I spent the last few days of June and the first few days of July on holiday with my partner, in the North of England. We visited a couple of Dipper haunts, and I was lucky to see an adult with a recently fledged youngster in Hawes (North Yorkshire) and another adult in Wasdale, Cumbria. I had hoped to have a go at looking for Black Grouse from the road between Keld, in Swaledale, and the Tan Hill Inn, but unfortunately the road was closed on the day of our visit. However, there was a bonus in the form of a couple of Whinchats, birds that I had not expected to see, in Nether Wasdale.
Adult Dipper, Hawes, North Yorkshire, 29 June
Recently-fledged Juvenile Dipper, Hawes, 29 June
'Record Shot' of a Whinchat, Nether Wasdale, Cumbria, 2 July
On the 8th I paid a return visit to the Great Bustard Project on Salisbury Plain. This was my third visit (I go every couple of years). Only a single female Great Bustard was seen from the hide on this occasion and it was only briefly visible, so I didn't get any photos (memo to myself: this is the worst time to visit, because the grass is so high that the Bustards are not easy to see. Next time I should go in early spring or autumn). However, I did purchase a rather nice and very appropriate 'Fat Bustard' T-shirt! On the way back, I called in at Wilstone, visiting the Grand Union Canal and the reservoir, looking for dragonflies. The dominant damselfly along the canal was the (hoped for) White-legged Damselfly. Blue-tailed and Small Red-eyed Damselflies, as well as a handful of Banded Demoiselles, were also seen. Brown Hawker and Emperor dragonflies were patrolling the canal and I also saw a female Lesser Emperor laying eggs here. Several Lesser Emperors (a recent addition to our Odonata, spreading north through the country accompanying Climate Change) were at the reservoir and, judging by their rather tatty state, had been present for some time. Black-tailed Skimmers were also common here.
Male White-legged Damselfly, Grand Union Canal, Wilstone, 8 July
Female Lesser Emperor Laying Eggs, Wilstone Reservoir, 8 July
Male Lesser Emperor, Wilstone Reservoir, 8 July
Small Red-eyed Damselfly, Grand Union Canal, Wilstone, 8 July
Continuing the dragonfly theme, on the 10th I drove up to Dersingham Bog near Snettisham in Norfolk, which holds, as far as I am aware, the closest population of Black Darter dragonflies to my home. Several mature males were seen, as were some male Keeled Skimmers (another acid heathland species). I also looked for Grayling butterflies here. A few large, strong flying butterflies were seen distantly, but I couldn't confirm their identification as being Graylings.
Male Black Darter, Dersingham Bog, Norfolk, 10 July
I continued up to Snettisham, where in previous years I have been lucky to see Turtle Doves. Frustratingly, on this occasion a Turtle Dove was heard shortly after I arrived at the RSPB reserve, but could not be seen. On yet another very hot day I did a circuit of the southern-most lake. Several hundred Dunlin and Black-tailed Godwits were roosting there and a dozen or so Mediterranean Gulls were seen, including one with a (begging) youngster. It was too hot for me to carry a telescope as well as my camera, so I was unable to confirm the earlier sighting of three Curlew Sandpipers, which were presumably in amongst the Dunlin.
A few of several hundred Dunlin present at RSPB Snettisham, 10 July
Adult Mediterranean Gull with youngster, RSPB Snettisham, 10 July
I have done very little 'twitching' this year, but a long-staying Long-tailed Shrike (the 3rd for Britain) on the Oxfordshire-Gloucestershire border captured my attention and on the 22nd I drove the 119 miles from Royston to see it. The bird showed well at times, albeit rather distantly, and I managed a few 'record shots' of it during my 50 minute stay. Following on from the Turkestan and Brown Shrikes that I saw in 2025, this was my third UK shrike 'first' in less than a year.
Distant Record Shot of the Long-tailed Shrike, Oxfordshire-Gloucestershire Border, 22 July
My journey took me along the M40, so on the way back I stopped off at the Aston Rowant nature reserve to look for Silver-spotted Skipper butterflies. I had, for a change, chosen a good time because several of this rare species were on the wing and I was able to photograph them. Aston Rowant is like Therfield Heath in being unimproved chalk grassland and its remaining butterfly species were very familiar to me. Chalkhill Blues were abundant and I was lucky to photograph a couple of mating Common Blues. I believe that there was an unlicenced introduction of Adonis Blues here, at about the same time that they were introduced to Therfield Heath, but the colony at Aston Rowant appears to have died out.
Silver-spotted Skipper, Aston Rowant NR, Oxfordshire, 22 July
Mating Common Blue Butterflies, Aston Rowant NR, 22 July
During a family meet-up at Newark in Nottinghamshire, my brother and I noticed a small colony of Banded Demoiselle dragonflies on the River Trent. One female rested on a reed in a particularly photogenic position and several photographs were taken of it, of which my 'best' is shown below. Although far from perfect (the lighting conditions were poor) it represents the sort of graphic image that I aspire to create when photographing this and other Dragonfly species.
Female Banded Demoiselle, Newark, 25 July
No comments:
Post a Comment