I knew within minutes of meeting Les where he was from and what he was doing in Dunsop Bridge one lunchtime last week; although a local accent and camera with a 2 foot lens were strong clues. 'If you don't ask, you don't find out!' is useful advice that was impressed on me from an early age. Some people would call that being nosey but I think it's being friendly - despite getting a fair proportion of 'Never you mind!' replies to my enquiries. Anyway, Les Saddington from Burnley was walking up the track from the war memorial in Dunsop Bridge. He said he was going to take some photos of Dippers and true to his word he sent me one to use here. The bubbling water gives a lovely balance to the still bird.

When Les said he was from Burnley, I immediately thought he must be the helpful man who met the birdwatcher from Hillam (see below) but that was a coincidence too far. So, I'm still looking for the other man.

Please send me any interesting photos you are happy to share.

In the same way that migrating birds crisscross the globe and butterflies traverse continents, birdwatchers from Yorkshire are regularly crossing the Pennines. How do I know this? It is not by observation on the A59 or by tagging of RSPB members, but via the remarkable Hillam News - 'The Voice of Hillam Village', a fearsome no holds barred sort of publication that strikes fear into the hearts of....those who have something to fear, which was recently sent to me and I quote extensively here from their Birding Column, written by Graham Todd. A nice descriptive piece about a well known area in Bowland -

"Before the present cold snap took hold, I drove over to Lancashire, principally to do a 7 mile walk round Stocks Reservoir... There is one of my favourite landscapes, with long views of the rolling, distant hills of Bowland, interspersed with purple grouse moors; but the main attraction for me and other birdwatchers, is that there is lots of glorious birding habitat thereabouts - wet, undrained grassland abounding with wading birds in the spring and summer. I wasn’t looking for grouse or waders though, as I wanted to explore the surrounding farmland, to try to locate the site of a little known roost of harriers and owls. The walk round Stocks reservoir was good exercise, but of very little interest bird wise, and by the time the sun began to set, it was becoming exceedingly cold. I got into the car and drove off to the area of wet rushy bog that I had read about as being a good place to see Shorteared Owls and Hen Harriers in the winter. Luckily for me, a birder from Burnley turned up shortly after I arrived, and he was able to confirm this was the correct place, but by this time it was absolutely freezing! A Peregrine Falcon flew over in pursuit of a Lapwing shortly after I arrived, to be joined by another Peregrine a few minutes later. Most people have read about the flying skills and spectacular dives of the Peregrine in pursuit of prey, but this bird must have been a juvenile, as it was totally useless, and the Lapwing escaped its lethal talons. It put on a memorable performance nonetheless, against a perfect azure sky, bordered by pink edged clouds to the west, illuminated by the setting sun. My day was complete, when in the gathering gloom, I spotted three Short-eared Owls hunting the long damp grasses, joined later by a couple of now very rare Hen Harriers, and after a couple of brief pursuits over dry stone wall, the birds all went to roost."

If anyone in Bowland has been birdwatching in or near Hillam, North Yorkshire, then please let me know - we should send them an article. 

I was across in Yorkshire yesterday at the Yorkshire Dales National Park offices in Bainbridge. I was born in Ackworth, near Pontefract in Yorkshire and the Dales was a long drive over twisting roads when I was young - not much different nowadays. Prior to 1974, of course, Dunsop Bridge was also in Yorkshire and you can still see the WR (West Riding) markers either side of the bridge. I asked the Yorkshire Dales people, in passing, if they knew what colour they used to be painted and they didn't know for sure but Peter Iles, the county Archaeologist tells me that they were probably black letters on white.  

On my way home from Bainbridge, I saw a derelict walled garden just outside Kettlewell. It has recently been bought by the Scargill Movement (check the link to see who they are and their aims). Volunteers have been renovating the centre; a stylish old house with later additions to make many more bedrooms and a very impressive chapel with massive oak pews and a steeply pitched roof. The garden, which is on a sloping wooded hillside, has a large glasshouse and you could imagine the place teeming with fruit and vegetables. Could the community there be self supporting, I wondered? That made me think about an event that is being run by Transition Town Clitheroe on Sat 6^th Feb called 'Can Clitheroe feed itself'. 'Can pigs fly?'  was my first thought but hang on, that's a bit too glib. Yesterday, just by chance, I was sent an article in the Yorkshire Post about my cousin John Brook a farmer who runs a veg box scheme near Pontefract. The article says 'at this time of year, apart from a few hothouse tomatoes, his veg-box customers get potatoes, onions, carrots, sprouts, leeks and cabbage – seasonal and local.' That's how it used to be and that's how it still is then - at least in John Brook's house and a few others. The article contrasts this with some veg box suppliers who throw in imported food.

So this is what we must all do – gather together our friends and relatives, build a walled garden and grow some fruit and veg…..and maybe pray as well.

In mid December, local photographer John Eveson, carried his camera and lights into the middle of a field near Chipping where Michael Neary was working repairing field drains. The danger was that the natural light would be insufficient to produce a 'good shot.' Michael had asked John to take a picture of him working for his booklet of poems titled 'My way home to Chippin'. Here's the result and I don't think I've seen a more dramatic photograph in a long time. The printing presses are now rolling and the booklet is about to hit the (cobbled?) streets of Chipping and further still. Further details and a poem about the Hodder....in a short while.