cambridgeshire day 3

My Family had decided that today would be the day that they were going to go to Duxford-the aviation museum . However, they decided that they would leave me at RSPB Lakenfen Heath fen nature reserve, which I only heard about yesterday. I don't know why this site doesn't get more press, after all, not all nature reserves have breeding golden orioles. And the cranes too, plus all the other stuff-bitterns, bearded tits, water rail, cettis warbler, hobby, marsh harrier! So as you can imagine (if your a birdwatcher) I was quite optimistic about seeing something interesting. However, the interesting stuff started as soon as I got up. In the woods at the back of the caravan there was a jay foraging. I tried to get some photos but the light was really too poor and with the changing of the shutter speed really didn't do much to help.

-Jay
However, after it had finished foraging, ti moved out onto a more open branch, so i tried again but once more it was slightly too dark for me to get the shots I wanted.

-Jay

But then i had an idea. I decided to put some seed down and then going inside the caravan and open the window. It worked too, the jay came down from the woods and landed right next to the caravan. It was also good because, not only was the bird in the open, it was also in bright sunshine-showing off all its great plumage.

-Jay (Don't ask what the pure tan smudge along the bottom on the top photo is, it was not there on the camera!)So, that sums up what happened prior to the outing to where-ever each o us were heading. I was dropped off at lakenheath fen first because of convenience but it also meant I could spend much longer there! There was a very good visitor center there, and there everything was explained to me. Every bird that was found there was pointed out, where they could be found, on the reserve so I knew exactly whereto go for the orioles. Apparently there were three orioles, one female and two males. One male had paired with the female in the large poplar plantation, but the other male was still singing and was in the smaller plantation, so in theory that would be the easier bird to fin and see. Also that bird was near to the main reedbed where the bitterns and marsh harriers could be seen. However the first thing that I saw was a small brown mass moving towards me along the path-it was a weasel, and that was about 2min into the reserve! The first bird that I saw was a greater spotted woodpecker, . The first part of the reserve didn't really have much, it was mainly deciduous woodland and so there were none of the reserve specialities. Only common garden birds, which were also found on the feeders at the start-blue tit, great tit, dunnock etc. The first bird that was something of a speciality was a flyover cuckoo, although there were about 5 singing across the reserve, that I can hear!

-cuckoo

moving further into the reserve there were some of the more typical marshland birds such as the marsh harrier. I was watching a pair through the bins and was rewarded with spectacular views a food pass, the first time I have ever seen one, I as i was watching through my bins I didn't get any photos, but sometimes there are more important things than photos, such as memories! overall there must have been about 4 marsh harriers in the sky at one time which was spectacular to see, considering that the size of reedbed was only about 2km square, in the region where they were!

-marsh harrier

All this was going on on the other side to the poplar plantation that held the lone male oriole. At the far end of the plantation was a small crowd of birder, so I naturally wondered if the bird might be showing. sadly that was not the case, I met a couple of B.O.G birders there and they said that they had not seen it yet. As I walked towards the crowd to try my luck I spotted a few dragonflies buzzing round. sadly they did not stay still so I couldn't give the a positive I'd
but I thought that they must be hairy dragonflies because of the few glimpses I had got and the flight season.. If they were then there would be firsts for me, which would be nice. But as i say, I couldn't find one that would stay still!

On the other hand, the damselflys were very abundant and they would stay still . I spotted this pair mating but what caught my eye was the lower individual and that it was purple. It turns out that this is because it is the form Volacea, That at being the subspecies. The actual species is the blue tailed damselfly.

-blue tailed damselfly-(blue tailed typical and violacea)
But that wasn't it on the damselfly half. I really can't identify damselflys very well, so I just take loads of photos of them and then analyse them at home. However it does seem that this individual is a variable damselfly-which is a first to me. So I had been here about 20mins and already and I had already seen a new bit of behavior and a new species.

-variable damselfly
I decided to leave the Oriole station and go for a wander around the reserve. I spotted a pheasant and in the pools there were a couple of great crested grebes. i reached the far "viewing station" (they don't have hides here) but I didn't stay long-I was probably too eager to see what I could see.. If I had waited then I might have seen Crane or cettis warbler, as that's where they were found. However I didn't so there is no point looking back. I decided to walk along the the riverbank crest along the edge of the north side of the reserve. To be honest the first half of the walk along the side between the large plantation, with the pair of orioles, passed without anything going on.

