North Devon 24th - 28th June 2013.......

With a week of relaxation booked in lovely Devon this week Trace and myself had hoped to see some lovely scenery and perhaps if we were lucky,a few nice  birds and the outside chance of some Cetaceans.So after a long drive and our first evening relaxing,i was out early next morning to get tickets to Lundy.While waiting there were several flocks of Manx Shearwaters streaming past,totalling at least 300 birds and a hand full of Guillemots and Gannets and a single Harbour Porpoise,this was a good omen!.On the journey out only Guillemots,Razorbills,Puffins and Manx Shearwaters were logged and we arrived at the quayside on Lundy in sweltering weather.We were lucky to spend a whole 4 hours here with the highpoints including some stunning views of a family party of Ravens,which totalled 5 birds,Juv Peregrine,a few more Puffins,Guillies and Razors and at least 15 Wheatear.The latter included several hungry Juveniles,with their begging calls heard all over the place.Other highlights included at least 20 Grey Seal,including one which showed superbly along the quayside when we returned to catch the boat home and the 'Lundy Cabbage'.This plant is endemic to Lundy and found nowhere else in the world,so was an interesting sighting if not the prettiest flower i have ever seen.Also seen feeding/nectaring on the flower heads was the also endemic Bronze Lundy Cabbage Leaf Beetle,which you can just make out on the photo below.If only i had realised at the time how rare this tiny beetle is!!.As we boarded the boat for the return journey to Bideford,several Moon Jellyfish were seen in the crystal clear water along with a couple of Blue Jellyfish,shoals of Sand Eels and a couple of Spider Crabs,the Blue Jellyfish a new species for myself.So off we went on the return journey seeing more Manxies and Guillemots,Razors and Puffins,when as we got to mid channel i saw a sudden movement as 1,then 2,then 6 fins broke the surface.....Dolphins...Yessss!.As they got nearer and i got better views,they were quickly identified as Short-beaked Common Dolphins,my first ever.They came closer and closer and i struggled to rattle off some shots with the camera as they moved so quickly and i was moving with the boat.They then went under the boat and then bow rid the waves for a short while before breaking away.It was over so quickly,but what an experience!!.I was hyper now and was looking at every single movement on the seas surface,the only other highlight being a single Harbour Porpoise.As we neared Bideford i was just on a high and the rest of the evening was spent relaxing and looking through my images on the camera.Next day we spent having a chilled day visiting Lynmouth and driving through the beautiful Exmoor National Park.The only highlights at Lynmouth were 3 Grey Wagtail along the river and some very confiding local Jackdaws and Herring Gulls.The last day we had to ourselves and i began the day bright and early before breakfast photographing Ivy Broomrape which i had found the previous evening as we walked the coastal path,a rare flower by national standards.Also seen over the sea were a single immature Arctic Skua,100 plus Manx Shearwater and a feeding frenzy which included half a dozen Gannets,Manxies,Guillemots,Fulmars and 3 Harbour Porpoise,which had no doubt found a shoal of Mackerel to feed on.Today Trace and myself decided to travel the short distance over to Woolacombe on the local bus service and as we arrived we began to explore the sandy beach and beyond the rugged rocky coastline of Barricone Beach and Morte Point.We visited the little village of Mortehoe and there was a sign saying Bull Point Lighthouse,so we decided to have a walk to it,what a stroke of genius.Trace was walking slightly ahead of me and said she had just seen a huge black bird which looked like a Raven,sure enough it was and over the next hour and a half we were treated to the closest views i have ever had of the species.Two of the birds spent most of their time in the lighthouse compound,one sat on the windowsill of the lighthouse building staring at its reflection in the window.I had seen this behaviour before with Carrion Crows were i work and it did look comical,super intelligent birds!.Other birds seen around the compound area included a confiding male Stonechat and a few Wheatears and overhead a whopping female Peregrine carrying a Jackdaw to feed its young.We returned back to base slightly knackered but happy,after seeing all the goodies and beautiful scenery.So to say this wasn't a wildlife watching holiday,i think we did pretty well!!.

Herring Gull collecting nest material,Ilfracombe.

Short-beaked Common Dolphin,Bristol Channel.

Grey Seal,Lundy.

Female Pergrine with prey.

Ivy Broomrape,Ilfracombe.

Jackdaw,Lynmouth.

Juvenile Wheatear,Bull Point.

Lundy Cabbage,Lundy.

Lundy Island.

Male Stonechat,Bull Point.

Manx Shearwaters,Bristol Channel.

Mortehoe and Morte Point.

Raven,Bull Point.

Raven,Bull Point Lighthouse.

Skylark,Lundy.

Sunset,Capstone Point,Ilfracombe.

Moon Jellyfish,Lundy.

Melodious stunner and Messingham insects.

