East Anglia -Undisclosed Location

 Another week of work in the South-East was once again very productive, with plenty of bird activity, as well as lots of insects. In total, I managed three new species of Butterfly as well as many more views of Norfolk Hawker, which was a lifer last time I was down this neck of the woods.

The birding was high quality, with Hobbies seen regularly, Spotted Flycatchers active in a nearby plot of woodland as well as Marsh Tit being abundant. We also spent a night on a nearby heathland looking for Nightjars, of which we found four. There was also a distant Stone-Curlew flying in the gloom calling. Otherwise, my attention was largely drawn to the insects that were around. 

The dragonflies were in fine form. In addition to Norfolk Hawker being seen every day, we also found Southern Migrant Hawker although they did not land. There was also Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker already on the wing. There was not as much in the damselfly this time, as I was unable to find any Variable Damselflies at all, not for the lack of trying.

On the butterfly front, I managed to tick off White Admiral on the first morning’s survey. That afternoon through some research, we discovered a nearby site that held Purple Emperor and the next day I tried it out. Despite the overcast weather, there were a few Purple Emperors in the canopy but only a single female came down to the floor of the woodland, where someone had left a box of rotting fruit for the butterflies. The following day I tried again in sunnier conditions but the wind had picked up and I did not even see a Purple Emperor. Also here I finally connected with Purple Hairstreak, although they too spent most of their time in the canopy. Still, it was good to finally get that species onto my list. There were also more White Admirals here, as well as Grayling and Silver-washed Fritillary, producing a fantastic selection of butterflies for the week.

-Norfolk Hawker

-Southern Hawker

-Southern Migrant Hawker

-White Admiral

-Purple Emperor

-Purple Hairstreak

-Silver-washed Fritillary

-Essex Skipper

-Roesel's Bush-Cricket

Species List:
Undisclosed Location: Mallard, Common Wood Pigeon, European Nightjar, Common Swift, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Stone-curlew, Black-headed Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Grey Heron, Common Buzzard, Common Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Marsh Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Barn Swallow, Common Chiffchaff, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Blackcap, Eurasian Wren, Song Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, European Robin, Eurasian Bullfinch, European Goldfinch, Yellowhammer, Common Reed Bunting, Banded Demoiselle, Azure Damselfly, Large Red Damselfly, Ruddy Darter, Common Darter, Broad-bodied Chaser, Four-spotted Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer, Southern Migrant Hawker, Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker, Norfolk Hawker, Emperor Dragonfly, Small Copper, Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Large Skipper, Common Blue, Purple Hairstreak, Meadow Brown, Grayling, Small Heath, Ringlet, Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood, Large White, Small White, Peacock, Red Admiral, White Admiral, Purple Emperor, Silver-washed Fritillary, 

Spurn Day 6

Now the festival was over, we had nothing more to do but enjoy the birding on offer and relax. The remaining birders on site settled down in the Seawatching hide for a regular seawatch of just chilling out and seeing if there was anything moving.

There were a few things on the sea, but nothing major. Sooty Shearwaters still moving through were the highlight really, as well as a few ducks on the move. The seawatch was interrupted by the call of a ‘probable corncrake’ on Clubleys. We all rushed over and tried an organised flush, initially we failed, but then flushed the offending bird: a female pheasant! Still, for our efforts we did see a Short-Eared Owl and the first Pale-bellied Brent Goose of the autumn, so not bad at all.

-Pale-Bellied Brent Goose

Afterwards we headed up to Westmere to help do the final things for the festival. We were driving up with Tim and Ed, when I spotted something large and grey in a bush on the side of the road. We were moving at 40mph, but without thinking I called out Barred Warbler! Immediately the car slammed to a halt and the others both looked at me like I had gone mad. I knew I had made a pretty bold claim but insisted, so the car went into reverse and we went back to have a look. And there it was, sat out in an elderberry bush, a Barred Warbler. It dived in not long after we had the identification confirmed, but it showed occasionally during the day. I got a few plaudits for that, Barred Warbler id at 40!