However once I was passed that area and could see the main reedbed then wildlife started to appear. By this point the weather had became a bit cloudy so I was beginning wonder if i was going to see any dragonflies landed at all. However I managed to find one pair on the riverbank crest. They were in the process of mating so were easy to track down, or so i though. I managed the photo below but then they disappeared, perhaps into a tree, but either way I couldn't re-find them. I checked the photo to see what they were but, based on the photo, I couldn't work It out. I thought that they must be Hairy dragonflies but couldn't really see enough hair. It was only when I got back that I learnt that only hairy dragonflies have hair, so they had to be hairy dragonflies. so there you are-confirmation of a new species for me this holiday.

-Hairy dragonflies

Not much further on from where i saw the dragonflies I spotted a new bird for me. At first i couldn't get a good enough view, but as time passed it came closer and it appeared to be a hobby. in fact there were two, hunting along the river. I spent about 10mins photographing them before I opted to just watch them instead. There was one that hunted right in front of me, I( couldn't see what it was catching, but you could clearly see the feet go up and grab something-presumably insects. When i looked at the photos I was quite impressed. Obviously its nothing on Sean Gray but It clearly shows all the aspects of hobbies which made me pretty happy. I was really impressed, and it was also my first new bird at the site, but i go the feeling that it had been coming!

-Hobby

there were actually about 3 hobbies all hunting their own stretch of river. One of them was also hunting the reedbed but flying over to hunt the river too, so I got good views of that one.

Just before the reserve re-entry point there was a small pool between the footpath and the river, which had meandered away temporarily, and on the pool were a small number of wildfowl, no gargany but there were summer gadwall and mallards, plus coots and mute swans.

Eventually there was a stile to get back into the reserve, on the east side of the main reedbed. the sun had come out now so it was quite a nice day. This would have been about 11.30 or 12.00 so the afternoon was looking good. The path back to where most of the reserve was (lone male oriole plantation and the viewpoint over the main reedbed) was quite overgrown but pleasant. It was mown grass with tall weeds on one side and reeds on the other. On the weedy side I happened to begin exploring, after searching for a damselfly, and I spotted these crazy beetles. They were about 2cm long, but then another 2cm on to for their impressive antennae. Naturally with however-many beetles there are in the UK I had no intention of actually putting a species to them, however my dads insect Field guide did actually have them in-they are called: Agapantha villosoviridescens or alternatively just "cool beetles"! there were about 3 all in close proximity to each other, and two of them seemed to be squaring up, but no fight ever happened, but even without the drama they were certainly very spectacular!

-Agapantha villosoviridescens (Golden-bloomed grey longhorn beetle) 

nearer the main path, opposite the view point I spotted this damselfly and thought that it must be a dark (or menalistic) variable damselfly, but actually its a female common blue, blue phase which is something I have never seen before, hence the confusion. But how have I never seen one before, there should be just as many females as males in a population?

-female common blue damselfly
And continuing the damselfly theme, back on the main path I spotted another species to add to my site list-this rather handsome large red damselfly. Its the first time I have ever seen a damselfly eating so it was pretty cool to see.

-large red damselflywhilst i was walking back to the place where the birders were on "oriole patrol" a mighty grey heron jumped out of the reeds and flew just over the path to the other side, but its certainly the closest I have ever been to a full size heron (I don't know about the full size of the Arran individual). Its a good sign that the environment has so many fish that it can support grey herons and a decent population of bitterns.

-Grey Heron
I decided to re-stakeout the oriole viewpoint as everyone else seemed to have left. I waited for a while without a sign, but then the real torture started-it started to sing. Its a really weird call, it seems almost tropical, but when you can't see the bird after half an hour, it can also be really annoying.

After a frustrating half an hour I decided to walk round the back of the plantation and see if I could try to find the bird round there. Round the back there was still no bird, but it continued to sing just to infuriate me and the other birders there. Whats even more annoying was that it only sang for infrequent bursts so that you couldn't work out where it was. It sang from one end of the plantation, so you walked over there, but then sang from the other end whilst you were looking at the other end to the end that it was actually at. As you can see, Oriole watching is not fun!

