Spurn Bird Observatory

  The annual Spurn BBQ gave me an excellent excuse to return to Spurn, primarily to see people before I leave but also to fit in some early autumn birding as the migration season begins to gain momentum. I arrived on Thursday and stayed until the following Tuesday, giving me plenty of time to enjoy the birding between hangovers.

  There was some nice birds during my stay, the undoubted highlight of which was the juvenile Black Stork that was tracked down the coast on the Sunday. A group of us spent our day on the Obs platform, scopes at the ready, awaiting for the bird to appear over the horizon. Rainstorms hindered its progress and it took longer than anticipated to arrive, but once we received news that it had passed over Holmpton we knew that it was a matter of time. Once we picked it up the bird spent most of its time flying over Easington and landing in fields. Most birders drove up to get a better view but a small group of us stayed on the platform where, although distantly, we could watch the bird as the local Peregrine forced it down again and again until it landed in a ditch out of sight. It was not until the next morning that it finally came south, passing low over the platform just above us, but frustratingly the wrong side of the sun. A brilliant Spurn tick for me, making up for missing out on the bird in 2015.

  Other birds were also around. An Osprey flew south on the Tuesday, and there was a constant trickle of waders flying in off the sea as we watched from the Obs platform. Turnstones, Black-tailed Godwits and Whimbrels were all among the highlights. Passerine-wise it was still a little steady but there was a nice scattering of Willow Warblers that helped keep the ringing entertaining in a morning. We also tried Storm-Petrel ringing but we failed to even attract any, never mind catch them. It was not a complete loss though, as, in addition to some incredible shooting star action, we also caught a Sandwich Tern, which was a ringing tick for PC. And that does not happen often!

  The weather was warm so in the afternoons we went out to hunt for Odonata. I had a Spurn tick when JHF pulled a male Brown Hawker out of the Church Field Heligoland trap. This is was the easiest species I still needed at Spurn, so was a welcome addition to my list. There was an influx of Banded Demoiselles over the weekend as well. I caught up with two in the end, one in Kew and another in Sykes Field, but there were double-figures over the weekend, an event only previously documented once at Spurn. There were Small Red-eyed Damselflies to enjoy as well, but the highlight was a female Southern Migrant Hawker that I removed from the end of the Church Field Heligoland. My suspicions were raised so I grabbed some photos on my phone, but then talked myself out of it and let it go, forgetting all about it until the next morning when I opened the book and realized what a fool I had been. Still, the first female for Spurn, and not a mistake I will be likely to make in future…

-Black Stork

-Sandwich Tern

-Osprey

-Southern Migrant Hawker

-Brown Hawker

-Banded Demoiselle

Species List:
Spurn Bird Observatory: Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Common Shelduck, Mallard, Common Scoter, Common Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Cuckoo, Common Swift, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Oystercatcher, European Golden Plover, Common Ringed Plover, Eurasian Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Common Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Common Redshank, Common Guillemot, Black-headed Gull, Little Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Little Tern, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Sandwich Tern, Black Stork, Northern Gannet, Great Cormorant, Little Egret, Western Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Western Osprey, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Western Barn Owl, Common Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine, Eurasian Magpie, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Sedge Warbler, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Western Yellow Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Tree Pipit, Eurasian Bullfinch, European Greenfinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Yellowhammer, Common Reed Bunting, Roe Deer, Red Fox, Brown Hare, European Rabbit, Common Lizard, Banded Demoiselle, Azure Damselfly, Common Blue-tailed Damselfly, Small Red-eyed Damselfly, Migrant Hawker, Southern Migrant Hawker, Brown Hawker, Emperor, Common Darter, Ruddy Darter,

August at Spurn

Obviously a large section of August was spent in Madeira, but my time at Spurn was pretty productive for the most part. A number of nice species were ringed, and I had a great time with the abundance of Dragonflies and Damselflies which had emerged as a product of the warm weather. The most exciting of these was the reappearance of Small Red-eyed Damselfly along the canal after an absence of about five years, the entire time that I had been visiting Spurn. Whilst out photographing them I also found a female Banded Demoiselle, which was a Spurn tick for me and only the 19^th record.