Once the wrapping up had be finalised I had a wander round the triangle and then round Beacon Lane and then round the wetlands and ponds. Without doubt the best bird was a Kingfisher which flew past me at the top of Beacon Lane. Spurn tick! There had been one around, but this was the first time I had managed to connect with it, and I was pretty pleased with that too. A few regular things were the best of the rest. A Marsh Harrier was nice, as well as a few waders on the wetlands and ponds such as a greenshank and ruff.

The best of the walk was in Cornerfield. Of course the Red-backed Shrike had been around all week but the chance to get a decent photo had been restricted by the bird’s mobile habits and the light often being against me. But on this occasion it was perched up nicely and was in decent light so I was able to grab a few shots. It was catching insects, first a Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly, then a Rosels Bush Cricket, which were in abundance. A nice bonus was that Adam and I located the Harvest mouse nest that was in the field and had been found by Tim. It’s quite a miniature marvel, as I hope the photos show. 

-Red-Backed Shrike

-Rosels Bush Cricket

-Harvest Mouse Nest

In the evening it was Seawatching again, and again there were small numbers of seabirds but events were largely dominated by ducks, with Scoter and Teal moving. A few Sooty Shearwaters also made an appearance, as did both Great and Arctic Skua

Species List:

Seawatching: Sooty Shearwater, Dunlin, Teal, Common Scoter, Mallard, Gannet, Arctic Skua, Great Skua, Red-throated Diver, Fulmar, Sandwich Tern, Guillemot, Brent Goose, Short-eared Owl,

Traingle: Goldfinch, Skylark, Pheasant, Meadow Pipit, Barred Warbler, Mediterranean Gull, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull, Red-backed Shrike, Linnet, Woodpigeon, Starling, Dunnock, Whitethroat, Yellow Wagtail, Kingfisher,

Holderness Field, Wetlands and Ponds: Black-Tailed Godwit, Common Gull, Mallard, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Feral Pigeon, Yellow Wagtail, Swallow, Woodpigeon, Linnet, Starling, Little Egret, Greenshank, Ruff, Herring Gull, Mute Swan, Wigeon, Teal, Curlew, Graylag Goose, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Sandwich Tern, Cormorant, Marsh Harrier, Little Grebe, Yellow-legged Gull, Ringed Plover, Turnstone,

Seawatching: Arctic Skua, Great Skua, Teal, Common Scoter, Sooty Shearwater, Fulmar, Gannet, Red-throated Diver, Razorbill, Guillemot, Kittiwake, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull,

Dorset Holiday Day 7

Today was supposed to be a really nice day, with the wind dropping with the cloud cover. This was, for the most part, true, but the level of both increased as the afternoon wore on. I decided to make some kind of effort to get up early to have a look round the moths. There was a reasonable catch, the highlights being another new species of footman, this time Buff, and a Pebble Hook Tip. Other species were around, but these were species I had already encountered during the week, such as Dark Arches.

-Four-Spot Footman

-Buff Footman

-Pebble Hook-Tip

 I decided to go to Broadcroft Quarry butterfly reserve on Portland since the weather was meant to be Ok. However, due to train times I did not set off until quite late, and then had to wait around an hour for a bus, leaving a large part of the day wasted.

Once on site it took me a while to get my bearings, but was soon examining. For the actual nature reserve there was very little, mainly common brown butterfly species with a few Marbled Whites thrown in. However, on the other side of the road to the reserve there were a few more species to be had, as more small butterflies were out on the wing.

I logged 3 species of Skipper; Small, Large and Lulworth. I was pleased to have found the Lulworth again as goodness knows when I will next see another due to their range being so restricted. Sadly the wind was picking up at this point and photos were getting harder to take in the swaying grass.