Whilst I waited I decided to take some photos of the damselflies around, such as the azure damselfly below. Its curious that in Norfolk last year there were hardly any azure damselflies mainly common blue, but here there were mainly azure and there were only a few commons.

-Azure damselfly
Eventually I decided to give up with the oriole for the time being and go walk near to the main reedbed on the far side of this plantation. It was a good descision because soon after I had walked round I spotted a bittern flying around-only my second ever. I had heard them booming a little bit, amidst the noise produced by the reed an sedge warblers. They really are spectacular, the bitterns, but from a distance you don't really get the same awe as you get through your binoculars. so the brown smudge in the record photo below is not a patch on the handsomeness of the actual bird.

And on the note of reed and sedge warblers I have not mentioned them. They really added to the variety of the reedbed and the feeling that you really were in one of the ancient fens, rather than a rebuilt, RSPB nature reserve, so here's to reed and sedge warblers!

-Bittern
As I walked down the path I had walked down 3 times already that day to see if i could get closer to the bittern should it re-emerge from the reeds. However, it was agood thing I did, not for the bittern, and not the oriole but I finally managed to find a Hairy dragonfly perched conveniatly for a photo. At first the sun wasn't out so, although i diddnt know it, the photos looked a bit dull and drab, but the after a while the sun came out and really gave the insect the justice it deserved.

Its curious when you see them how small they are compared to other hawkers. And how early they fly too. Normally I would never see a hairy dragonfly because they fly so early but it just so happens that this time weI was in the right place at the right time. Its great to see them with their blue eyes and green colours.

-Hairy dragonfly

After that stunning find the day only needed an Oriole to be perfect. so naturally i fell for the trap and went back to go and try and find it. another five minuets and I realised once again that I was wasting my time, and that I would be better off trying for something else. However to try and keep me at the oriole site for a bit longer, a large skipper butterfly landed by the side of the path, so I took some photos.

-large skipper

When I had finished looking at the skipper I once more began looking for the Oriole. Whilst I was facing away from the reedbed I heard a tremendous noise and turned round to find two bitterns together in flight. I don't know if they were fighting or courting or maybe just both spooked by the same predator but either way it was quite something. Most people don't see a bittern at all, but I had just seen two in the sky at the same time.

-Bittern

It was whilst I was watching the bitterns that the first big fat raindrops began to fall. It really was a day of contrasts, in terms of the weather but this was the first rain we had been dealt all day. I made my way towards the viewpoint as there was a shelter there. I stayed round the side facing the pond which had grebes on it, but as the rain picked up a bit of force I had to move round the other side where it was sheltered. Then it really began to thunder down, During the duration of the 10min drenching there must have been about 20 birders under the space of a 3m long shelter with only about 4m square of shelter.

But as i said, it was only a short shower as showers go so eventually the birders sheltering all split up. I returned round to the side where I had been prior to the serious rain. Quite a few of the birders went there about 10 so there was quite a party looking for stuff. And stuff they did find. A kingfisher started hunting up one of the channels, fishing from the reeds. Once more I opted for the binoculars rather than the camera becuase the bird was some distance away, but through the binoculars it became really close and I got great views of it fishing.

-Kingfisher

Once more I foolishly returned to the oriole site, and once more i was left disspointed in oriole terms. But there were other birds there and dragonflies too. I managed to find another Hairy dragonfly, this time a female perched. I thought that the raindrops and the evening light made a great base for the photo, but the reeds in the way made the best photo impossible so I had to clip off both wingtips (not actually!).

-Hairy Dragonfly

In terms of birdlife I managed two more great species to add to my day list in the form of spotted flycatcher and blackcap. I had heard a lot of guys talking about spotted flycatcher so I guess that it must be something quite special down there, having said that, it is also in calderdale! But even so it was great to be able to see. Both birds were with a minuet of each other, but the photos leave a lot to be desired-find them if you can!

