there are about 200 varieties of dandelion, some of them quite beautiful like this one captured at Staveley today.Joan Dobson and Sue Zajaczkowska led this week's superbly organised outing to Nidderdale which a record number of 22 members enjoyed. Again we seemed to be lucky with the weather as we headed East, away from the Pennine cloud and rain.
The large attendance meant that we needed to take two minibuses - a first for the group. Some older members did find entry into and egress from the new minibus somewhat vertiginously challenging but this did not seem to spoil their day.
At Cattal we recorded 24 plants in flower, the stars being wild tulips (which unfortunately had mostly gone over*) and early purple orchids. The highlight for the birders was the group's first sighting this year of swifts as ten or a dozen streezhed** their way around the site.
Staveley sedge warblerStaveley produced another first -the group's first recording of rats feeding underneath the bird feeders - very healthy they looked, too! 52 plants were in flower and reed buntings and sedge warblers, amongst many others, sang to us and their intended. Sue was disappointed that some birds which she had seen on her recce the day before did not show, but not all species take kindly to having their space invaded by 22 bodies!
Total bird sightings for the day was 41.
* Gone over - botanical name for 'died'
** Streezhing - Tordoff name for the call of swifts from the superbly onomatopoeic Russian name for a swift - Streezh
Stuart