Another early start today with Chris,saw us crossing the border into Notts for the reported singing male Melodious Warbler.After finding the birds chosen area eventually,we were treated to some excellent views of the bird for at least 2 hours on and off as he sang from several perches in his conifer plantation,temporary home.The song was fairly 'Sylvia' like compared to Icterine to my ears and involved much mimicry hearing him copy Blackbird,Blue Tit,Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler with expert precision.What a find by the local birder who found it,initially mis-identified as an Icterine Warbler,which would have been an amazing find in itself,the bird was quickly re-identified as a Melodious.This is the first sighting of this usually occurring,south coast scarce migrant for Nottinghamshire and is the first sighting of this species for myself and Chris's first UK bird.After enjoying this beauty,a quick refuelling stop at Mcdonalds in Gainsborough saw us heading for MSQ on the way home.The weather sadly became more showery at Mess,but we managed to find some interesting bits and bobs,but very few birds.The best of the birds included a singing male Willow Tit and a female Gadwall with a brood of 8 ducklings and good numbers of Black-headed Gull fledglings.Insects provided the best of the sightings here today and included my first Meadow Brown of the year and first Black-tailed Skimmer.Other dragons included at least 6 Hairy's,the most i have seen in a very poor season so far.Several moths were also recorded on our walk and included Silver-ground Carpet,Common Carpet,Yellow Shell,Cinnabar, and Degeer's Longhorn moth.Other niceities included some excellent views of a couple of female Common Lizard and several Frogs and Toads around the reserve.There were also quite a few Orchids starting and still in flower and the best of these were at least 2 spikes of Dune Helleborine and lots of Southern-marsh Orchid still.Another superb day out and the main target accomplished with ease.

Agapanthea villosoviridescens,MSQ.

Common Carpet,MSQ.

Degeer's Longhorn Moth,MSQ.

Female Black-tailed Skimmer,MSQ.

Female Common Lizard,MSQ.

Male Hairy Dragonfly,MSQ.

Male Melodious Warbler,Tiln,Notts.

Male Melodious Warbler,Tiln,Notts.

Tophill Low....what a day,16.06.2013.

Another early start today saw Chris and myself travelling over the Humber into gods own country again,this time visiting the excellent Yorkshire water reserve at Tophill Low.The plan had to arrive early and then go and look for the reported Great-white Egret and then spend the remainder of the day exploring the reserve.So on arrival and after getting the camera gear and optics together we headed down the side of D-res for Hempholme meadow.After much searching it soon became apparent,the 'Big white Heron' was nowhere to be seen,oh well!.We had a look around the area seeing 2 lovely Barn Owl hunting the meadows,but little else.As we began to make our way back towards D-res woods,Chris shouted me and there it was,the Great-white Egret flying overhead,back towards Hempholme.We watched as it glided in to land,but on return to Hempholme meadow we couldn't see it.I am guessing it was somewhere in the inaccessible pond adjacent to the meadow,at least we had seen it.By this time it was getting towards 9ish and we had a quick look at North marsh enjoying excellent views of the ubiquitous Marsh/Edible Frogs as they cackled to each other,before heading back to the car park to meet up with local birder and 'Moth man' Martin Hodges.While waiting for Martin to arrive i managed to find a few interesting insects which included Parhelophilus frutetorum and possibly a new species of Capsid Bug for the site Calocoris alpestris.This latter find was watched on its host plant nettles and on an adjacent Sycamore,a nice find!.When Martin arrived we then went to look at the moth traps that had been running overnight and were treated to some great moths,one of which was a new one for me,May Highflyer.This species is superbly camouflaged against its arboreal home,with its foodplant being Alder.Other moths in the traps included Poplar Hawkmoth,Shears,Treble Lines,Heart and Dart,Swallow Prominent,Silver-ground Carpet,Wormwood Pug,Common Pug,Setacous-hebrew Character,Rosy Minor,Common Swift,Clouded Silver,Green Carpet,Mottled Rustic and Cabbage Moth among others.After this treat Chris and myself had a wander round to Watton Nature reserve,were the best bird came in the form of a smart 2nd calendar year Little Gull watched feeding over the pit and loafing on the shoreline,a nice bird and surprise.Also here were a couple of summering Drake Wigeon and 2 Common Buzzard over the fields.In the sorrounding area and walk back towards 'O' res,a profusion of Ox-eye daiseys attracted several Hoverflies which included my first Volucella species of the year,Bombylans and Pellucens.Both common colour forms of the VB's were seen and the Pellucens was stunning as usual.The final part of the day was spent walking through 'D' Woods down to Hempholme and back along the river bank to 'O' res,taking in the D pond as well on the way.This was probably the most rewarding part of the day as Martin pointed out several micro moth species which were nearly all new to Chris and myself and included the stunning Pseudargyrotoza conwagana,Micropterix aruncella,Adela reaumurella,Timothy Tortrix,Eplibema scutulana,Celypha lacunana,Cocksfoot Moth and the very common Horse Chestnut Leaf Minor and last but not least 100's of Nettle Tap.We also managed to find several interesting beetles and these included a couple of new species for myself,Scarce Fungus Weevil and Figwort Weevil.The former is a stunning beast and i found it resting on an Ash trunk,the latter were all over once you got your eye in on the Figwort surrounding 'D' pond.Also around the pond were several species of 'Odes' and these included Hairy D,2 Quads,Large-red,Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies.Another Barn Owl was seen at the back of North Marsh and a brief Kingfisher,the 3rd of the day as we returned back towards the car park.So what a cracking and enjoyable day in not great conditions,just goes to show what you can find.A big thanks to Martin for the expert moth guidance and to Chris for driving. 