-blackcap 

-spotted flycatcher 
By now the "day list" was pretty impressive. I decided to walk over to the far viewpoint, the one I had missed out, and where cranes and cettis warbler lived. The evening light made it quite a plesant view. There were a couple of other birders there. One of them said that he could see lots of hobbies in the distance, but when I asked where he pointed to a tree about 1km away. When I had a look I agree that there were indeed a lot of black dots flying around the tree. He said that he could they were hobbies by the way they were flying, but to me they just looked like swifts.

However, he did let me look through his scope at a couple of male cuckoos that landed in a tree in the middle of the reedbed behind us, And because of that I got my best ever view of a cuckoo (which doesnt say a lot when I have only seen about 4 ever, all in the past two days). But even so, it was a smashing view, and I even got a view of it cuckoo-ing. There were two, but the bird perched lower suddenly flew up and chased the other off, so then there was only one.

In terms of the speciallities at this viewpoint, I saw no trace of crane. One guy said that he had seen one just stroll across the train-line which would obviously been a great view. However there was a cettis warbler there, I know only by its explosive song. there was one burst of song and then I saw a flash of beautiful red-brown whizz past me, so wheather or not it counts I don't know, but there was no doubting what it was. The bird continued to sing but I diddnt get another view of it.

Once i had finished there, I decided that it might be an idea to get back to the visitor center, for when my parents came to pick me up they would'nt have to wait. I decided to go back through the reserve because it gave the oriole one last chance to show is golden features. Naturally I stopped when i reached the site but once more I had no luck. That however was only in terms of the oriole. There were a fe other things there to look at, for example, another feamle blue tailed damselfly.

-Female common blue damselfly
I was just about to leave for the visitor center, when I spotted a large bird flying in. I could tell straight away by the fact that the neck was not held out, that it was not a crane, so i thought it must be a heron, given how high it was flying. But no, it was another bittern and through the bins, I got the best view of all day as it circled the reeds and then dropped its feet for landing. The only bad part was where I was standing, Because when I eventually got the camera out, there was a collection of exceptionally tall reeds standing in front of me

-Bittern

My parents were not in the car park when i arrived at the visitor center, so i decided to go for the short walk around the back of the visitor center, where there were aparently turtle doves, and also look at one of the ponds where there might be gargany. Walking through the low reeds and sedge, I spotted a whitethroat, my first of the day. When i reached the viewpoint for the aparent gargany pool I spotted abother cuckoo, this one flying right by me. It landed in the tree next to me, where it was mobbed inssesantly by an angry reed warbler until it flew off. Sadly because of the poor light the photos were not up to much, but they show how close the bird was.

-Cuckoo
I got up to have a look for gargany but the light was so poor that I couldn't make out one duck sillhuet from another, so even if there was one there, I would never have been able to tell. One the river there was a common tern, though, which was nice to see and another bird to add to the list.

A walk round the "turtle dove" site produced nothing at all except for a deer that I spooked, which bolted into the undergrowth. This deer was nodoubt a roe deer, and my theory was proved right when I spotted another deer next to the visitor center as I walked to the car for my lift back home.

-roe deerso as you cn see, this site is well worth a visit. I think the below list is pretty much as good as it gets, bar the obviouse-crane, gargany, turtle dove and... the oriole! Overall it was a really good day but in case you cant be bothered reading all the paragrapohs I have written below is a list of all the things I saw today.

Because there is so much text in this post-here is a concise list off all the things I saw today:

Greater-spotted woodpecker

weasle

marsh harrier+food pass

sedge warbler

reed warbler

cuckoo

great tit

blue tit

grey heron

phesant

reed bunting

mute swan

great-crested grebe

coot

hobby

swift

black-headed gull

canada goose

mallard

gadwall

woodpigeon

chaffinch

heard an oriole

bittern+booming

kingfisher

cormorant

tufted duck

blackbird

chiffchaff

blackcap

spotted flycatcher

goldfinch

cetti's warbler

bearded tit

green woodpecker

whitethroat

sand martin

jackdaw

rook

common tern

pied wagtail

collard dove

roe deer

Insects

Hairy dragonfly

blue-tailed damselfly (typical and voilacea)

Banded demoiselle

variable damselfly

azure damselfly

common blue damselfly

large red damselfly

red admiral

small tortoishell

large skipper

agapantha villosoviridescens (the beetle)

