Fen Bog,North Yorkshire,26.06.11.

An introdution to the reserve.

Beautiful-yellow Underwing.

One of the many fantastic views.

Round-leaved Sundew.

Soldier Lichen.

A trip up to this fantastic reserve with Colin today certainly lived up to expectations,with us seeing some great sightings.Apart from the superb scenery and sweltering temperatures,we managed to see all our target species and some!.Several good bird sightings were had,which included Breeding Whinchat's and Curlew,18 Crossbill over,20 Siskin,1st summer Hobby over and Grey Wagtail,but the biggest and best surprise of the trip was a cracking male Nightjar,which i flushed at very close range,almost treading on it,while walking through a bracken covered hillside!.We got superb views of this nocturnal beauty as it glided into an area of Willow scrub,an unexpected bonus!.We really had come to see Dragon's,but apart from those aerial predators we were also treated some good moth's and butterflies as well.The best of which included Dark-green and Small pearl-bordered Fritillaries,Large Heath of the northern race 'Polydama' and Beautiful-yellow Underwing's.Other insects included Green-tiger Beetle and several Bog-bush Cricket nymphs.A couple of Adder's were also seen today and some Otter spraints were found on the small stream down from the car park.The world of flower's also provided some nice sightings with Heath-spotted Orchid,Bell Heather,Bog Asphodel and masses of Round-leaved Sundew.So all in all a superb visit again to this great reserve and part of the world.

Fish Eagle and Big bird again.....

After hearing that the 2nd calendar year Osprey which has been spending some time along the river Ancholme between Worlaby and Saxby bridge had still been present on Thursday,i decided that i would take a look.After parking at Bonby Carrs,i walked down to the river and after ten minutes i was onto the Osprey as it flew out of a riverside tree and proceeded to fish,with the first effort drawing a blank,it tried again and this time was successful.You forget what an amazing sight it is to see a large bird like this totally submerge itself and then have the power and energy to get out of the water and then fly with a caught fish,usually under attack from Corvids,an amazing piece of behaviour!.On this occasion it caught a large Roach and flew across the river into Appleby Carrs and sat atop an Electricity pylon from which it enjoyed it's fishy meal,what a superb bird!.I then walked further along the river up to Saxby bridge and it was great to see that the summering Common Crane was still present in it's favourite field and i watched it as it walked about feeding,sometimes being lost in the long grass,with only the white on it's head being visible.It's amazing how such a big bird can be inconspicuous when feeding in rank vegetation.Other sightings of note included 2 Common Buzzard,2 Marsh Harrier and a lovely hunting Barn Owl.The owl being particularly nice after a dearth of sightings this year.A very enjoyable few hours.

Garden visitors....

Now my garden isn't the biggest in the world and not the most attractive to birds,but continuous feeding of our little feathered friends throughout recent months has provided us with some surprise visitors,the best of which in recent days has been an adult Stock Dove.This species has always been a personal favourite and i always stop to watch them down the Carrs,but to get one visiting your garden was a nice surprise to say the least!.Other recent visitors have included a Rook,Magpie,a superb female Sparrowhawk and endless House Sparrows and Starling families,all making for entertaining viewing!.

Sunshine at last!.....

Mating Green-veined White's.

Adult and final instar Forest Bug's.

Male Common-green Grasshopper.

Woke up this morning to blazing sunshine,what a contrast to the last week!.As Trace was at work,i decided to pay Messingham another visit.The first place i looked,was Grebe lake were after yesterdays traumatic events had hopefully ended well and after a quick scan,they had!.Yesterday we had arrived to see one of the Common Tern chicks floundering around in the water,calling continuously to the very distressed parents,but instead of trying to climb up onto the new raft which they have nested on,it decided to swim across to the old one.When we left yesterday,it was sat under the old raft in the water,but thankfully today it was on top,with constant calling and flapping of wings,no doubt trying to get it's parents attention,the other 2 chicks were still in situ on the new raft,which i must say is a poor design,with no protection around the edges and slippery sides,i think someone needs to go back to the drawing board!.Other birds observed today included a superb 1st summer Hobby which caught a Damselfly right infront of the Duck hide,at very close range and then proceeded to eat it on the wing,amazing views were enjoyed of this super fast Falcon,they do take some beating!.Also seen were a single Crossbill and Siskin in the plantation,along with the resident Spot Fly.With the warmer weather today the reserve was alive with insects and highlights included another couple of Garden Chafer,with several species of butterfly being seen which included Green-veined White,Brimstone,Small Heath,Large Skipper,Meadow Brown and Ringlet.Another great day at this brilliant reserve!.

My second home.......

Female Common-green Grasshopper.

Fleshfly.

Common Toad.

Marsh Cinquefoil.

Another visit this afternoon to this superb reserve,after a brief visit to look for the Crane at Saxby,saw a decent variety of birds,insects and plants around the reserve.Bird highlights today consisted of a showy Spotted Flycatcher in the plantation,which was watched sallying for insects in the canopy of the pines,calling constantly,with that distinct pssss-tick call and nearby 4 Willow Tit were seen in a mixed Tit flock,giving nice views as usual.After meeting up with Mike,Steve and Teresa,further bird highlights went to a couple of Black-tailed Godwit,at least 6 Common Buzzard and 2 Hobby,on and around the main lake.Insect highlights went to my first Meadow Brown and Ringlet's of the year,with 3 and 10 respectively with other butterfly species seen including Speckled Wood,Green-veined White and Large Skipper.3 Grasshopper species were also observed today,with lots of adults beginning to be seen and i managed to get some decent pics too.The reserve was also covered in Toadlets and you had to be carefull not to tread on them,as they were easily into there hundreds and some of the paths were alive with them.Wildflowers put on a great show today around the reserve,with particularly Orchids being abundant,with Dune Helleborine,Marsh Helleborine,Southern-marsh Orchid and Common Twayblade being seen.The Bladderwort is beginning to flower also on the way down to the wader hide.A much better day than expected weather wise and a decent days birding and wildlife watching.