-Lulworth Skipper

 The real highlight of the day was the Small Blues. I had only ever seen one before, a rather scratty individual, but today there were a good few on the wing, some of which were in pristine condition. I was able to get a few photos, but the wind proved a problem again and the butterflies were very mobile and hard to pin down. Besides a few Common Blues, they were the only blue butterflies on the wing.

-Little Blue

Sadly there were not many birds around; such is the nature of the site. Other insects on site were a little more plentiful, with none butterfly highlights being a nice Emperor Dragonfly and a real bonus being a Great Green Bush Cricket, my first not on the Isle of Wight, and my first that I found that wasn’t singing. It was lumbering through the vegetation whilst I was watching the small blues, so would have been hard to miss.

-Great Bush Cricket

I had initially planned to go to the bill and do some Seawatching but given the state of public transport and that buses to the point are very infrequent, I decided to give it a miss and head back to the caravan.

Species List:

Broadfield Quarry Butterfly Reserve: Linnet, Goldfinch, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow, Swallow, Swift, House Martin, Emperor Dragonfly, Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Lulworth Skipper, Large White, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Small Heath, Speckled Wood, Small Blue, Common Blue, Small Tortoiseshell,

Dorset Holiday-Day 12: Fort Nelson Royal Armouries, Arundel WWT

Another scorching day and my family decided to take us to Arundel WWT, but only after we had been to Fort Nelson Royal Armouries. When we got there I found that there was a nature reserve across the road, though it was little more than a field so I went to have a look while my family spent the morning at the armouries.

The field had a lot of butterflies but the were all the same species, though they were in excess. These included things like Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Large and Small White, But there were other species which were a bit more unusual, not least Marbled White and Small Skipper.

-Small Skipper

-Marbled White

Walking through the field I also found some none butterfly wildlife, though there was a lot less of this unless you counted the 6 Spot Burnet Moths which were once more very common.

-6 Spot Burnet Moth

While I was walking around there was a curious song coming from the grass and I eventually tracked it down to a very menacing cricket species, which Google informs me is a Roesel's Bush-Cricket, not that I regularly record cricket species, but it certainly struck me because of the striking yellow lines behind its head.

-Roesel's Bush-Cricket

On the bird front it was very quiet, with the exception of a couple of Magpies and on the way out I stumbled across a family of Willow Warblers. They were very flighty and I did not get exceptional views of them.

-Willow Warbler

I went to the museum cafe because my mum said that there we were going to have a coffee. While we were there my mum told me about all the butterflies that were on the wildflowers growing inside the museum. There was nothing that I hadn't seen, until during our coffee my dad spotted a Pill Millipede descending the wall of the museum, which is not a bug I can regularly see.

-Pill Millipede 

The journey to Arundel was none exciting except that there was a fire on the road which blocked everything up and restricted out speed at reaching the site. 

I have always wanted to go to Arundel, and when I arrived my first impressions were good, as on the first pond prior to entry there were Broad Bodied Chasers and Black Tailed Skimmers hunting it. The entry was good and we learnt that there were boat trips running, so we decided to go for one of those first before we had lunch and set off round the reserve.

The boat trip was very enjoyable and relaxing. I spotted some baby Tufted Ducks, as well as large families of Canada and Graylag Geese. On the mammal front we were delighted to see a Water Vole swim across the channel, though the delight would wear off as we walked round the reserve. On the Dragonfly front there were Black Tailed Skimmers, and there was another which I reckon was a hairy dragonfly but I did not get a good enough view. The only thing that would put me off that i.d. is that it is very late in their flight season, but apart from that, it ticked all the boxes. On the damselfly front there were Azure and Common Blue but also Red Eyed, but since we were on a boat I was unable to get any photos. For that reason my only photo of that species is from Norfolk 2 years ago.

We had lunch in the wildlife garden but did not really see anything.There was a school trip lunching next to us and that could be partly to blame. After lunch the trip headed off towards the lapwing hide, so we decided to  go to that hide later and instead go to the 'Sir Peter Scott centenary sand martin hide'. On the way, there were some Egyptian Geese on the path.