So I spent about 10 hours at the reserve an arrived back at the caravan at about 8.00pm so It was a full days work, but well worth it. luckily it didn't rain all day, like yesterday.

cambridgeshire day 2

Today was Welney day! Obviously I was thinking only about the potential bluethroat that was there. The weather was decent, overcast but not raining, which was key. It was however, quite windy. First things first though and the first thing we saw today was a fat pigeon just outside the caravan, feeding on the seed we threw out for the birds. -Woodpigeon We past Welney on the way to the caravan site but going to it now it seemed like quite a way double backing on ourselves. When we got there, we learnt that there had been a pair of red-necked phalaropes the night before and that the bluethroat had not been seen all week. Never-the-less I was optimistic, I often am, and set off in high spirits whilst my family had a cuppa. I only went to the first hide for a few minuets because I wanted to get on and try and see a bluethroat. However, in those first few minuets I spotted a whooper swan, which is a bit unusual for this time of year.

-Whooper swan

At the second hide I learnt from the other birders that the bluethroat had not been seen or heard this morning so I decided to stick around in that hide for a bit, after all, the guy said that there was a male gargany hiding in the reeds, which would also be a first for me. Before that though I heard one of my favourite noises, and a noise that at the time I had still yet to hear-a snipe drumming. It was great to finally hear this weird noise and then the gargany came out of the reeds giving us decent views through the bin's but way out of range for the camera, so no pictures at this visit. Also to add to the atmosphere, there was a sedge warbler going absolutely berserk just outside the hide. It just would not stop singing.

I decided to move on to the next hide to see if I could get any better pictures of the gargany from a different point. The next hide sticks out into the marsh so you are walking between two banks. Then I heard the snipe drumming again and looked up to find that it was directly above me, in the perfect position to take some photos of it, its a pitty that you can't record sounds through the photo but even so...

-Common snipe

When i eventually made it to the hide after about 15mins of snipe watching I was gutted to find out that you couldn't even see the gargany pool from it. There were a few other things around. For example, when I turned around I found that there was a pied wagtail inside the hide, with a mouthful of food. Its Ironic that our structures designed to hide ourselves from the birds are so good that the birds actually nest in them!!

-pied wagtail And on the underside of one of the Beams one of the other birders spotted a small magpie moth roosting for the day.

-Small magpie moth Looking over the other pond, there was a rather obliging reed bunting sitting and singing from and emergent reed. If I had a better lens The photo would be better because i could bring the bird closer, but sadly that is not the reality.

-reed bunting Outside the hide on the handrail there were some swallows. They were just sat there and they were quite close too. So I decided to take some photos, as you would probably have guessed.

-Swallows At the final hide, where I went next, I was delighted to see some avocets. This is where i saw my first avocets almost 8 years ago. There were not that many there today, but there were some adorable chicks, even at this young age using their beaks to filter the water for meals.

-Baby avocet Luckily there were some adults there too, and they made their presence felt when a coot strayed too close to a chick. Luckily that brought the adult closer to the hide and sort off in range of my camera.

-Avocet As I made my way back to the gargany hide for a better look I encountered the sedge warbler on the tree next to it. It was still going crazy and it still didn't stop even when I stood about 2m away from it.

-sedge warbler Back inside the gargany hide, the gargany had come round and into the pool in front of us, so I could get some record shots. its great that it was a male, otherwise I would have been unable to decipher between the handful of mallards that were loitering around the main pool. There was also a rather cute coot family being shuffled across the pond by the two adults. Sadly the coots had the wrong idea and attacked the gargany. I was afraid that it would fly away but luckily it landed again in the same pool. Please excuse the quality of the photos!

-Male Gargany so there we are then, the first new bird of the holiday. Whilst I was watching this bird I got a text from my mum saying that there was a yellow wagtail in the main hide. This would also be a new bird for me, so I set off for a look. When I got there my mum said that it had left but that it would probably come back. So I watched the shellducks and their chicks and the black tailed godwits while I waited. And my mum and dad were right. the bird came back within 10mins of me appearing. I know the photos are shocking but that gives you an idea of how far away the bird was to me. However through the binoculars then you got really good views and you could watch it doing all the things you generally associate with wagtails.

