In truth this was a slightly frustrating visit despite the fact we saw one or two decent birds.
I was joined by Dave this week, and it was pleasing when he picked out the Garganey more or less as soon as we arrived at the nearest flash. We moved to the gallery under the trees, but on arrival a large flock of Teal flew in and disappeared behind the vegetation. Fortunately they soon swam out, and we again spotted the Garganey. But then, while we were checking the rest of the pool hoping for some wader arrivals, all the Teal took off again and headed south, taking the Garganey with them. Not that I saw it in flight in the seconds before we lost them. Like I said, frustrating.
Other birds present included nine Green Sandpipers, 12 Snipe, and 45 Lapwings. I've since heard that Upper Bittell Res gained a Spotted Redshank to add to it's suite of waders this week. Not that I'm envious or anything.
Moving on, as we battled the blustery south-westerly, we noticed at least four (and probably five) Whinchats on the tree guards. But by now I was running out of time so I didn't attempt to approach them to get a record shot.
The only thing I did photograph today was another female Willow Emerald, although I could easily have added one of the five Small Coppers, or the Brown Argus, Common Blue, and several Small Heaths we saw on the walk back.
 |
| Female Willow Emerald |
I'm not sure, but I wonder whether the pockmarks in the stem it was on represent places where eggs have been laid. They do lay into the stems of Willows, but I thought the blisters were normally spaced closer together, so perhaps its just part of the branch.
I will also just mention that my garden mothing on Friday night produced 78 moths of 26 species including four new for the year. Those were Oak Hook-tip (very nearly annual), Elder Pearl (second record), Grey Pine Carpet (first since 2019), and Ypsolopha sequella (also known as Pied Rabbit Moth, and the first since 2021).
 |
| Elder Pearl |
No comments:
Post a Comment