Distant Dots and Beautiful Butterflies

Me and Mark went South yesterday morning to Thornton Reservoir near Leicester where a sub adult Night Heron has been showing for a week or more, it was still present but only viewable over a stretch of water so was a bit distant, it had been closer in the week but thats just the luck of the draw I suppose, fairly quiet otherwise Green Woodpecker, Green Sandpiper and Kingfisher being the best of the rest, we watched the Heron not doing much for a while but it didn’t look like moving any time soon so we headed off for the Ouse Washes RSPB reserve. We called off at Barnack Hills and Holes on the way just off the A1 near Stamford, a good site for Flowers and Butterflies, we've been to this site before but earlier in the year when it was alive with Brown Argus and Essex Skippers but this time the target species was Chalkhill Blue, we soon located a pair as we entered the reserve and as we walked further in they became very numerous, a good selection of other Butterflies and a few Silver Y Moths were present as well, unfortunately we were too late for the Plant specialities which included Fragrant and Man Orchids. Ouse Washes wasn’t easy, everything was so distant but the eclipse Blue Winged Teal was eventually found in front of Stockdale Hide along with three or four Garganey, a few Waders were also present including a winter plumaged Spotted Redshank and several Hobbies hunted over the reserve but the three Common Cranes that were there remained hidden. Not a bad day all in all, Green Woodpecker was seen at all three sites and Red Kite and Marsh Harrier were seen as we moved between sites.

the distant and half hidden Night Heron

the Butterflies showed better, male

and female Brimstone

the stars of the show, Chalkhill Blues

female

with Six spot Burnet Moth

some interesting plants, Clustered Bellflower

Dwarf Thistle, a species we don't get up North

Field Bindweed

the Chalkhills Common cousin

a couple of Migrant Hawkers were around

a nice fresh Painted Lady

and Speckled Wood

and finally the very distant Blue Winged Teal (you'll have to take my word for it)

North Wales

Out with Mark and Pete Watson today, its still fairly quiet at the moment so as we had been planning to do it all Spring we decided on a trip to North Wales to photograph Chough and Black Guillemot. We started at Holyhead Fish Quay and soon had a Black Guillemot fly in, unfortunately it plonked itself down right over the other side where it remained until a leaving Ferry flushed it back out to sea, a bit later another one that must have been further in, also flew out to sea, with that we thought we’d do South Stacks then have another look on the way back. At South Stacks Mark was happy to year tick Stonechat at last, a pair was knocking around near the Car Park, a couple of Ravens performed aerobatics and although they took a bit of finding a couple of Chough eventually showed well and we spent a bit of time photographing them, back at the Fish Quay the two Black Guillemots were still messing about out at sea and with the arrival of the afternoons first shower we decided not to hang around, so failed on photographing that one. It was still fine back on the mainland so we popped in to Conwy RSPB on the way back, there were a handful of Waders there but nothing out of the ordinary and it wasn’t long before the rain caught us up. The intention was to call in for the juv Two Barred Crossbill near Clitheroe on the way back but it was slow going due to heavy traffic and the rain as we were leaving Wales and with parking only available to 5pm at the Crossbill site we didn’t really have enough time so ended up just heading straight for home.

Fairburn

I nipped to Fairburn after work yesterday to have a look at the reported Caspian Gull, scanned through the Gulls at the Big Hole with a couple of local birders and soon found a couple of Yellow Legged with the Black Headed, Common, Herring and Lesser Black Backs then we got onto an interesting looking Gull with some good features for Caspian, long legs and wings, dark eye, darker mantle than nearby Herring Gulls plus very aggressive behaviour and the locals confirmed it was the bird they had been watching the day before and most people had been happy with, however it certainly wasn’t a classic individual and I was a bit concerned over the length of its bill but then again it might be a female or maybe just a big long legged Yellow Legged, certainly merits a bit more investigation. Fairly quiet otherwise although I bumped into a young Wood Mouse, I don’t think it was very well it never opened its eyes properly and was very lethargic, allowed me to pick it up although after I put it back down it eventually perked up a bit and headed back into the undergrowth, there were also a few Dragons about but they didn’t pose. Called in at the Quarry at Tadcaster on the way home, brief views of the male Peregrine as it came in and flew to the far end.

putative Caspian

with Yellow Legged

Emerald Damselfly

young Wood Mouse

Comma showing where it gets its name from