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 Week 7

Monday 25th July

Having started the night shift again the amount of time I actually get to spend birding is vastly reduced. When I awoke mid afternoon I immedately headed round to Kilnsea Wetlands in the hunt for a possible caspian gull, but was just a herring gull in my opinion. Once I was back at the Obs I decided to walk around the Canal Bushes. After the birds failed to produce anything I began to check through the butterflies, specifically the Skippers to check for Essex Skipper. After some initial confusion where I ended following different individuals, I did eventually add this species to my Spurn list.

-Essex Skipper

 I headed round to Holderness field with Arash where we had 2 Green Sandpipers, a few Yellow Wagtails and a rather smart juvenile Stonechat as the best of it. As Swifts were steadily trickling down whilst we were there we decided to head to numpties to make sure we did not miss anything. Sadly though, no sooner had we arrived than did the movement completely dry up. The only real highlight was a Stoat that came bounding right at us through Clubleys field. As a result I was soon back at my caravan for a nap before the night shift.

-Stonechat

-Stoat

Sightings List:

Beacon Lane & Holderness Field: Green Sandpiper, Yellow Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Linnet, Swift, Whimbrel, Avocet, Carrion Crow, Herring Gull, Common Teal, Mallard, Shelduck, Stonechat, 

Numpties: Swift, Common Scoter, Great Tit, Swallow, Sand Martin, Carrion Crow, 

Tuesday 26th July

Sadly the fox did make an appearance tonight, and it took my best efforts to chase it away. Man I hate that thing. Anyway, all the young survived the night I believe so its nice to know my suffering is being appreciated. In the morning I got a couple of Canada Geese on wetlands which are fairly unusual here but aside from that...

When I eventually dragged myself out of bed around mid-afternoon I headed down to the Canal but there was not much going on there, the highlight probably being the ever present Little Grebe on the canal scrape. Next I walked up to sammies point but the tide was out and there were no waders around really. In short, I did not see a great deal today.

Sightings List:

Canal Zone: Whitethroat, Reed Bunting, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Curlew, Mallard, Redshank, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Little Grebe, Carrion Crow, Magpie,

Sammies Point: Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Golden Plover, Redshank, Dunlin, Magpie, Starling, 

Wednesday 27th July

Tonight's shift was significantly quieter, with no real disturbances to report. I checked a couple of times but saw nothing so got to enjoy a peaceful night. Come morning I was disappointing to see that it was raining, although it would make the sleep in somewhat easier.

So I foolishly thought, when I was awoken at around 9.30 to the radio crackling into life about a White-rumped Sandpiper at the ponds. It was only an initial report as the finder did not have a radio, but it was quickly confirmed. Part of me wished it was not one, so I could just stay in bed. However, I was soon out of bed and making my way, somewhat groggily, up to the ponds.

Once there it was apparent the bird had merged into the increasing flock of roosting Dunlin, gathering up to 2000 when I arrived. After a while looking though the bird in question came out, although not long before it decided to fly and headed off to the other end of the ponds, revealing the distinctive white rump.

This was the story of the birds tidal roost, with the bird also being incredibly distant before it flew onto the beach when flushed by a Peregrine. Sadly I managed to get no photos of it, and the views I got were somewhat restricted by the distance. That being said, I could clearly see the rump on multiple occasions when in flight, and the deck views were good in not brief, and its better than not seeing it at all. Sadly I failed to get any photos but the shot from Mr Jonnie Fisk is a pretty accurate portrayal of what we saw.

-White-rumped Sandpiper

There were impressive numbers of Terns and Waders on the ponds, but nothing else overly out of the ordinary. I headed back to bed once it became apparent that the Sandpiper was not coming back and in the afternoon I ended up painting the observatory decking and then going shopping, so no additional birds there either.

Sightings List:

Beacon Ponds: Dunlin, Bar-tailed Godwit, Little Grebe, Mallard, Grey Heron, Peregrine, Knot, Cormorant, Common Tern, Little Tern, Arctic Tern, Sandwich Tern, Yellow Wagtail, Black-tailed Godwit, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Little Egret, Meadow Pipit, Reed Bunting, Turnstone, White-rumped Sandpiper, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper,

Thursday 28th July

The night-shift was far quieter than previous nights, with no need at all to go out and check. However, my morning sleep was cut short by a lawnmower and with a cold now setting in today felt pretty rough.