Beautiful Troutsdale....

Herb Bennet.

Herb Robert.

Expert photographer at work.

The River Derwent.

An all day visit today to this stunning part of the countryside,primarily to see the reported Honey Buzzards didn't disappoint,with us seeing at least 4 different birds,with 2 male's displaying.The first bird we saw was displaying to the right of the raptor viewpoint as we viewed it and was distant until it flew across the valley over our heads,with a second male doing the same also,the display flight is amazing to see,with the males looking like giant butterflies with their wings above their heads,clapping together,stunning!.This second male was carrying food,which was interesting,so must have a female sitting and flew past at close range,allowing us to see the pale head and iris,what a cracker.While watching these superb birds,we also managed to see a couple of immature Goshawk,one which was watched chasing a Carrion Crow and then it chased another Gos,both looking like they were immature male's going on plumage characters and size,this certainly is raptor heaven!.We later saw another 2 Honey Buzzard,both probably females,from were we parked the car,just before it started to rain again,with a passing shower.Other raptor's observed,included single Sparrowhawk,Kestrel and at least 7 Common Buzzard,which included 2 displaying male's.After enjoying the raptor fest,we decided to walk around this superb area and after being seen off by a nasty farmers dog and a near accident trying to cross the river,we got back to the car safe and sound!.Highlights along the river included 4 Grey Wagtail,4 juvenile Grey Heron,2 Spotted Flycatcher,Kingfisher,Marsh Tit,Nuthatch and flyby sightings included a couple of Siskin and 22 Crossbill.Non-bird sightings today comprised of several Brown and 1 Sea Trout and an array of woodland flowers with the smell of Ramsons filling the air all along the river.A superb day out,in a cracking part of the world,with some great company.

Grus grus again....

After a quick look this a.m. to see if the local Crane was still present,i dropped her indoors off at work and made my way down to Saxby bridge by the river Ancholme.Sure enough as i arrived the 2nd calendar year Common Crane was still present and in the same set-aside as the previous days sightings.The bird gave great views as it fed and preened in what seems to be a harvested maize field,it's plumage was also interesting to note,as the only immature bird i have ever seen,was my first,which flew south over Covenham Res on the 30th April 1990 and i didn't really get chance to study that birds plumage characters.The head pattern was quite well developed,being basically a shadow of the adults and the upperparts were just grey,but the tertials were not the big bush of feathers as on the adult birds.After watching this fine bird and also enjoying watching a hunting Hobby and a couple of Common Buzzard, i made my way home,an enjoyable hour or so!.

Messingham Bits....

Sloe Bug.

Jumping spider-Salticus scenicus,with prey.

Southern-marsh Orchids.

Twayblade flower detail.

A few hours to spare today,while the boss was at work,so i decided to pay a visit to my second home at Messingham.The weather was a bit of a mixed bag again,but eventually brightened up with some warm sunshine,despite the cold easterly wind.After meeting up with Teresa,we began to search for the Tawny Owls that had been seen in the plantation and after some Blackbird's gave away it's position,we were treated to superb views of and adult Owl roosting at the side of a Willow,superb!.Other notable bird sightings today included mainly breeding birds,with the first Avocet chicks hatching,with one pair having 2 chicks and plenty of Black-headed Gull chicks all over the islands,we also saw 2 broods of Shelduck.Insect sighting's were provided by another Sloe Bug near the small pond in the plantation and a few Wild flower sightings brightened up the day with the Dune Helleborine's almost in flower and the Southern-marsh Orchids and Twayblade's,showing well.Another nice visit to this superb reserve.

Crowle Moor NNR.....

Broad-leaved Helleborine.

Fledgling Whitethroat.

Superb heathland habitat.

Large Heath of the form 'Davus'.

Tree Bumblebee.

A change of scenery today,to visit one of my other summer haunts,saw me visiting this superb reserve,with plenty of highlights during my 5 plus hours on site.So to begin with,bird highlights consisted of at least 4 singing male Tree Pipit,watched giving that super,parachuting display flight akin to the Pipit family and i gained very nice views of one individual,with the other 3 birds being more distant.The best highlight from the avian world,was a flock of 5 Common Crossbill,watched 'Glipping' there way across the heath in an easterly direction,great birds and always a joy to see,these being all immature birds as well,a typical summer occurrance,but my first at this site.The Lepidopteran world was well represented today,by the reserve's speciality species,the Large Heath.At least 97 individuals were counted on my walk,with this being a great count and also pretty early to have such good numbers,the insects here are of the most southerly form 'Davus',with other's occurring further north in the form of 'Polydama' and 'Scotica'.Other butterfly species observed included singles of Peacock,Red Admiral and Speckled Wood and 10 Large Skipper.Other niceities observed during the visit,included at least 10 Common Lizard and possibly a significant find in the form of 3 spikes of what looked to be Dune Helleborine.The Helleborine's were beginning to flower like the Messingham population,but just not quite enough for photo's yet.A great day out to this superb reserve!.


The above found Helleborine's have been identified as Broad-leaved Helleborine.