-yellow wagtail After about 10mins the bird disappeared and so I scanned around for a few minuets prior to its re-appearance. Whilst I waited I spotted a pair of somethings on the far bank. Binoculars showed the somethings to be little ringed plovers so I took a photo, which leaves a lot to be desired, and then watched them for a while.

-Little ringed plovers (find them if you can!) As we were leaving I spotted a teal having a wash.

-Male teal having a wash After that it was lunchtime, so that meant heading back to the car. By the time we re-entered the reserve the sky was seriously grey, and soon it began to drizzle. I headed off towards the final hide, but I was not really impressed with it, as it was really only overlooking an area of reed, or grass so there wasn't much happening really, except for the usual assortment of reed birds such as the reed warbler.

-reed warbler On the way back to the path it started to rain, rather then drizzle! I also spotted a wren cowering from the rain in the undergrowth

-Wren I made my way back to the gargany hide, as that was where I had seen most stuff over the course of the day. I made it there, just in time, as then it really started to rain. Inside I found my parents, and there was also a swallow nest inside the hide, so there you go-another bird using a hide for a nesting place.

As I watched the birds getting rained on, a group of about 5 sandpipers flew in, and through the binoculars appeared to be dunlins. I grabbed a photo, a record shot for the day, as some kind of proof, note also the black-headed gulls in the foreground, curiously the only gulls we saw all day!

-Dunlin (background) and black headed gull (foreground) As the rain continued to pour, you could see all the birds in the reeds with their feathers ruffled. Because there was so little movement due to the rain, it was easy to pick out unusuals from the view, for example in the field to the left of the pool there was a pink-footed goose associating with the greylag geese. Don't even try to tell which one it is from the photos, its another poor shot on my behalf!!

-Pink-footed goose with greylags My dad decided then that we were going. Even though it had not ceased to rain. Luckily it was not desperately far to the car, but even so, given the conditions any distance was too far. walking back my mum spotted this family of swans in the river, with three cygnets who were climbing on their mums (or dads) back!

-swan with cygnets as we wandered back to the car my dad spotted a curiously familiar shaped bird heading towards us. Even though I had never seen one, you can easily identify it when you see it-a cuckoo was flying towards us. It flew straight over us, giving us decent views, but it then did a loop-de-loop around the trees and flew back over us. Its great when you see a new bird, especially one of sure calibre as the cuckoo. Its a pity that it didn't land and give us a really proper view but even so...

-Cuckoo

we arrived back at the car and after a few town stops we headed back to the caravan! incidentally, it didn't stop raining at all. I went to sleep and it was still raining, so at the time I was wondering if the weather of the holiday might follow suit. But even so, its been a good holiday so far...

cambridgeshire day 1

We arrived the previous night, Our destination, Maidenhall on the Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border. The Campsite was decent, hidden amidst predominantly coniferous woodland, the only catch was that there were no facilities, so we were going to have to use the ones in the caravan. For our first morning my we decided to go and look at Maidenhall, the local town. What makes Maidenhall famous-well nothing really!! There's a Big RAF place just outside the town but aside from that it resembles pretty much any other english town, only without any big name shops. There was only a Sainsburys that was a typical shop. Behind the Sainsburys was a river, quite big really and on it were the usual assortment of ducks (mallards) with some Canada geese and a couple of swans. There was a bridge across the river and on the other side there was more of a wildlife area. There was an area of marsh behind a line of trees and around the pond there were some Banded demoiselles.

-Banded demoiselle
There were only males in the pond area, but on the river there were a few more species of damselflies such as the Azure on the riverside vegetation.

-Azure Damselfly
Where we turned around there was a golf course and on it were a large number of blackbirds, but also there was a grey wagtail, which was quite nice to see.Walking back from the golf course My dad spotted a giant beetle crossing the path, I took some photos and after some identification we reckon that its a lesser stag beetle.

-Lesser Stag Beetle

On the way back we spotted some female banded demoiselle, Although I thought that they were beautiful demoiselles because of the lack of bands. Never mind! I wont be making that mistake again.

-Banded demoiselle (Female)
when we were almost on the town side of the river I spotted another type of damselfly, a blue tailed, this one is a normal mature specimen.