I headed up to Kilnsea Wetlands for a look once I had gathered my senses and was rewarded with a few birds, mainly Sandwich Terns and Black-headed Gulls but also a few nice Yellow Wagtails. The weather did take a turn for the worse though and I was soon back in obs catching up on my lost sleep...

Sightings List:

Kilnsea Wetlands: Wigeon, Mallard, Sandwich Tern, Yellow Wagtail, Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit, Swallow, Starling, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Dunlin, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Arctic Tern, Little Tern, 

Friday 29th July

Another quiet night shift was livened up when I found Spurns first Migrant Hawker of the year behind the tern hut in the very early hours of the morning. It got even livelier on my way back when I flushed a small brown bird at the back of the wetlands. My initial impression was Grasshopper Warbler due to the shape and colour of the tail and the general jizz of the bird. Subsequent flushing put beyond any doubt the identification of my first Grasshopper Warbler of the year and my best views ever of this species, although still only flight views. I was flushed it four times, each time the bird flying low past me and back into the phragmities. A nice treat for the morning. Mick got the directions off me when he took over about half and hour later, and he got even better views, with the bird sitting out briefly on a gatepost.

-Migrant Hawker

Once I had been to bed and woken up again I found myself at a loss as to what to do, and with the weather taking a turn for the worse I found myself idle at the observatory. News broke of a caspian gull at wetlands so I pilled into Ian's car and headed up. The gull in question certainly showed a number of pro caspian features, but the identification could not be clinched due to its age and the views obtained. I personally did not get a caspian gull impression, its head being overall too short and the birds posture being more horizontal than I would have imagined. Still it gave me something to do, and there was a Merlin and a couple of Yellow Legged Gulls to keep us happy.

Sightings List:

Kilnsea Wetlands: Merlin, Kestrel, Yellow Wagtail, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Reed Bunting, Herring Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Sandwich Tern, Little Egret, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Dunlin, Redshank, Graylag Goose, Mallard, Teal, Carrion Crow,

Saturday 30th July

After yesterday mornings excitement I could not imagine that it would be eclipsed the next day, but so wrong was I. Walking back along long bank at around half 5 I was thrilled to see the long bank Otter again, over a month since its last appearance. Views were substantially better than before, this time I was able to see the animals full profile as it swam towards me. However, the ditch bends and it quickly went out of sight. I made my way along the bank to a spot where I would be able to see up the ditch for when the animal continued swimming past in the hope I might be able to get a photo of it.

I waited for a good ten minuets, but then I spotted some of the reeds rustling, allowing me to presume that the animal was moving its way up, only very slowly. Soon I would get my photos. This assumption changed when the rustling reeds took a turn and started moving up the bank. I decided that this was not usual otter behaviour and that it was more than likely a pheasant or a large sedge warbler, and as such went back to watching the ditch.

What happened next was unbelievable. I spotted movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to see the otter emerge onto the top of long bank, on the gabions about five meters away from me. My head movement got its attention and there we were, both staring at each other. My camera was over my shoulder so I gingerly tried to reach it and almost succeeded before the Otter decided to bolt, crash back through the reeds and into the ditch where I did not see it again. Talk about an amazing wildlife encounter. What a moment.

The rest of the day nowhere near lived up to the morning. An afternoon at wetlands was plagued by insects and with no real birds. The highlight was a nice female Peregrine which had obviously chased all the high tide waders off ponds before I had got there.

Sightings List:

Kilnsea Wetlands: Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Kestrel, Yellow Wagtail, Dunlin, Mute Swan, Little Egret, Teal, Redshank, Yellow-legged Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Sandwich Tern, Greenshank,

Sunday 31st July

Another long night-shift down, but this time the fox made two appearances, keeping me on my toes for the whole night. In the morning I was something of a wreck as a result, and I did not manage anything particularly amazing as I had done the last two days.

