17th-21st June 2018
Rocking horse droppings!
17th June - Scaling dam and Wykeham Raptor Watchpoint
Common buzzard, wren and linnet
Wykeham - tree pipit, showy garden warbler
19th June - Wykeham, Ellerburn Bank and Fen Bog
Spotted flycatchers in the car park when I arrived. Two honey buzzards wing-clapping plus goshawk, tree pipit and garden warbler still.
Speckled wood on walk back to car park in the dark wood as lit by shaft of sunlight.
Ellerburn Bank YWT - first meadow brown of the year. Fly orchid still hanging on; most had finished.
Fen Bog YWT - small pearl-bordered fritillary in good numbers till the sun went in. Wonderful rare butterfly.
21st June - Washington WWT
Semipalmated sandpiper on the wader scrape.
Webbing clearly visible in this shot. Another bird I hadn't photographed before - #331!
As I headed back to the car park a birder said to me:
''Nice bird'
I replied: 'Yes. Very good'
He added: 'Pretty rare. About as common as rocking horse droppings!'
I guess he was about right!