Friday June 10 - HOEF Traps Green

 This morning I decided to look at an area of farmland next to the A435 and walk from there to a new woodland in development courtesy of Heart of England Forest. 

As far as the number of bird species total was concerned there was nothing to choose between them, but there's no doubt that the better birds were on the HOEF land. It gave me a singing Garden Warbler, a singing Willow Warbler, and a singing Yellowhammer. These are all species which are thinly scattered around the Redditch area. I also had a near miss with a split-second view of a fast moving falcon which disappeared behind the crowns of some oaks before I could satisfy myself on its identity.

Singing male Chaffinch

Common to both habitats were Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Whitethroats and Chaffinches but there were more on the HOEF land. 

It was a rather breezy morning with more cloud than sun, but I still found plenty of butterflies etc, almost entirely on the HOEF land. Only Speckled Wood was present in the farmland (beneath roadside trees), while I found double figures of Large Skipper, a single Common Blue, and a few Small Tortoiseshells, Meadow Browns, and a Red Admiral in the HOEF.

Red Admiral

There is a little bit of water, a series of deep tree-lined pools, and a damp area next to a small stream. These delivered a few dragon/damselflies, including Broad-bodied Chaser, an unidentified female Demoiselle, and the day's highlight a White-legged Damselfly, my first this year.

White-legged Damselfly

Traditionally associated with vegetation bordering slow flowing rivers, I'm not sure what it was doing here.

The most poignant sighting came from a recently mown field just beyond the forest. A single Roe Deer calf was bleating plaintively for its missing mother. 

Roe Deer do leave their young hidden away in long vegetation, so I am guessing (hoping) that this little chap had been exposed by the mower and will eventually be reunited with its parent.