-Blue tailed damselfly
Back at the campsite we had time to kill, as we were back before lunch. I decided that after lunch I would go into the wood opposite and look at the apparent nature reserves there. In the leaflet the nature reserves apparently had stone curlew, woodlark and white admiral! The whole point of us coming on this holiday was to see stone curlew so it would be great to see them without even going to weeting heath, and on the first day. During Lunch we were visited by some squirrels. Unfortunately they were grey.

-Grey Tree Rat
So After lunch I set off, I won't deny it, thinking of stone curlew, The wood was mostly coniferous but there was no wildlife-at all. I eventually reached the nature reserves which were actually only about 200m squared a piece, and ultimately lacking in any form of heathland wildlife. I spotted a jay in one of the reserves, which so far have been the birds of the holiday. We had one in the morning and it just sat in front of the caravan. At the far side of the first reserve there was a path leading out of the reserve and into the neighbouring fields. I was still filled with stone curlew thoughts and the fields made me think that maybe they may be in the field. I wandered around the edge of the Field and reached a small pond. I glanced around and spotted a few damselflies but also a Hornet. sadly it landed way out of view, so I didn't get any photos. I double backed on myself to try and get back to the path. As I almost reached the path, I spotted a deer coming out of the woods and enter the Field. I tried to follow its progress so i could get closer to it but it kept dipping out of sight. Then, The deer popped up next to me! It just came out of the crops and looked at me, about 1.5m away from me. In a moment of absent mindedness I grabbed for the camera and it scarped but I managed to get some shots of its back end as it ran away. They always tell you that the back is vital when I.d'ing deer and as it so happens that was the case this time. The fact that the deer has a significant tail tells me that it is a muntjack-which is a first for me. At the time didn't know what kind of deer it was because my mammal book was at home so i remained ignorant to the true identity of the deer for the whole holiday. But it was the first new species of the holiday!

-Muntjack Deer

After it scarped away I followed round the rim of the feild. However the farmer came down in his car and told me that I was trespassing... so I had to make my way back into the wood pretty sharpish. When I did I found a speckled wood butterfly, which is my first for the year.

-Speckled wood

So no stone curlews and no woodlarks but still enough to be happy with. After tea we went to the another river away from the campsite to sit and see what came. There was quite an influx of unusual wildlife. The river I hould say was one of the fens and there were barges moored up all along the dock we were sat on. Naturally the first birds we saw were mallards, but then a common tern flew down river and started fishing in front of us. Then a kingfisher flew by and rested just up stream. We also spotted a jay (Told you they were the birds of the holiday!) and on the way back there were some red-legged partridges in a feild. so overall, a great start to the holiday.

friday night

it was 8.00 and we had just finished watching a film. my mum and brother had left the room and my dad just happened to look out off the window and there, low and behold was a fox strutting around out lawn, eating scraps left out for the birds. It was a nice looking fox too, not a scratty urban fox but a proper country fox. It suddenly spotted us and bolted and we haven't seen it since.

Also of garden note is that our stock dove Friend has come back, adding a bit more bio-diversity to our garden. we also have about 3 baby starlings which are hanging around on the lawn. I am worried about them, in case our neighbour gets a cat, or if they have one, that it starts coming around! we have had problems with cats before but never-the-less its still great to see.

walking home

walking back home today from my english exam I spotted two bullfinches in bradshaw park. There was a stunning male and a female too I think but I diddnt get a good enough view of the female to be sure, as there were goldfinches there and there are regularly chaffinches there.

Also I wont be posting any major post's e.g. lakeland and arran plus bempton becuase of exam commitments, you will have to wait for a bit!

photo

Just a quick note to say that I have sold my first photo from the ogden shop.

pheasant

my brother spotted a phesant in the back feild this afternoon. He is rather lucky to be alive as our local farmer has a habit for shooting things that she doesnt like (rabbits, etc). Never mind, its a great local record.

hardcastle craggs this morning

a very confusing morning overall, but ended with me walking around the craggs birdwatching. I diddnt really see much, except for 2 male mallards on the water, possibly the first time I have seen them here! Also around were rather a lot of wood ants, or rather Northern Hairy Wood ants and there were quite a few nests around too, which were absolutly swarming with them. When the walk ended I happened to glance upwards and happened upon my first swift of the year, on the first of may too!!