Levels-birder

At one time it appeared as if this cow was lecturing it, I wonder what it was saying? Perhaps, “look, my dear old chap, I keep on telling you, there are no flies on me”.

Today was the last day of the month, and Kay and I spent late-morning and early-afternoon searching for the Balearic race of Woodchat Shrike that had been found yesterday near Minehead. It had been seen again early this morning, when it was chased off by a Raven (Grrr!), but after four hours we gave it up as a lost cause. Later, on Exmoor, we saw a female Redstart and several Tree Pipits, and this very obliging male Dartford Warbler that popped up right next to the car park we were parked in, a lucky stop indeed!

The RSPB have now released news of two female Bitterns that have successfully bred for the first time on their Ham Wall Reserve, where I took this photo and my earlier ones. This particular female has been watched making regular hourly, out-and-back, feeding flights since about May 28th so the young must be almost ready to leave their nest. I heard two different ‘booming’ males here during late May. The RSPB have worked hard for the past 14 years, since the reserve was first established, to achieve this success, so many congratulations to their staff and to all the volunteers involved.

On the 20th, on Butleigh Moor, I came across this escapee

Trumpeter Swan that has been about in the County since 2006. As a wild bird it breeds mostly in North America’s northwest and winters south of the Great Lakes, but small numbers are kept in captivity in Britain.

This morning found me undertaking a butterfly and dragonfly survey on Ham Wall Reserve, the regular once-a-week surveys that three of us share. Not much to be seen in the way of butterflies, except for a few Meadow Browns, one or two Large Skippers and Small Tortoiseshells, and only one Red Admiral. It seems a very poor year for butterflies? Thankfully, a bit better for dragonflies: I saw lots of Black-tailed Skimmers and a few Four-spotted Chasers; an early Southern Hawker, and five Emperors’. My photos are of a female Emperor Dragonfly, which is Britain’s largest, sunning itself on the reserve track.

Today, with our friend Pauline, we went on a birding-trip to Salisbury Plain in the neighbouring county of Wiltshire.

We hoped to see some of its specialty grassland birds and were not disappointed. On one of several specially prepared fields we had good ‘scope views (from a safe distance) of a breeding pair of Stone Curlews and nearby heard the liquid, ‘wet-me-lips’ song of at least four male Quail.

As well as this male Yellowhammer (left photo), of which we saw several; we also had fine views of this Tree Pipit (photo below) that entertained us with its delightful song-flights.

We saw five Corn Buntings and I managed to photograph this one below, and also this Red-legged Partridge, one of two seen. We also saw its rarer relative, the Grey Partridge, but our most hoped for bird kept us waiting until mid-afternoon, then, as we drove slowly around on minor roads and byways, we suddenly came upon a superb male Montagu’s Harrier, a real Adonis of a bird, slowly quartering a short-grass field only 50 metres from the road-edge. Great views and a fitting end to a good days’ birding!

On the 11th, Kay and I, together with our friend Pauline, went on our annual birding-trip to Hampshire’s New Forest. Due to a road accident on the outskirts of Salisbury and the resulting traffic-jam, we didn’t get to our raptor watch-point until the late morning. However, two hours in comfortable chairs, with a picnic lunch, gave us distant ‘scope views of a hoped for Honey Buzzard and great, prolonged, close ‘scope views of a male Goshawk – nice and easy birding, you can’t beat it! At our next stop, near Beaulieu Road Station, we had hardly left the car park when we came upon two juvenile Common Crossbills drinking from a large puddle. I quickly snatched these two iffy photos (looking directly into the sun) before they flew off, and although we waited a while they didn’t return.

Then, following the sandy track across the heath, I soon heard Wood Larks calling and we came upon a family party of two adults and a juvenile feeding along the edge of the track. Not wishing to disturb them too much, I took these photos of the confiding juvenile, and we soon left them alone.

Because, following on from her op., Kay is still on one crutch, we decided not to do our normal walk, and instead drove straight to Eyeworth Pond. Here, we soon found our target-bird, Mandarin Duck, two adult females, one with a new brood of charming little ducklings, and I was able to take these photos:

My somewhat distant photo shows the Osprey diving towards the water in an attempt to catch a fish; surprisingly, still hotly pursued by this persistently mobbing Carrion Crow.

This spring has seen good numbers of the commoner dragonflies and damselflies emerging. I took this photo of a superb male Banded Demoiselle near the footbridge on the South Drain at Shapwick Heath NNR, where a small group of males were in territorial dispute over a few females, chasing after each other like metallic-blue comets.

Today, I went with a birding friend, Pauline Grant, for a day on Exmoor. We walked the wooded valley along East Water and later the heather-clad moorland alongside Chetsford Water. Birds of note were: 6 Wood Warblers; a pair of Pied Flycatchers feeding young at a tree nest-hole (photo of the male) – I didn’t linger; at least 7 Spotted Flycatchers (photo); a pair of Siskins – the female carrying nesting material; a fine looking male Whinchat; several Tree Pipits; a single Dartford Warbler – near Stoke Pero, and a party of Mistle Thrushes.

Unfortunately the male Pied Flycatcher was in deep shade.