-Small Red-eyed Damselfly

-Banded Demoiselle

Birding remained fairly slow but a cracking male Red-backed Shrike in Canal Hedge on the 8^th August, the day before my departure to Madeira, was a nice treat and made for an excellent start to the autumn. Sadly it remained distant and mobile whilst I was observing it. Ringing remained slow and steady but a Treecreeper was a nice surprise in the nets one morning. A Common Crane flew south over Kilnsea one Saturday whilst I was at work. Of course I abandoned my work and scanned from the foreshore in front of the pub. I was lucky enough to be with Jonny Holiday who had bins with him and was able to pick the bird up.

-Treecreeper

Upon my return the first migrants of the autumn had begun to appear, with 150 Willow Warblers seen in the area on one day. Wheatears and Whinchats also started to appear, and I went out with spring traps and managed to catch on of each, as well as another Whinchat in Corner Field. Pied Flycatchers also began to increase towards the end of the month, and we caught a few of these in the garden. We also caught a Wood Warbler, a real scarcity at Spurn, which Paul brought round to the pub for me to ring whilst at work. A Kingfisher in Churchfield was probably the ringing highlight of the month, and maybe even the year. A really stunning bird!

-Whinchat

-Wood Warbler

-Kingfisher

A cracking male Black Darter on the 24^th was another dragonfly Spurn tick for me, this time found by Tim at the end Churchfield Heligoland trap, as so many rare dragonflies area. On the 29^th Adam, as he so often does, found a Woodchat Shrike at the Warren. It was extremely elusive and difficult to connect with, but as the morning warmed up it became more active and was soon feeding out, even if it remained a little obscured. During the afternoon I headed off to Hornsea with my parents, and as a result I missed out on ringing an Icterine Warbler. The next day a new bird was in the garden at Kew but sadly never went in any nets, but fortunately it reappeared in the nets later the following morning. I was pretty thrilled when I took it out put it that way, even if it’s not a self-find. That was one of two birds that I ringed on the 31^st, the other being a Red-backed Shrike at Sammies Point that Adam and I caught using spring-traps. What a day that was!

-Woodchat Shrike

-Black Darter

-Icterine Warbler

-Red-backed Shrike

Species List:

Spurn Bird Observatory: Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Shelduck, Gadwall, Wigeon, Mallard, Teal, Pheasant, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Gannet, Cormorant, Peregrine, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Lapwing, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, Whimbrel, Curlew, Dunlin, Redshank, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Little Tern, Common Tern, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Swift, Barn Owl, Little Owl, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Skylark, Sand Martin, Swallow, House Martin, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Icterine Warbler, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Red-backed Shrike, Wren, Starling, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher, Robin, Redstart, Wheatear, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Dunnock, Yellow Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Linnet, Goldfinch, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting,

Orgreave Lakes

With nothing major on the radar I decided to spend the morning down at Orgreave to see if the wind had brought anything in overnight. I was also keen to see if I could catch up with the Reed Warbler that I had been tipped off about yesterday, as that would be my third patch tick in 2 days. Its been fun spending more time down at the patch, but having said that I still could not get out of bed for half 5, eventually dragging myself out at 6, meaning that I got to the site at 7.00ish.

The morning started a little rainy but then cleared up afterwards until it came quite sunny. The wind had dropped but had not completely gone and on the northern side of the lake where there are fewer trees it could definitely be felt. The shrubbery had plenty of passerines around, including Blackcap and Chiffchaff, both singing. The small lake had some good stuff including a Great Crested Grebe chick being closely attended by its parents, which was fantastic to see.

There were no waders round the small lake and as I wandered over to the large lake I struggled to pick any up initially. However, on the near shore I eventually got a Ringed Plover, and a little more scanning got me a Sanderling again, which was fantastic. It was not particularly close so I moved off round the way it was going hoping it would come out of the grass closer. It did but I had been distracted by a Little Ringed Plover and had not been paying attention, so when it did run through the shorter grass I had no time to prep myself. Never mind. It was the only Sanderling here today.

