When I got home after being out today , I mentioned to Carol that I hadn't had a good day , but when I downloaded the photographs taken , I must admit , I had to change my mind . Once again in picture and comment format .My first stop was at Bough Beech , and with the level as high as I have ever seen it , why are we on a hosepipe ban ? Because of the amount of water , very few birds were seen .
Lots of movement to and from the heronry .
The Common Terns are nesting on the plastic island as well as on their own floating platforms .
Four of the five Common Buzzards that drift over, just couldn't get all five in the frame .
The sky wasn't totally clear , and as I left to look for Odonata on the nearby River Eden , it got cool and windy , of course .
Just a male and female , pictured , Banded Demoiselle by the river ,
and a Large Red Damselfly in some Brambles , was all that I could find .
Whilst looking , I did come across Ransoms / Wild Garlic in flower ,
and also Yellow Pimpernel / Lysimachia nemorm.
From the river , I headed for the Greensand Ridge , in the hope of finding some interest .
I didn't find a single Adder today , but finished up with 11 Grass Snakes and one Slow Worm . This particular specimen was definitely giving me the 'evil eye' .
The Grass Snakes seemed to have a preference for tins today , as none were found under felts . This particular tin revealed 3 adults , but with the 100mm lens , I couldn't get far enough away to get all three bodies fully in the frame . I recorded just 1 Peacock , 1 Lge.White and 1 Orange Tip on site .
On my way home , I made a detour to another reptile site , and failed to find an Adder there either .
I did however find an unusually spotted Grizzled Skipper , many of the spots fused together ,
the first flowers opening on the Sainfoin / Onobrychis viciifolia , a member of the Pea family ,
my first Man Orchid of the year ,
sporting it's first Man flower . Three Peacocks were also recorded .
Catching up with the ID of the small red / black ladybird type insect from a couple of posts ago , I contacted an entomologist who has helped out in the past . He has kindly identified it as a Leaf Beetle -Gonioctena viminalis , I can now sleep , hopefully .
But there again , whilst at Bough Beech , a small bird appeared in the branches in front of me , I fired
off three shots , all very similar , and it was gone . I think it will probably turn out to be a Chiffchaff , but I didn't think it was at the time .
3 comments:
Nice Damselfly photo's Greenie, got all the body in focus, I find that difficult to do!
I think your bird is a Chiffchaff, but wouldn't rule out Willow Warbler 100% :-) Has some unusual plumage detail on it.
I've been dying to find out the name of your mystery bug since you told me last night that you had discovered it. I had looked through hundreds of them without success. I have looked it up and there is surprisingly little mention of it on the Internet and none at all in my Collins book, maybe it is unusual?
Anyway nice photos of the Heron and Common Tern in flight today and good to see some Odonata.
Some lovely shots there Greenie and not a bad day at all, I only saw my first Damselflies and Dragonflies this weekend unfortunately one was a dead Downy Emerald. By the way I never got to letting you know about the Orchid on the bank in Digdog Lane, I didn't see it this year.
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