Barton Pits...

A few hours to spare this afternoon saw me heading to one of my old haunts at Barton,to see what i could find.As it was overcast,i didn't bother to look for insects today,so concentrated on our avian friends,with me beginning at the new visitor centre.The best birds,were a trio of lovely Little Gulls,watched feeding and loafing on the Outdoor pursuit pit,giving superb views as they hawked for insects over the water,sometimes in the company of a couple of the resident Common Terns,showing just how small these little beauties are.Also here,were at least 47 Avocet,with some of the chick's,now hatching giving good,but distant views and a largeish flock of 142 Common Swift,mixed in with Swallow's,House and Sand Martins,all giving superb close views over the water in the overcast conditions,great stuff!.An enjoyable few hours on the old patch.

MSQ And Big birds again.....

Final instar Forest Shieldbug nymph.

Large-elephant Hawkmoth.

Pond Skater.

Digger Wasp sp. Argogorytes mystaceus.

A full day at Msq today and a second visit to see the Crane's,made up for a very good day despite the poor weather continuing,the highlights were as follows.At Messingham bird highlights consisted of mainly the resident breeding successes,with now 3 broods of Shelduck on the main lake,9,5 and 5,the pair of Great-crested Grebe still with 2 chicks and the Great-spotted Woodpecker chicks now hatching,while on the sheep fields at the back of the reserve,several Lapwing chicks,displaying Snipe and Redshank were observed.Other birds seen around the reserve included a couple of Common Buzzard,adult male Marsh Harrier and Green Woodpecker.Insect highlights included a cracking,freshly emerged Large-elephant Hawkmoth found by Dave,which allowed Dave,Colin,Teresa and myself to get some superb views and photo's.Other moth species observed today included a couple of Silver-ground Carpet,Common-white Wave and Clouded Border each and a Hebrew Character larvae,while micro moth's were represented by Scoparia ambigualis.Other interesting insects observed included my first Forest Shieldbug of the year and Digger Wasp sp. Argogorytes mystaceus.After enjoying our time around the reserve we all decided to pay the Common Crane's another visit and when we arrived they were again feeding in the same field,giving superb views of this majestic bird.We also saw them in flight briefly,showing off that huge flight profile,superb stuff and a big thanks to Teresa for taking us.Another great day out.

Big bird and Wet-my-lips......

A trip out in the north of the county today saw me visiting a couple of Common Crane's that have been visiting some potatoe fields on the side of the River Trent near West Butterwick.When i first arrived the birds were nowhere to be seen and i had to make do with watching a cracking Hobby and listening to a calling male Quail nearby,with it's distinct 'Wet-my-lips' call.When the Crane's eventually flew in they showed brilliantly,feeding and preening in the field,giving nice views through the scope and they also did some brief displaying and calling,cracking stuff!!.A few mammals where seen also and included an endearing Fox cub watched nearby and a single Roe Deer.After enjoying these beautiful birds and gorgeous mammals,i made my way home with them being still present when i left and the male Quail still calling away!.An enjoyable few hours.

Windy MSQ..

Hoverfly sp. Criorhina berberina.

Tortrix moth sp. Epiblema rosaecolana.

Sloe Bug.

Great Tit Nestlings.

Juvenile Mistle Thrush.

A couple of visits to the reserve over the weekend in some really blustery weather,particularly today saw me seeing some good sightings,which included one new species for myself and a personal first record for the reserve.Bird highlights were provided yesterday by 2 1st summer Hobby,hawking dragonflies over the main lake,giving some nice views and today a Little-ringed Plover amongst the breeding wader's and duck's.Other bird sighting's enjoyed over the 2 days included a gorgeous brood of day old Shelduck,4 pairs of Common Tern and 4 Common Buzzard,with a very tame juv. Mistle Thrush seeming oblivious to Theresa and myself today.Insect highlights were provided by my first sighting of the hoverfly species Criorhina berberina and my first personal record for the reserve of Sloe Bug,with 2 individuals being observed.Lepidoptera sightings included 15 Brown Argus and at least 20 Cinnabar Moths,with the micro moth species Epiblema rosaecolana being a personal first also.A windy couple of days,but enjoyable all the same with some nice company.

MSQ re-visited 15.5.11.

Robber Fly-Dioctria atricapilla.

Male Brown Argus.

Long-jawed orb-web Spider,Tetragnatha extensa with  caught Azure Damselfly.

A visit to this gem of a reserve again today after a disastrous Webs count,saw me seeing some nice sightings despite the early finish due to the blustery,showery weather.The best bird sighting went to my first Spotted Flycatcher of the year,with 2 together in the plantation.1 of the birds showed very well as it sallied for insects,a joy to watch and a real shame this species has declined so dramatically,hopefully they will nest successfully again this year.Other bird sightings comprised of at least 4 Common Buzzard,a distant Hobby and 32 Swift and an earlier visit to the sheep fields provided me with my first sighting for the year of some cute Lapwing chicks.Insect sightings were provided today by Wasp Beetle,Birch Shieldbug, and Brown Argus.Not a bad visit despite the mixed weather conditions.