-Sanderling

I continued round after the Sanderling had moved on round until it was out of sight. There were no new waders round the side, only a couple of Ringed Plover. As I reached the area where I had been tipped off about the Reed Warbler. As I approached I could hear the zesty call of the Reed Warbler though it was drowned out by a very vocal Whitethroat in the neighboring trees.

I set myself up and it did not take long before I could see the Reed Warbler flitting around. It took me surprisingly long to work out that digiscoping was simply not going to work for this and so had to retrieve my camera from my bag. Even then the bird was incredibly difficult to track. At one point, after I had lost it for a while, two birds flew across the river. I could not confirm it but it looked like two Reed Warblers, though the second bird could have been a Whitethroat. Having said that, later revelations would suggest that they were both Reed Warblers.

Whilst I was waiting for a decent chance to photograph this patch tick I spotted another patch tick fluttering around the edge of the river. Not a bird this time but a Banded Demoiselle, which is a species I have not seen on the site before and the first this year for me.

-Banded Demoiselle

The warbler started to show much better afterwards, although it soon became clear that there must be 2 individuals, one on each side of the river. I could not see the birds transfer across the river, yet within seconds of each other the birds were showing on their respective sides. Its possible that there was a third bird, as about 10 seconds after watching the bird on the far side I spotted the bird on the near side sat out in the open, though it quickly dived to be replaced by another. I cannot confirm this was not the bird from the far side of the river but the short time span in which I saw the birds would lead me to think that it is not.

-Reed Warbler

The rest of the walk was very pleasant and I picked up a number of the regular species dotted around the lakes. There were quite a few garden birds around too in the riverside trees, including Long-Tailed Tit, Greenfinch, Chaffinch and another Blackcap. It ended up being a really nice day and a great way to spend a morning.

Species List:
Orgreave Lakes: Blackcap, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Magpie, Black-Headed Gull, Chiffchaff, Skylark, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Goldfinch, Canada Goose, Swift, House Martin, Sand Martin, Graylag Goose, Gadwall, Mallard, Carrion Crow, Kestrel, Ringed Plover, Cormorant, Great Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Lapwing, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Oystercatcher, Sanderling, Coot, Little Ringed Plover, Stock Dove, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Moorhen, Whitethroat, Great Tit, Linnet, Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Dunlin, Graylag Goose, Bullfinch, Blue Tit, Long-Tailed Tit, Dunnock, Swallow,

Potteric Carr YWT

Back in Sheffield to move stuff over to the new house gave me the chance to try and pick up some more year-ticks in the South Yorkshire area. I analysed the sightings and the possibilities were between a pair of spoonbills at Fairburn or green sandpiper at Potteric Carr. Having thought about it I decided Potteric was probably better as it cheaper and the bird seemed more likely.

I made my way over late morning on a really lovely day, looking forward to seeing what was on the site. I arrived in good time so had plenty of time to try and see something on the site. I headed down the main way through the reserve same as before to make my way up to the West Scrape where the green sands had been reported over the last few days. On the way up I picked up good numbers of insects including damselflies and brown butterflies: Ringlet and Speckled Wood.

Near the end of the road I picked up Banded Demoiselle which was looking lovely in the sunshine. However, there was a female and a male, but the female was much harder to track down and was not as easy to get a photo of.

-Banded Demoiselle

While I was trying to get some shots of the demoiselle I flushed a Southern Hawker, an adult male which actually spent a lot of time landed, so I was able to get some photos of an adult Southern Hawker landed, which had been eluding me. I was initially reluctant to try and get close, but soon I was able to get great views and photos of it.

-Southern Hawker

I moved onto the Piper Marsh Hide which is where the Kingfishers were, but there was nothing there except for a Pochard. I waited about 5 mins, but just as I was setting off the Kingfisher flew past the hide, but it did not stick around so I was unable to get any photos or anything.

