Beautiful Troutsdale.......

The Yorkshire Wolds near Langtoft.

Troutsdale Valley.

Hilla Green,Troutsdale.

A full day out today,visiting the stunning Troutsdale valley area in North Yorkshire,saw me enjoying a superb raptor fest along with a supporting cast of area specialities.Top of the list and really the bird i had hoped to see today,was a single Honey Buzzard watched soaring over the valley,before disappearing behind the raptor viewpoint.This sadly was the only sighting of the day,so was very welcome,with less birds present this year in the area.On the other hand,the other 'Special' raptor gave much better views,with me seeing at least 4 Goshawk,with one showing close enough for me to see the yellow eye and facial markings,superb stuff!.One bird was also seen mobbing a Common Buzzard,giving superb views and one was seen perched atop a Sitka Spruce.Other birds of prey seen included 2 Common Buzzard,2 Kestrel and a single Sparrowhawk.After watching all these superb predators i decided to walk back to the car and look along the river Derwent at Hilla Green.The highlights here included cracking views of a Dipper,watched curtseying along the river bank and also heard calling with that superb,mettalic 'Zink zink' call,a super bird and 1 Kingfisher zooming along the river and a couple of lovely Grey Wag's catching insects along the bankside.On the small Ox-bow at Hilla,was a single female Mandarin Duck,with one large duckling,the first time i have seen them here with young and in the riverside trees a couple of 'Pitchooing' Marsh Tit and 2 Nuthatch.All day Siskins had been passing overhead and i also saw a total of 36 Crossbills heading towards Wykeham in flocks of 18,14 and 4.So all these superb birds,coupled with stunning scenery,made for a great day out.

Bonby Bits......

Riverine habitat on the Carrs.

Female Graphomyia maculata.

A wander down the patch today at Bonby,saw a few nice sightings,with a couple of Little Egret feeding in the wet grassland,showing nicely,a great start.It seems such a long time ago since i saw my first at Frampton Marsh in 1988,how fortunes have changed for this stunning heron,with it breeding at several places now in the county and some large roosts of hundreds are seen in the Wash.Also seen in the same area and a sign of things to come,were a couple of Greenshank,stopping off on their southerly migration to refuel and they soon flew off calling after seeing the strange person looking at them.Bird migration is so fascinating,when you think these birds could have bred in Scotland or Scandinavia and are migrating to Africa for the winter and most probably juvenile birds which have never done this before,fantastic stuff!.Other birds seen included more common fare,with some lovely sightings of a male Yellowhammer,juvvie Great-spotted Woodpecker and Common Buzzard.A few insects were seen also and included a new species of Odonata for the patch,a male Black-tailed Skimmer and a couple of Large White flitted along one of the many ditches.An enjoyable few hours.

Crowle NNR......

Female Bog-bush Cricket.

Large Emerald.

A full day out today while Trace was at work,saw me visiting this super area,primarily to photograph Odonata,but also to see what else i could find.A few highlights from the avian world were provided by singles of Hobby,male Marsh Harrier and Common Buzzard.The Hobby was watched chasing a Great-spotted Woodpecker on the edge of Will Pitts wood!.But today,the main highlights were provided by a profusion of insects,with several highlights which included a stunning Large Emerald Moth,my first Painted Lady and Gatekeepers of the year and a personal favourite,Bog-bush Cricket,with me locating 3 individuals today,which consisted of a single male and 2 females.They provided fantastic views and i managed to get some great images.Reptile sightings today,included several Common Lizard,with a couple of pregnant females basking in the sun and 2 stunning female Adder,which gave great views as they hid in the undergrowth.A great day despite the Mozzies!.

Fish Eagle and New Moth sp.........

Pisaura mirablis,with egg case.

Hairy Snail.

Cinnabar Moth larva.

Red-tipped Clearwing.

Male Common-green Grasshopper.

Musk Thistles.

Bonby Carrs.

With the prospect of some much better weather than the previous day,i made my way to MSQ after dropping Trace at work.Today was a complete contrast to yesterdays heavy rain,but it was still apparent around the reserve with several large puddles on the pathways.Bird highlights today were provided by a cracking Osprey which was watched being mobbed by Black-headed Gulls and Common Terns as it passed by over the Grebe lake,with a few half hearted attempts at hovering.It then carried on over Manton fishing lakes before i lost it from view.This is the first Osprey i have managed to see this year,so was a welcome bonus.Surely it must be a wandering immature bird,as last years summering bird at Bonby,as i would of thought it was too early for adults to be migrating yet.Unfortunately i didn't get a very good view of its underparts to confirm this.Also on the raptor front,a single 2nd calendar year Hobby was watched hawking dragonflies over the edge of the main lake/plantation area,always great to see with their superb aerial prowess,catching the dragonflies in its feet and eating them in mid-air,great stuff!.Also seen today and another first for the year,was a singing male Turtle Dove in the car park area,it is so sad that this species has declined so dramatically in this country and hopefully things will change for the better.The only other bird of note was a single Siskin in the plantation and 1 Willow Tit,with a mixed Tit flock foraging together.Insects again were in abundance with me finding a 'Mega' in personal terms,a single Red-tipped Clearwing watched nectaring on a Creeping Thistle flower.This is the first confirmed sighting of this species for myself,after i saw an unidentified Clearwing moth a few years ago at Crowle,but didn't manage to obtain any photos of it.This individual was pretty worn,sadly,but a great sighting all the same and smaller than i had imagined also.Butterflies are right down in numbers,because of the poor weather conditions,but on the plus side i managed to find at least 17 Brimstone larva.Other interesting insect sightings included a single Conops quadrifasciata,1 Oxycera rara and several Stratiomys potamida.The only notable mammal sighting went to a lovely Fox seen near the car park,always a privilege to see.Plant wise,the first Marsh and Dune Helleborines are beginning to almost flower properly and their are still plenty of Southern-marsh and Common-spotted Orchids dotted about around the reserve.After visiting Messingham,i travelled over to Bonby Carrs to look for Puss Moth larva,but unfortunately didn't manage to find any,but found at least 15 Sallow Kitten larva.The Sallow Kittens were tiny and it will be at least another couple of weeks before they have reached full size,so i will revisit then.So another great day was had today,with some great weather and sightings to boot.

Messingham Sand Quarries Bits.....

Brimstone Butterfly larvae.

Araniella cucurbitana.

Green-shield Bug.

One of the many views of the reserve.

With the prospect of getting some respite from the dire June weather we have been experiencing,i headed for my second home at Messingham.The weather was fairly blowy and with the odd heavy shower,but generally warm and some nice bits and bobs were recorded today.Bird wise,with a slightly autumnal feel,were 2 Siskin and a single Redpoll in the plantation and a Common Buzzard displaying overhead and that was about it.Insects were well represented though,with a few butterflies about which included,male Brimstone,Speckled Wood,a handfull of Meadow Brown and my first 4 Ringlet of the year.I also managed to find at least 15 Brimstone caterpillars on some newly planted Alder Buckthorn saplings,which allowed some great chances to gain some good photos.Other insects recorded included 3 species of Grasshopper,Meadow,Field and Common-green.There were also still great numbers of Southern-marsh Orchids on show,in several areas of the reserve.Not a bad 5 hours out locally today.