Messingham Sand Quarries,09.05.11.

Longhorn Beetle,Agapanthea villosoviridescens.

Germander Speedwell.

Meadow Saxifrage.

Breeding and feeding habitat for Odonata.

Another blustery,but warm visit today,saw some nice sightings through the 4 hours on site.Bird highlights consisted of my first Common Sandpiper of the year feeding around the bottom islands on the main lake and a cracking Hobby hawking insects over here as well!.A very confiding male Garden Warbler gave superb views around the car park,no doubt looking for a mate and a superb 'Pale Morph' Common Buzzard was watched soaring over the heath area and was a real stunner!.Insect highlights were provided today by my first Wall Brown of the year around the Duck hide and the first Agapanthea villosoviridescens of the year on the first clumps of Hemp Agrimony,both welcome sightings to add to the notebook.I also saw a superb queen Median Wasp chewing wood pulp from the Duck hide,a stunning insect!.Another great visit!.

Bonby Bits.

After a tip off yesterday evening about a couple of Temminck's Stint and a small flock of 6 Wood Sands at Bonby Carrs,i decided to go down and have a look this morning after dropping Trace at work.When i arrived it was blowing a gale and peeing down,but it soon brightened up and i walked down to look to see if any of the waders were showing.After a little while and with some able assistance from RH and WG we managed to see 4 Wood Sandpiper feeding around the water's edge,although a little distant,but still cracking birds all the same!.Also on the rapidly drying pools were a couple of cracking Little Egret,a single Dunlin and Greenshank and a very nice 'Greenland type' male Wheatear.Also present was a very unseasonal neck collared Pink-footed Goose,which surely should be on it's way to Iceland by now,perhaps the cold easterly weather last week has held it back?.A nice couple of hours on the local area.

Fenland..07.05.11.

Woodwalton Fen entrance.

Mating Pebble Hook-tip's,Woodwalton Fen.

Coreus marginatus,Holme Fen.

A trip out of the county today with Colin deep into the heart of the Cambridgeshire fens,primarily to look for Scarce Chaser,saw us enjoying a varied array of wildlife and bird sightings,despite the wet start.We first visited Woodwalton Fen NNR,were avian highlights were provided today by,5 Grasshopper Warbler reeling away as we walked around this superb reserve,with us also enjoying views of 1 bird,followed by 3 singing male Nightingales heard singing that beautiful song as we continued are exploration of the reserve,with several Garden Warbler,a 'Yaffling' Green Woodie and a distant Cuckoo adding to the sounds of summer.Mammal highlights here were provided by at least 3 Chinese-water Deer,which included a barking male,startled by our prescence and a close encounter with a female from the Rothschild mere hide briefly as it munched on reeds,lovely animals.Insects were also well represented on our visit here and apart from the afore-mentioned dragons the highlights were a single Red Admiral and a couple of mating Pebble Hooktip which i found while sheltering out of the rain under a Silver Birch!.A superb place to visit and i would love to go back in better weather.So onto another reserve,the nearby Holme Fen,which is also part of the 'Great Fen' project to re-create some of the county's previous fenland habitat and link these two reserves together.Here bird highlights consisted of a single Hobby hawking insects,single Grasshopper Warbler and a Common Buzzard.It was mainly insects which provided the best sightings and we saw some nice additions to our already impressive list for the day,these included several Coreus marginatus,a species of Squash Bug observed on a couple of areas of Dock and at least 2 Peacock Moth,a new species for us both!.There were also quite a few butterflies on the wing here and included Holly Blue,Orange Tip,Speckled Wood,Peacock,Brown Argus and our first Common-blue's of the year.So all in all a superb day,despite the early rain,i certainly will be back to this cracking area!.

Messingham Sand Quarries 02.05.11.

Another trip out to this superb reserve today,saw me adding a few more firsts for the year in the form of 3 Wood Sandpiper,Swift and Drake Garganey to my year list.Both the Wood Sands and Drake Garganey were watched feeding around the bottom islands at the far end of the main lake on the reserve and gave pretty good views,albeit a little distant,the Swift was watched hawking insects over the same lake along with a mixed flock of House and Sand Martins and Swallows.This now brings my yearlist total to a respectable 187.Other bird highlights were provided by a female Marsh Harrier and at least 6 Common Tern,with still good numbers of migrants present on the reserve.Butterflies seemed to also be in good numbers today,with the highlights being my first Brown Argus of the year and at least 3 Red Admiral.Another great visit to this super place.