-Egyptian Geese

The hide was OK in terms of birdlife. There were Moorhens and Canada Geese feeding directly in front of the hide, as well as Mallards, Tufted Duck and Shelduck. There were also a pair of Common Terns on a raft in front of the hide, which were showing nesting behavior but no sign of chicks, despite what the sightings board said. They were quite close though, and they obviously were not too bothered by people who I imagine were often noisy which could have disturbed them from their nest.

-Common Tern

After we had finished in that hide we went back to the two hides we had meant to go to, Ramsar hide first, where there was nothing much except a female Mandarin. The second hide was the Lapwing hide, and it lived up to its name since the only bird in there besides Mallards was indeed a Lapwing.

After those two disappointments we headed to Scrape hide which was the best hide on the reserve, but that really did not say much. There was a good number of species, including Mallard, Shelduck, Tufted duck but also a few Gadwall sheltering from the heat under a tall tree. At the far end of the pond there was a Grey Heron hunting but it was some way away. There were also quite a few dragonflies around, but the only ones close enough to identify were Four Spot Chasers and Black Tailed Skimmer.

-Gadwall

-Grey Heron

We were watching the far dragonflies to see what they were, when a small mass began swimming across the lake. My initial thought was grass snake, and why not. But no, it turned out when I looked at it through my camera that it was another Water Vole, though to be honest I would rather that it was a grass snake.

-Water Vole

After we had finished at Scrape hide we moved on to Reedbed hide. Here there was very little, but there was a very cute family of four well grown Moorhen chicks. The adult bird then mounted a small platform in front of the hide, being very bold and then started looking in, even though we were only about 2 feet away.

-Moorhen

It was the best view of a moorhen I had ever had. After we had finished in Reedbed hide we moved on to the reedbed walk. About half way through the reedbed walk we sat down and were soon surrounded by a small gathering of Moorhens and Mallards, so my dad fished out the crumbs from lunch and started to feed them from our hands. The moorhen though decided that it would rather have my flesh than bread crumbs. 

After that we moved on and were just watching some more moorhens when I noticed that the reeds next to us were moving of their own accord. So I had a peek in and spotted another Water Vole there happily chomping away even though we were only about a meter away. Now the appeal of water voles at this site was beginning to diminish. On the boat, our pilot had told us that the reserve was in a big fence so that no water vole predators could get in with the exception of birds, but it also restricted the voles moving out. So effectively, it was like a big water vole zoo, but you don't really think of it until we start to see them as tame as this.

-Water Vole

We finished the reedbed walk and headed to the waterfalls enclosure. Here there was the only Blue Duck outside of New Zealand and that was quite exciting. After a few mins of watching it though you began to feel sorry for it, alone with only a farm duck for company. It was exciting to see because it is such a rare duck but for the above reason it seemed a bit bitter sweet.

-Blue Duck

We finished by walking back through the pet wildfowl zone and we got to see some large groups of rare wildfowl of the world, as you would expect from a WWT place. Once more though as we were walking over the white faced whistling duck boardwalk, a Water Vole appeared and started swimming across the pond, even though we were almost directly above it.

-Water Vole

I thought the reserve was a big disappointment really, I had expected a bit more. My dad summed it up quite well-Its a great place if you want to see Moorhens, but otherwise. We headed back to the caravan site, but the wildlife did not stop there, oh no.

That evening once more we set off to look for nightjars to see how many we would get. We had to wait a little longer than the night before and for a few minuets we were wondering if they would even turn up tonight when we were suddenly surrounded by churring and we saw one flying right towards us. We soon had 3 Nightjars flying all around us, and once more quite close. This time I had brought the tripod to try and get some photos of when the birds were landed. However, it did not really work as the camera still vibrated while on the tripod. Still I got more amazing views of these bizarre birds.

-Nightjar

So ends our last full day on holiday, alas that there 13 days have flown by so quick. Hopefully, on the way home we will go out on a high.