A day surveying up on the Moors, this time a repeat visit to Levisham. Plenty to enjoy up there, but before that, an issue with parking the car; the area where I usually do so being occupied by a herd of Highland cattle, instantly threatening to use my vehicle as a scratching post - and so to plan B...
... which took me down the slope to Levisham itself, which is basically a chocolate box hamlet in a beautiful valley with the Steam railway station at it's centre. Parking the car, I had the good luck to bump into these trans-Saharan beauties collecting mud at the side of the track, and so I delayed the start of my survey to spend some time with them.
Which, as you can probably tell from the photos, was a joy - watching their mud-gathering techniques, additional forays to collect dry grass and straw, and their (mostly friendly, occasionally hostile) interactions, all while not giving a flying one about me sat a few metres away.
A fabulous way to start the day, which also got me breeding Redstart, Tree Pipit and Marsh Tit before leaving the car and hitting the moor - so thanks again to the Highland cattle, you created a very worthy diversion.