I moved onto the West Scrape Hide where the green sand was meant to be. I moved in, possibly there being the most birds there I can ever remember being there, so things were looking up. The majority of birds were Black-Headed Gulls and Lapwings. I waited about 5 mins before the bird of the hour appeared on the near mudflat. Thrilled would not cover it, it was such a good view. And as a result I decided to watch the bird, which turned out to be a big mistake as the bird did not stick around. As soon as I raised my camera to take some photos the bird flew off. I grabbed one photo, and its out of focus, but the view I got of the bird flying off was very striking, clearly distinguishing it from common sand by its bright white rump.

-Green Sandpiper

I waited around for the bird to return, but it took significantly longer than I had anticipated. I ended up waiting a whole 2 and a half hours. And in that time I only managed another minuet with the bird, and again I decided to watch the bird rather than photograph it. And so for the moment my record shot remained the one poor quality photo.

There were a couple of other birders there, milling in and out. The original birders mentioned that there was a pair of Godwit around, which we identified from his photos as Black-Tailed. We also found a few Wigeon, and a juvenile Little-Ringed Plover, which had been around for some time and a Marsh Harrier and Buzzard, which frequently sent the gulls up. After a bit the Godwits re-appeared, though we don't really know how they appeared from, as they somehow moved from one side of the lake to the other without flying.

-Black-Tailed Godwit

-Little-Ringed Plover

After 2 and a half hours I decided enough was enough and that the bird was probably lost. I had seen it, got great views and the only thing that was missing was some good photos, but it just did not seem like it was going to show again.

I carried on round, not picking up many birds but I got great views of insects. The undoubted highlight was a Devil's Coach-Horse Beetle, a lifer for me. However, as I found frequently through the day, the wrong lens was on the camera and despite my attempts to keep the beetle occupied by keeping it on the path while I changed the lens, by the time I had managed to change the beetle had scurried under the grass and I was unable to re-locate.

I also picked up Emperor Dragonfly, Four-Spot Chaser and Black-Tailed Skimmer. There was also Ringlet butterfly in large numbers. However, that was the good side. On the bad side there was a Wasp, which decided to randomly sink its stinger into me, although having analysed the mark I think it may be a bite mark rather than a sting mark. I also accumulated about 20 mosquito bites, along my legs over the course of night.

In the main Duchess Hide there was not much happening, so after a short while I continued along the path, but I decided to return to the West Scrape Hide to try and see if the Green Sand had returned. Along the way back I picked up Red Admiral Butterfly, the positive, and Mink along the top of a drain, the negative.

-Red Admiral

Back in the West Scrape Hide I decided I would wait a little while, about 10 mins and see what happened. As it turned out, going back was a wise decision as the bird was showing again. As soon as I wandered into the hide it was on the near shore, but once more I had the wrong lens on. I grabbed a few shots with the 300 before trying to change, during which time the bird decided again to move out of sight. Brilliant!

I waited a little longer, but not too much, but it proved worthwhile as the bird did make another appearance, looking mighty fine, though initially behind the reeds, but soon it was out in the open enough to grab some decent record shots finally, so that I would not be left with a terrible gap in my collection.

-Green Sandpiper

While I had waited the Godwits that were still around had taken flight and given good views as they circled around the lake. They did not stay airbourn for long, but I got great views of the wing pattern, proving beyond doubt that they were Black-Tailed.

-Black-Tailed Godwit

After the green sand had gone I decided to head back, as it could be quite a walk back. Along the wooded edge of the main marsh I found quite a surprise species when I spotted a Willow Tit among a mixed tit flock. I was unable to get any photos, nor was the view particularly good but there was no mistaking the identity of the bird, a really nice surprise to have found.

I decided to call in at the Willow Pool Hide to see if there was anything on the feeders there, the initial willow tit putting me in the mood for more. However the feeders were dead, probably due to the presence of a pair of grey squirrels that were making the most of the bird food on offer. However, the limited birdlife did not seem interested in the seed put down, the only bird being a young Blue Tit that was pulling the seeds off a bulrush, slowly making its way round the head, leaving it bald. It was a great stand to get some photos from, and the positioning of the bird was not bad either.

