Hard to follow Swallow

A Red Rumped Swallow has been hanging around the Lake in East Park, Hull for the last two or three days so I thought I'd go and see it after work, it was a wild, wet miserable afternoon but it meant the Hirundines were feeding low over the water and I got some really good close views of it, the catch 22 was it was not very good light for photography and the bird proved difficult to follow with the camera, I managed a few record shots though.

plenty of House Martins too

Hudwit

Out with Mark and Paz on Saturday, picking up Darren on the way for a twitch down to Meare Heath in Somerset for Britain’s third Hudsonian Godwit, I saw the first one at Blacktoft Sands back in 1983 but had just started Birding and didn’t really appreciate its rarity value so it was a good opportunity to have another look at one, we arrived mid-morning and the bird was present and showing well as indeed it was all day apart from a brief 10 min departure after a Peregrine spooked the flock of Black Tailed Godwits it was with, with nothing else to go for we stayed with the bird all day getting the best and closest views late afternoon. It was a great little area and we also had good views of other species that are still rather uncommon further North, like four Great White Egrets, displaying, several Bitterns giving great flight views, Cetti’s Warblers singing everywhere, a trip over the road to the nearby RSPB Ham Wall reserve gave us a fantastic spectacle of at least 10 Hobby’s hunting over a reedbed, other highlights included Buzzards and Marsh Harriers out hunting, Little Egrets, a drake Garganey and calling Whimbrel over.

initial views in the far corner

very distinctive in flight

four Great White Egrets about

unusual display flight

Peregrine chasing the Godwits

Hobby's also put on a good show over the road at Ham Wall

it came a bit closer late afternoon

flashing the diagnostic black underwing

good and prolonged views of Bitterns flying around

flying back to the back of the pool

punk Garden Warbler

Grizzlies and a day roosting Heron

I was out with Pete Watson today and we decided to do a repeat of the trip we did this time last year to Twyford Woods in South Lincs for the Grizzled Skippers then back to Whisby Country Park for Nightingales, armed with a bit more info on the Butterflies, we’d not been looking in the right place last year, we headed south from a sunny Yorkshire but as we got to the Woods we ran into the edge of a thick band of cloud and it was quite cool, however with blue skies beckoning we headed off for the Sanctuary area but it was to be late morning before the sun got out enough to warm things up and spur the Butterflies into action, they weren’t easy though, very quick and easily lost but we eventually got good views of at least two, we also had the bonus of a Dingy Skipper as we returned to the car, it was all about the Butterflies this morning really but there were also a lot Warblers singing in the area including my first Garden of the year, several Buzzards and a Raven graced the skies and a Cuckoo, another year tick, flew over. After a late lunch and a phone call from Mark informing us of a Night Heron at Attenborough NR on the outskirts of Nottingham we changed our plans and went to see that instead, it was a nice adult male with breeding plumes but just typically sat in a bush sleeping, preening and occasionally scrambling about until it abruptly flew off, other highlights on the reserve were a booming Bittern, a few singing Cetti’s Warblers, a pair of Little Ringed Plovers and several Red Crested Pochards. 

Wild Strawberry, the food plant

so of course the first one we saw was on a Daisy

Dingy Skipper on the way back

Attenborough NR

the Night Heron high in a bush

obliging Red Crested Pochard