The afternoon was hard work, the shifts have begun to catch up with me now leaving me exhausted most of the time. I made my way down the canal to good views of Sedge and Reed Warbler. On clubleys there were no dragonflies really. I finished off the walk by going round the triangle, and connected with the juvenile Redstart that had been around Rose Cottage. It showed nicely on the pavement before diving back into the bushes where it became far more elusive.

Sightings List:

Triangle: Redshank, Dunlin, Golden Plover, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Mallard, Redstart, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Starling, Swallow, House Martin, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Teal, 

Isle of wight Day 3-ventnor botanics

it was a overcast morning that greeted us, but it was quite warm so we decided to go to the botanic gardens at Ventnor. Botanic gardens are often good for wildlife so I went with my family to the gardens. The entrance building was quite modern, but when I saw the map I was gutted to learn that there was only one pond, and that was next to the cafe, so I didn't rate my chances of finding any dragonflies very highly.
There was however a meadow at the far end of the site, which might have had some butterflies, so i decided that that would be where I went for the day. But first there was the issue of going to the cafe, and there would be the pond there too.
The pond was a small concrete affair with a wide variety of plants but not much else. I got my first odonata sighting of the holiday with the small numbers of blue-tailed damselflies that were there, including form rufescens-obsoleta.

-Blue tailed damselfly

After a morning snack I made my way to the meadow at the far end. I was not surprised to find that it was just a field, all be it a very big one. I was also not surprised to find that there was an excessive number of grasshoppers and crickets in the field. I this one which was quite big...

-Large Cricket
There were also a large number of butterflies, including the usual gatekeepers, large whites and meadow browns, but also, for the third day on the trot I spotted a marbled white butterfly

-Marbled white
Secretly I was hoping for a glanville fritillary, although their flight season had past, there may be just one or two hanging around, and we were quite near to st. catherines point where they exist, so there was no reason why the shouldn't be here.

They would have to wait though, as i received a text from my dad telling me that they had found a family of partridges with babies, as well as lizards. When I caught up with them, back at the cafe my dad said that they had lost them, but showed me a lizard sunbathing on a flat rock.

-Common Wall Lizard

We look around for the partridges but it was my mum that found them, accidentally stumbling upon them resting away from the path. I watched them and counted about seven babies, as they began to move around looking for a new place to rest. I took some photos to show how cute they were, but there isn't a great deal more to say, so just enjoy the photos.

-Red legged partridge female with chicks
I then spotted another lizard, this one closer to me, allowing me to get a few more quick shots of lizards, this one was more awake and scurried when i tried to get closer.

-Common wall lizard
Back in the field, I spent my time walking around the clumps of thistle's looking for potential fritillaries, I didn't find any, but I did find a group of young willow warblers, that was nice-a real day for baby birds.

-Baby willow warblers
I continued to walk around the field and as i did so, I kept flushing small skippers from the grass, only when they landed again they had their wings closed which i have never seen before. This is what attracted me to have a closer look, and I kept finding them and watching them for a long time until they opened their wings. eventually i found one that did open its wings. I didn't really know what they were, but i knew that the difference between small and essex skippers is to do with the black on the underside of the attenne, so I had a look and it seemed to fit the bill. If I'm right then I have another new species of butterfly, but I still have some doubts over my I.D skills on such small departments. Anyway I took a lot of photos, so enjoy them, and if you know please tell me if I'm wrong.

-Essex Skipper

It got to lunch time and still no joy with the fritillaries, although I had also found a group of common blue.

During lunch there was a heavy rain storm so I guessed that me chances had just about finished, but I went back anyway to try and find one.

Moving further into the field i passed some cages, where there were ponds and llamas, and also a grey heron looking wet and miserable.

-Grey heron
I continued to walk around the field until I found a small stream, I followed it hoping to encounter a scarce blue tailed damselfly or summit, but instead i encountered a crab spider-my first time ever seeing one, so was pleasantly surprised. It was actually hunting too, although not very subtly,as it was on a purple thistle. It moved to try and subtly hide away from me as I got some photos of it, and it even moved sideways like a crab, by the far the best thing i have seen all day.

-Crab Spider

on my way back to the car park I received a text from my dad saying that they were going now and that I could either stay and catch up with them at Ventnor beach or come with them. I decided to stay so that I couldn't possible overlook anything in the field. The next thing I saw was a pair of juvenile buzzards perched high in a dead tree and calling really loudly. One adult kept flying around, but I dunno which one it was.

