Falco Subbuteo etc....

Cuckoo Flower.

Tachinid Fly,Tachina ursina.

A woodland scene on the reserve.

With the prospect of another gorgeous days weather,i headed for my favourite summer haunt and had one of my best day's so far this year.The best birds i encountered went to a couple of 1st summer Hobby watched catching St.Mark's Fly's which were swarming everywhere today,these falcon's are so agile and the pair put on a superb aerobatic display,snatching the fly's with their talons and dispatching them in the air,fantastic stuff and a superb sight,one of which i never tire.The reserve is now well and truly alive with summer visitors and the nicest sighting i had was watching a gorgeous male Garden Warbler as it sang that lovely liquid song inbetween catching several flies,this is my favourite warbler species and this site is a haven for this sadly declined species.Other bird highlights included a super male Marsh Harrier,2 Willow Tit,at least 4 Common Tern and a gorgeous summer plumaged Black-tailed Godwit.Today the reserve was alive with Insect's,with my first Odonata species of the year recorded,with 6 species seen and 9 species of butterfly,which included my first Small Copper's of the year.Other goodies included a single Tachina ursina a parasitic species of fly and clouds of the afore mentioned St.Mark's Fly which were providing food for all the avian visitors to the reserve.Another great day in some scorching weather.