Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
30th June - 2nd July
Here be dragons!
...and birds, butterflies and orchids!
Tuesday 30th June took me to Fen Bog, Ellerburn Bank and Staveley - all super YWT reserves. At Fen Bog upto three large heaths were seen flying over the bog myrtle beyond camera reach. A dark green fritillary perched on a thistle - apparently they like purple coloured flowers.
A large skipper, wings closed but under-wing pattern discernible, was drinking by a muddy puddle.
Small heath were easily approached.
Eventually I came upon the small pearl-bordered fritillaries. About 9 seen in the end. Most were restlessly patrolling the Eller Beck. A few posed for me.
Little seen at Ellerburn Bank that day. A common blue settled on some vetch.
A nest of caterpillars was entangled in the gorse.
Staveley later in the day. I hoped to find some marsh helleborines in flower but I couldn't locate them. Dragonflies were busy on the wing.
A splendid dragonfly - an emperor - but a damselfly is homing in on him!
Bite!
Four spotted chasers were present too.
July 1st found me at Old Moor for a failed attempt to see the elusive little bittern. I had to settle for a hobby...
...and some dragonfly photos whilst we waited for the little bittern to reappear. Seen by some but not from the hide where I and many others were. Four spotted chaser again.
A black-tailed skimmer perched for me. This was unusual as they tend to normally settle on the ground.
July 2nd. Back to Staveley to look for the marsh helleborines. I found bee orchid, twayblade and common spotted orchids, including this white form.
A male large skipper rested on the rope that protected one area from trampling.
Meadow browns were everywhere...
...as were ringlets.
A lady told me to keep walking. I was at the wrong roped off area! When I reached the second roped off area I saw the marsh helleborines everywhere.
Update on 2015 targets
At the beginning of the year I gave myself 5 targets for 2015. I suspect a half yearly update will be of interest to me and probably to no-one else but I wanted to take the opportunity to assess the year so far. Here are the original targets.
1: Photograph 15 more species of British Birds to get to 300 -and improve some of the ones I have photographed.
Target achieved and exceeded. Currently on 305
2: See 300 birds again.
Looks tricky. Currently on 239
3: 10 British bird lifers in UK
Not doing badly at all. 8 already!
4: Website hits to reach 20,000
Expect to make it. On 18,200+ now
5: BirdGuides photo votes to reach 6,000
Looks tricky! Currently on 5,536
23rd-27th June
Apologies to Crowle and other snippets...
I went back to Crowle on Tuesday 23rd June after researching further. I learnt that at the end of Dole Road, Crowle, DON'T walk from the car park alongside the wheat field to the moors but drive [if you dare!] LEFT along the very rutted, bumpy track or walk the 500m [guess] to a small, grassed car park with enough room for 2 or 3 vehicles. An information board confirms you are at the right place. Walk through the trees onto the moors. It's compact and I took the left hand path. Wet further on but I did see 25+ large heath butterflies. Very active and not easy to photograph as they fly off over the boggy bits! Nonetheless here they are. My books only show it with wings folded so I've included a less than perfect flight shot.
Thursday 25th June saw me at Wharram Quarry looking for butterflies and orchids. One marbled white led me a merry dance until I gave up! Lots of small heath and common blue present. Common spotted and bee orchids seen plus twayblade in far left corner looking from the entrance.
Also seen were a single pyramidal orchid [a bit early for them] and a single robust marsh orchid type.
At home that day Sheila caught a close-up of a stock dove near our feeders.
A seawatch at Flamborough on Saturday 27th June was pleasant but produced no skuas or shearwaters whilst I was there. In fact I didn't linger and called at Thornwick pool where a white wagtail was present but distant. Skylarks were singing and perching nearby.
Eventually I set off for Tophill Low to photograph kingfisher; the kingfisher was seen but proved camera shy and I had only a brief view. Here's a nice orchid sp. from Tophill Low. Not early purple but very much early purple coloration. British orchids are a genetic maelstrom I suspect!
I then headed north for Fen Bog which proved windy so I left for Ellerburn Bank nearby. There I met a couple I had met previously at Fen Bog a week or so earlier. We found a large skipper which made my day as I was able to get these shots with the 400mm lens. Just shows how versatile my Canon 400mm DO lens is!
Birds 2015: 239 UK
11th-18th June
Playing Catch-up!
Computer disaster led to reinstalling Windows and everything else. Fortunately all photos and precious stuff were safe elsewhere....
So, where was I? Oh yes, June 11th at Fen Bog hoping for a butterfly or two! A Class 37 diesel came by on time on the NYMR.
Whilst butterflies are running late this year. I did eventually find a small copper and a small heath. They posed in the cool wind.
Next stop Blacktoft on June 14th with Barry. All quiet on the East Yorkshire front in terms of new birds but there was stuff happening. Like black-headed gull youngsters having a swim...
...or avocets showing that they really should be called exocets. They weren't just flying around you know...
...coming back after an anti-harrier sortie...
...and then back up again. Attack!
Later I took a lot of photos of a marsh harrier food pass but somehow never caught the actual pass.
Black on white - with a dash of pink!