-Blue Tit

Finally I had in mind to check the Loversall field to see what was about on there. In the past there were good numbers of Dragonflies on there, and I had in mind to try and track some down. On the way there I got a nice surprise when I spotted the tail of a Grass Snake disappear into the undergrowth, a poor and brief but very nice view.

The ponds were quite quiet, lots of Blue Damselflies but not much besides. There was one Four-Spot Chaser on the pond, which kept landing on a stick obviously left for it, but highly inaccessible without crashing through the poolside vegetation. 

It was here that I stumble across my first Emerald Damselfly of the year, resting deep in some sedge, making it difficult to photograph, but not impossible so I was able to grab some record shots of the individual. It made a nice addition to the days list. 

-Common Emerald Damselfly

And that was the last action of what was a very rewarding and productive day spent out in the sun. As I type this up this evening I am now nursing a very sore leg from all my insect related injuries sustained from today. But was it worth it? I would say so...

Species List:
Potteric Carr YWT: Starling, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Magpie, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow, Blackbird, Blackcap, Great Tit, Robin, Black-Headed Gull, Wren, Mallard, Jackdaw, Mute Swan, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Coal Tit, Treecreeper, Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Collard Dove, Lapwing, Long-Tailed Tit, Moorhen, Coot, Little Grebe, Great-Crested Grebe, Song Thrush, Jay, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Common Teal, Pochard, Shoveler, Gadwall, Kingfisher, Reed Bunting, Wigeon, Willow Tit, Chiffchaff, Little-Ringed Plover, Sand Martin, Willow Warbler, Canada Goose, Graylag Goose, Little Egret, Black-Tailed Godwit, Marsh Harrier, Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Reed Warbler, Swift, Green Sandpiper, Common Blue-Tailed Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Common Emerald Damselfly, Banded Demoiselle, Black-Tailed Skimmer, Four-Spot Chaser, Emperor Dragonfly, Southern Hawker, Common Darter, Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Gatekeeper, Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Large White, Red Admiral, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Rabbit, Grey Squirrel, Grass Snake, 

Dorset Holiday-Day 7: Tadnoll and Winfrith Nature Reserve

Another scorching day, another trip to a heathland wildlife watching. This time I was going to Tadnoll and then Winfrith Heath nature reserves. These were quite close to the camp site, so I walked most of the way there.

When I was nearly at Tadnoll a Sika Deer wandered across the road in front of me. It seemed to be limping, and when I got a bit closer I could see that one of its back legs seemed to be twisted to the side so it stuck out perpendicular to what it should. It looked fairly horrific, but when it saw me it had the energy to run away, so it clearly did not have too many issues.

-Sika Deer

The reserve had a notice board, and on it I noticed that it said that there were ladybird spiders on the reserve. That got me interested, besides that it claimed all 6 British reptiles, dartford warblers and the rest of the regular heathland animals. As soon as I got onto the heathland I was delighted to notice that they had lain out corrugated iron sheets for the reptiles, the first site I had found where this had been done. Therefore I started to lift them up to see what was about. I had a look under the nearest one and there was nothing there.

I then had a look under another which was a bit further from the path. I lifted it up and was amazed to find underneath a lovely Smooth Snake. Britain's rarest reptile looked rather lovely, and all its scales looked clean and shiny. I took plenty of photos, but had noticed that there was some wood covering its head. This was quite annoying as you need a license to touch the snake, so removal of the stick would require some skill. I managed to get it away without touching the snake, which, once the stick was removed, sat up and began to taste the air. I don't see many snakes being from Yorkshire, and this was the first time I had ever seen a wild snake taste the air with its tongue. Follows is my log of photos from possibly the best find of the holiday.

