Brandon Marsh....12/09/2010

Once again a great day was enjoyed at Brandon Marsh.The highlight today was a Hobby hunting over the Top Pools Reedbeds! Great views were had as it swooped time after time after the Dragonflies. I managed a record photo of it when it perched at a distance. Not a great photo I know but my photography is for my own pleasure not perfection, though it is always a great feeling to get a half decent image.

33 species seen today with other highlights being Green and Common Sandpiper, Turnstone and Kingfisher. I really enjoy the walks at Brandon Marsh, so pleasing! I am finding more and more that I prefer a good walk rather than sit it out in a hide hoping for a goodie to fly in. A good way to keep warm in the winter too, a brisk walk!

Large White Butterfly...pupa x 2. Update!

Well not long to have waited for their emergence after all! On returning home yesterday afternoon (5th) from Sainsburys and the Range..well it was a miserable windy day and not one for birding..the Large White Butterfly (pupa 2) was spotted beside the empty Chrysalis! Pupa 1 had already emerged and flown the Chrysalis.lol!!!
The Butterfly looked to be resting whilst drying out but this morning when I saw it was still in situ and being buffeted by the strong winds I decided to put it in an empty plant pot holder and take it indoors for some warmth. After about 20 minutes it started to flit about in the pot so I took it outside and set it free. It was so good to see the Butterfly so close! The white wings and black tips on the forewings and the pale greenish underwings looked striking colours being so fresh, a treat to see.

So our commonly called 'cabbage Whites' have two new members and what a treat they have been to watch develop into beautiful butterflies!

Upton Warren....03/09/2010

An evening visit to Upton Warren was a relaxing end to a busy week. On the Flashes highlights were Ruff, Dunlin, Common Snipe, Green and Common Sandpiper, Litte Ringed Plover, Lapwing, Mallard, Grey Heron, B H Gulls (galore), Bullfinch and a Cetti's was heard! The Moors Pools were quiet with Lapwing, Mallard, Grey Heron and Great Crested Grebe, Coots were to be seen whichever way one looked!!! Pipistrelle Bats flew closely overhead as we walked back to the car park! Magical!!!

Titterstone Clee Hill, Shropshire....28/08/2010

My first visit to Titterstone Clee Hill in search of a reported Wryneck! Well not so much a search as there were already plenty of Birders in situ on arrival and we were told that the bird had been spooked so everyone was scanning the hillside! After a while it was picked up on and what a super little bird the Wryneck is, my first Wryneck and a little beauty! It later took flight and was found again in amongst vegetation, showing well at times feeding and then retreating into the vegetation again. Other birds seen were Kestrel ( of which two had a tussle on the ground, pic added), Meadpw Pipit, Linnet, Stonechat, Wheatear, Jackdaw and Carrion Crow. A super area which will be visited again in the future.
The Wryneck photo's are very, very record shots but I was well pleased to have sighted such a great little bird! The Wryneck is in the centre of the photo showing the shrub area, just in case anyone misses it.lol!!!

Large White Butterfly...pupa x 2.

I am following the progress of 2 Large White butterfly pupae which it would appear are going to over-winter as a chrysalis. The first one I found (pupa 1)was already in the chrysalis stage and the second (pupa 2) changed from a caterpillar and developed into a pupa in a day. I spotted it at 6.54am (yes I am up and out and about that early)and when I checked it in the afternoon at 2.48pm it had changed!! How quick is that!! They are both on my garage, pupa 1 is tucked under the fascia and pupa 2 is tucked under the brickwork above a window. I shall have to remember to tell my window cleaner to leave this window, he will think I am nutty when I tell him why!