-Common Buzzard
One bird you will quickly get to grips with upon the isle of wight is the green woodpecker, every site seems to have them there, and this one was no exception, I had heard them all day, but only now did I spot one-in the top of a tree?? Its the first time I have ever seen one in a tree!

-green woopeckerAs I walked back through the field there continued to be plenty of essex skippers and as the weather began to improve they began to open their wings more, even though that didn't help at all with my I.D...

-Essex SkipperI left the field eventually and made my way to the exit. By now it was quite warm and there were a few more damselflies on the pond, all still blue tailed though.

-Blue tailed damselfly, rufescens obsoletaWhen I left the gardens I didn't really know what to do, but since it had brightened up I decided to go back to rew down, for the third time only this time I truly believed that I might actually see some of the butterflies it had there.

It was quite a walk, all up-hill but when I got there I was please to note that there were quite a few butterflies around, so I was quite optimistic about finding an adonis. The first butterfly that wasn't a gatekeeper was a marbled white, no surprise there.

-Marbled White
When I got down the the area of long grass, that was not mown I was not surprised to find a large number of blue butterflies. However having not done my homework I had no clue as to how to tell the difference between the common and adonis blue.

So I resolved to take a photo of every blue butterfly I saw, but I quickly realised that this was not sustainable as I was running out of photos on this card, and the other card was left in the caravan.

I watched the various blue butterflies, but the first one to catch my eye was the one featured below, was it a very brown common blue or a very blue brown argus. I think that it is a brown argus, but i would say that having seen plenty of common blues and only one brown argus.

-Brown Argus

I eventually found a butterfly that might be what I was looking for. I didn't recognise the underwing pattern, and although it refused to open its wings appeared to be an adonis. It was very small, which is what threw me. I lost this butterfly, but found one later that had the same markings, but upon opening its wings had very dark insides of its wings. That one was a female chalk-hill blue, but was this one, were they the same butterfly? The female chalk-hill blue would be much bigger in theory but I didn't see them next to each other so I can't call the size difference and that's the only thing I have to go on really.

-Adonis blue? or female chalk-hill blue?
And on the note of chalk-hill I saw one of them too, my first, a wonderful male with a rather sorryfull chip in its wings, but even so it was a really nice record and another new butterfly tick, so i followed it around to try and get some record shots, and I have done a decent job.

-Chalk-Hill BlueIt was great to see a butterfly, one of those i really badly wanted to see during the holiday, but once i lost it I decided I would have to try and return to find an adonis.

It was infuriating how many blue butterflies there were there, all of them common blues. Be having said that, the common blues looked great with the evening light reflecting off their wings.

-Common Bluewalking around I spotted a group of about three small moths or butterflies fluttering near a hawthorn tree. I wondered if they might be skippers, dingy or grizzled so I watched them. when they landed i was plesantly surprised by the fact that they were actually a very colourful micro-moth. I dunno what kind it actually is but from the book I reckon its a pyrausta genus

-pyrausta sp. (aurata?)
I managed to catch up with the chalk-hill blue again, and it was the same one judging by the chip on its lower wing-but it allowed me to get some more shots of what was a pretty impressive butterfly. I diddnt realise that they were so much bigger than other blues

-Chalk hill blue

Still the Adonis were avoiding me, and again I had common blues a plenty!

-Common Blue
but the chalk-hill blue made it all better

-Chalk-hill blue
I decided to look furthur affield in the reserve and not stick to the same area. I wondered if i was past the time of flight for adonis, and then thought that that never made any difference. It then occured to me that I haddnt seen a ringlet for about a month, and was filled with a sense of hope-less-ness, however, ironically I found a ringlet hidden amongst the hawthorn bushes.

I got a text from my mum and dad telling me that my lift had arrived, so I had to leave, but on my way out I spotted a wall brown on the path, which was my first of the year, and also my first oppertunity to get a record shot that I had been wanting.

-Wall Brown

So ends another day, and despite the rain the weather had been really good hence the large numbers of butterflies and with another two new species I was on course for a new butterfly ever day!