The Day that I Forgot.....

.....................and other tales...

On June 22nd, before the most recent blog post, I went to Tophill Low. Apart from a brief flying visit by a male kingfisher I had to settle for reed warbler and blackcap...

Blackcap - well, browncap! Blackcap Four-spotted chaser - so-called because of its eight spots! Four-spotted Chaser Four-spotted Chaser Reed warbler with juvenile Reed Warbler Reed Warbler Reed Warbler Reed Warbler Reed Warbler Reed Warbler Reed Warbler Kingfisher - male Kingfisher

Great Scott!! It's a great knot!

June 28th - finally found a weather window to get down to Titchwell for a night to see the great knot. I left home in the afternoon having booked an overnight on-line. The bird appeared early next day at Titchwell on the fresh marsh after a spell at Gore Point. Always distant but a lifer for me and a challenge to locate among 2,000 knot! On the photos the white dots will help. Great Knot It's the darker bird at the back - only marginally bigger then a knot if like me you sort of expected a significant size differential. Great Knot The most difficult shot to understand. The bird is back to us looking left. The head looking right is another bird. Often the darker head was all you could see! Great Knot One of the rare moments when I could see most of the bird. Others have had closer and much better views but I was quite happy. You probably can spot it now without a white dot to help you!

Great Knot Generally darker and reminiscent of turnstone summer plumage...

                                                  ...until the whole lot take off and you lose it completely! Knot

Crowle Moor South - June 30th

En route I called at North Cave to see a wood sandpiper distantly as it turned out... Wood Sandpiper Wood Sandpiper I carried on to Crowle.

Turn left at the Crowle Moors little car park and carry on down track for about 400 yards to SE75529 13739 past a small corn field on the RIGHT to a wooded entry with space for a couple of cars. This is Crowle Moors south. My second visit this year - the first must have been just a little too early. This time I got lucky.

The first large heath was about twenty feet away across open deep bog. I tried to get close and a better angle but it seemed too dangerous. Wellies required even for the nice bits! Sheep kept an eye on me. Sheep

Later I followed two others until this one perched so wonderfully for me! Large Heath Large Heath