Back to Fen Bog on 15th June. Nothing to report. A lousewort was in flower - parasitic relative of broomrapes.
I moved on to Ellerburn Bank. Orchids surprised me and lifted the day. If you don't know Ellerburn Bank, turn off just before the Dalby Forest Drive pay toll [west end] and park at the side of the timber yard. Then walk along the track for about 500m. Some timber for you!
Ellerburn Bank had fly orchid, marsh orchid and butterfly orchid - and in that order here they are!
Next trip was on the 16th to Blacktoft and then Crowle Moors. A ring-necked duck was at Blacktoft but its bill was constantly covered in mud. You can see the cinnamon neck ring - just!
A sedge warbler posed nicely.
A Blacktoft spider's web.
Crowle Moors proved to be Crowle Waste of time - it's called Crowle Waste on OS maps: good name. All I saw were some goats.
Siamese goats?
On Thursday 18th a squacco heron was reported at Saltholme. I went up straightaway which was a good idea as it had gone by the following morning.
Nearly there! On Father's Day I enjoyed a seawatch where along with all the usual suspects I saw 3 of the pomarine skuas that have been hanging around Flamborough Head plus a few manx shearwaters one of which came in quite close. A marsh orchid was snapped by my Nikon Coolpix because I'd forgotten to charge the DSLR battery!
Early June 2015
Dancing in the Rain
Preamble
A strange sparrow was spotted in the garden by Sheila. Almost a young snow bunting!
...and this sparrow was photographed by Sheila taking cotton wool for its nest from a dwarf conifer which she had decorated for the sparrows!
June 3rd: Dunwich Heath & Minsmere
I left home like a mouse creeping away in the wee small hours. Destination: Southwold and Dunwich Heath. Research encouraged me to believe this to be a reliable dartford warbler site and the one nearest to York. I paid my car park fee and set off. Tiny birds flew away from me before I could get a fix. I felt hopeful. Another early birder beckoned me over. A male was perched distantly on the heather. It had no idea it was lifer 417!
Dragonflies were already on the wing at 8.30 am. Four-spotted chaser.
Someone said some dartford warblers were showing near a stonechat nest. I found the stonechats...
...and then movement in a tiny 2-foot high wind battered pine sapling...
Female below.
Male again!
I headed for Minsmere. Dragonflies were active on the ponds near the visitor centre.
Many birds seen including a great view of a low flying bittern. Year tick in the shape of this nice hobby.
I saw an amazing clump of tree lupin - it must have been ten feet across.
June 4th: Strumpshaw Fen & Lakenheath
Next day north initially to Strumpshaw Fen.
Brimstones near Reception...
... but, apparently, the single swallowtail had disappeared. I set off to walk the reserve. Cutting a long story [after a long walk] short, eventually I found them. About 6 of them.
I photographed this hornet [?] too...
...plus a large red damselfly...
...and a female common blue.
Later I drove down to Weeting Heath NWWT to see the stone curlews wobbling in the heat haze and on to Lakenheath RSPB where I saw marsh harriers and hobbies and a kingfisher [albeit distantly].
Further down the reserve I was lucky to see a family of 3 common cranes, including a youngster. Here's one of them.
June 5th: Titchwell & Frampton Marsh
June 5th was a wet day in Norfolk/Lincolnshire. No sign of a red-necked phalarope but quite a few little gulls dancing in the rain.
This song thrush was sheltering from a downpour.
Frampton Marsh had mislocated the white-rumped sandpiper.
Lapwings were anxiously looking for something to be afraid of...
...and a little egret was dancing in the rain....
...whilst a reed bunting sang his heart out on a nearby branch.
June 6th: Hale, Cheshire and Martin Mere, Lancashire
Barry and I headed west and I saw lifer 418 - a corncrake along with some grey partridges and a corn bunting or two. We then visited Martin Mere and saw a red-necked phalarope. No photos this trip.
I saw these words on a poster in Southwold during my 3 days in Suffolk/Norfolk. Vivien Greene, estranged wife of the novelist Graham Greene, wrote them:
''Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It is about learning to dance in the rain.''
I rather like that. Seems like the ideal mantra for a patient birder.
UK life: 418
UK 2015: 232
May 30th 2015
May 30th 2015
Birds being somewhat thin in the air and on the ground I had decided several days earlier that my next trip would be the first of the year to Chambers Farm Wood near Bardney, Lincolnshire. In particular I hoped to see my first ever marsh fritillaries.
En route I called at Alkborough Flats hoping for a bearded tit. No chance! Saw some skylarks singing from dead plant stems.
Co-operative sort of butterfly the marsh frit: doesn't fly about like a lunatic! Likes to pose on a leaf or spend an hour or so locked together with its mate. Here they are. Roughly 5 different specimens in the photos.
Back at the car park after a fairly long walk I suddenly realised a buzzard was drifting past overhead.
With a little time to spare I called at Adwick [part of the RSPB Dearne Valley complex] and went along the river bank where I had seen a banded demoiselle the previous year. They are still there.
Saw a nice cluster of both corn buntings and grey partridge [225 2015] at Hale yesterday but failed to see the resident corncrake...
...oh well, there'll be others maybe!