. They land only to hatch and feed their young.
5. They sleep on the wing, ascending to heights of over one mile.
6. Swifts mate in flight.
7. Their mastery of flight is acheived by swifts’ ability to change the shape of their wings in flight to make the most of the tiniest changes in wind speeds and direction.
8. They spend most of their lives in Africa, migrating to the UK only to mate and then rear their young.