Capsid Bug - Calocoris alpestris.

Figwort Weevil,'D' pond.

Marsh/Edible Frog,North Marsh.

Moorhen chick,North Marsh.

Nettle Tap nectaring on Ox-eye Daisy.

Parhelophilus frutetorum.

Pseudargyrotoza  conwagana.

Red-legged Shieldbug,D-res Woods.

Scarce-fungus Weevil,D-res Woods.

Snipe Fly,D-res Woods.

Volucella Bombylans nectaring on Ox-eye Daisy.

Big Accipters and rare Orchids,North York's....08.06.2013.

A good forecast saw Chris and myself heading out bright and early for North Yorkshire today in the search of large birds of prey and rare orchids.After a fairly uneventful drive,apart from having to brake for a female Roe Deer in the middle of the road at Watton we eventually arrived at the first site we were visiting today,the stunning Troutsdale valley.We were a tad early in the day to see any Honey Buzzards really,but we were hopefull.After getting our kit together to the chorus of Wood Pigeons in the nearby Wykeham forest,we made our way to our vantage point after an unsuccessful look for Dippers on the nearby River Derwent.Before long we were watching our first Goshawk,a male,which gave away his presence by scattering Wood pigs in all directions as he flew through his forest home,a nice start.This same male was seen again 3 more times,giving some great views.One other Gos was seen,a distant female at the other end of the valley,which was watched getting some unwanted attention from a Carrion Crow,but she looked well capable of turning the tables on the Crow.Other raptors seen included a single Common Buzzard and a hunting male Kestrel.A second look for Dippers on the river,again drew a blank,but a nice Grey Wagtail was watched feeding along the bankside.This bird was really dull and looked like a fairly newly fledged juv,but could have just been a poorly marked female.After our search for raptors we made our way back to the car and travelled the fairly short distance over to site number 2 for the day.After being given some privileged information from our friend Allan,our main target was eventually found alongside its commoner Early-purple Orchid congeners...the stunning Burnt-tip Orchid.We spent some time here photographing this beautiful flower,one of which i had wanted to see for some time.Also here was a single Dingy Skipper,our first of the year.After getting our fill of photos of this stunning Orchid,it was off to Orchid site number two for the day.A bit of a walk was involved to this site,but it was well worth it,with at least 100 Fly Orchids on show.We had visited slightly later last year,but it was still an impressive sight.Other flora here included at least 50 Common Twayblade,Common Rockrose,Wild Thyme and the stunning Quaking grass.Lepidoptera were well represented by decent numbers of Small Heath and bird wise a couple of Common Buzzard mewed overhead and several Siskin were seen also.As we retraced  our footsteps a couple more Dingy Skipper were seen alongside a disused quarry.The final site for the day was the excellent Pexton ponds and at last my first odonata of the year.Rough estimated numbers included at least 400 Azure and 50 Large-red Damselfly and 10 Four-spot Chaser.Incredibly these are my first records for the year,it just goes to show how dire the spring weather has been for insects.Also on the insect front,i managed to find a 'New' hoverfly for myself in the form of a female Anasimyia contracta which was watched nectaring on hawthorn blossom,a stunning little fly.Also here,was a lovely showing of more wildflowers and these included our fifth species of Orchid for the day in the form of several examples of Narrow-leaved Marsh Orchid,another new species for us both and a profusion of the carnivorous Common Butterwort were seen also.After our visit to this fantastic site we wandered slowly back to the car,seeing a couple more goodies on the way which included another Grey Wag and a stunning male Broad-bodied Chaser which was watched flying around a small farmyard pond,a nice bonus.So what a fantastic day in this beautiful part of the country and another successful visit to this part of the country under the belt.

Burnt-tip Orchid.

Dingy Skipper.

Fly Orchid.

Common Twayblade.

Quaking Grass.

Chrysolina polita.

Anasimyia contracta.

Common Butterwort.

Narrow-leaved Marsh Orchid.

Male Large-red Damselfy.

Male Broad-bodied Chaser.