-Smooth Snake

After a good ten mins watching the snake I decided to was probably a good time to leave it before I did something wrong. As I was putting the tin down I noticed a snake skin on top, at about the same size of the snake underneath. I was en-devour to say that this was the reason the snake seemed in such fine nick. Needless to say, I kept the skin as a little souvenir of my first ever smooth snake. 

I checked the only other tin I could find, but there was only another skin under that one. It was a much bigger skin though, I think probably grass snake, though I did not find that snake. Near to that tin there was a drying up pool surrounded by gorse, and here I got my first dragonflies of the day: Keeled Skimmers as well as Large Red Damselfly and Common Blue Damselfly.

I wandered round the rest of the reserve but the heat, well over 30 degrees, seemed to have made everything wisely take cover. Therefore I did not see much else on Tadnoll. On the bird front I spotted a Stonechat, Linnet and a hunting Kestrel, but it remained quite there too. 

I wandered down to the floodplain to make my way to Winfrith. On the floodplain I sat down to have a drink and see what there was in the river there. There were quite a few Banded Demoiselles as well as a large Golden Ringed Dragonfly. The dragonfly was not keen to land, but I managed to get a few record shots of where it was.

-Golden Ringed Dragonfly

While I was sat there I noticed a Brimstone butterfly land on the thistle next to me. I don't see many of this species, and it was a first for this holiday. 

-Brimstone

-Banded Demoiselle

After crossing the floodplain and been eaten by horseflies I made my way on to Winfrith. The reserve climbed steeply and I found a tree with a pool underneath. While I was walking up I saw that there was a small brown bird calling from the tree with the familiar song. It was a Tree Pipit, the first one I had seen this year. I was able to get quite close while it was still in its display flight, but it was not keen on me taking photos.

-Tree Pipit

In the pool I spotted that there were some newts, which were the first I have seen this holiday. I don't really know what kind they were but I think that they were Smooth Newts.

-Smooth Newts

Around the pond there were plenty of Dragon and Damselflies. The dragonflies included Black Tailed Skimmer but the main species was Broad Bodied Chaser, which chose to land right in front of me. I was able to get my best photos of this species yet. It was a lovely male and seemed not bothered by my being there.

-Broad Bodied Chaser

I made my way round Winfrith but there was not much around, probably as a result of the heat, and that's the reason that I wandered into wool for lunchtime.

After lunch I returned to Winfrith, but this time I made my entrance at the south gate which was where the proper path and gate were. There was a notice board but it was the same as the one at Tadnoll. This section of the reserve was quite boggy, so I hoped that there would be lots of Dragon and Damselflies around. 

I wandered onto the bog to see what there was, but the first thing I saw was a Lapwing. It was obviously flustered by my being there, though I was no where near its nest. There were plenty of Dragonflies; Keeled Skimmer, Black Tailed Skimmer and Broad Bodied Chaser, but here it was the damselflies that really caught my attention. I spotted another Scarce Blue Tailed Damselfly but this time I needed no book to help me identify it. This time, since I was confident of my i.d. I was able to confidently take more photos of this species...

-Scarce Blue Tailed Damselfly

I made my way down the path and saw plenty of heathland birds, not least another Dartford Warbler flyby that I could not relocate, as well as Yellowhammer. I also spotted a large orange fritilary butterfly but it would not land and I lost it without knowing what kind it was. I also spotted a Green Tiger Beetle and got to watch it savage a Wood Ant, but as before it would not let me get close to it for a photo.

I made my way back on to Tadnoll as I made my way back to the campsite. On Tadnoll there continued to be limited wildlife. I went round all the tins again but this time there was nothing. On an old wooden pillar though there was a stonechat male calling.

-Stonechat

I wandered off, back to the caravan site by the road. I was impressed by the reserves but fancied that the heat had rather killed off quite a bit of their wildlife that otherwise would have come out. The way back was not particularly exciting until I was almost back. Then I flushed a large group of Sika Deer that were feeding by the side of the road. They called with their girly screams before running back to what they thought a safe distance. 

-Sika Deer

I considered coming back to these reserves the next day, but then decided to just go somewhere else and see if I could get anything else new.