A FEW SURPRISES!

 

Although the original forecast  was for cloud, it turned out  fairly bright with the sun coming through at regular intervals. I hadn't made any plans to go out, but after  completing some gardening jobs in the first part of the morning,  the temperature seemed warm enough t look for my first dragonflies of the season.  I therefore headed over to the Wiltshire wildlife trust reserve at Lower Moor Farm, which has a good range of dragonflies although I haven't visited it very much in search of them as dragonflies are a new interest for me.  

As I walked down the path from the carpark  towards the first hide,  I spotted my first dragonfly. It settled in the hedgerow so I was able to get some photos, although I didn't know which species it was, only that it had green and blue colouring.  I checked it against my reference book  later and found it was a hairy dragonfly, which was a surprise as it was not in the list of species seen  at the reserve. A close look at the photo shows the downy hairs on the thorax which distinguish it from other species. 

I took my time to  walk around the reserve, surprisingly few butterflies were around although I did find a female orange tip and later a brimstone. I explored a few new paths and had a look at the soon to open new visitor centre which looks very attractive  with its position overlooking one of the lakes. The only other species I found were some common blue damselflies and a broad bodied chaser,

I mentioned surprises in the blog title.... when I was in the garden this morning I heard some cheeping coming from the willow tree which sounded like   nestlings, but there was no nest to be seen. I then realised that it was coming from a small hole in one of the boughs of the tree, and I soon noticed a pair of blue tits going in and out.  Some blue tits had   used a hole in the trunk a few years ago, but it has since 'self healed' and is not a hole anymore. Then I realised there was some more cheeping coming from the   cherry tree where I have a nest box. I hadn't noticed any activity  and had thought it wasn't being used this year but  there were obviously birds inside!  It was too close to the willow  tree to be another pair of blue tits, so I waited around and  eventually saw great tits going in. It's the first time great tits have used that particular nest box. 

 hairy dragonfly

broad bodied chaser

female orange tip

new visitor centre at Lower Moor

path by a brook alongside a flower meadow

blue tits' nest hole in willow tree

MORGANS HILL AND CHERHILL DOWNS

With sunshine and warm temperatures today I headed over to a couple of chalk grassland sites to look for butterflies.  Firstly I re-visited Morgan's Hill where, I was pleased to find several grizzled skippers as well as dingy skippers.  I got talking to another visitor, and  having just discussed Duke of Burgundy butterflies, I suddenly saw one so was able to point it out as it was a species he'd not seen before. Although I knew they were found  there,  I've  not actually seen them on this site before but  I found at least 3 today. I  was hoping for marsh fritillaries but only managed a  brief sighting of one. They are usually on the wing by now but I wasn't sure if they had been delayed by the  wet weather.  I also added a large white to my year list at this site which was nectaring on  flowers at the side of the sheltered path which leads from the entrance to the reserve.  

After eating my lunch in the car, I decided to visit another local reserve to see if I could find any marsh fritillaries there. The path up to Cherhill  Down is a steep climb between two banks, but towards the top it widens and the sides are formed of grassy areas which  provide a sheltered area of wildflowers. I caught a glimpse of a wall butterfly in this area as well as dingy skipper and a small blue. 

At the top of the hill I headed towards the tall monument and then took a sheltered path I knew to be favoured by butterflies. Here I found several marsh fritillaries, dingy skippers, and wall butterflies, also some small heaths.  I also saw a green hairstreak which landed for a few moments on the grass. A few small blues were fluttering about but not settling where I could see them, but on the way back to the car, I spotted one clinging to some grass which I managed to photograph. 

large white

green hairstreak

marsh fritillary

wall brown

small heath

marsh fritillary

small blue

SANDERLINGS AND SKIPPERS

 

After being more or less housebound, due partly to wet and windy weather, I was keen to get out and about today to make the most of the break in the weather.  After checking the forecasts, I considered that I could take a trip over to Farmoor reservoir in the morning, while it was dry,  and then after lunch, make the most of a few breaks in the cloud to search for butterflies over at Morgan's Hill. 

At Farmoor, it was still fairly cold with a bit of a breeze as I started out along the causeway. The main point of interest was a group of four sanderlings which came within a few metres of where I was sitting on the wall. Other birds of note were three species of wagtail - pied, yellow and grey. The first two were along the causeway but the grey wagtail was down by the River Thames where I understand it has a nest.  Also down on the river were  seven families of greylags with goslings of varying ages!

Sanderling

yellow wagtail

grey wagtail

seven greylag families

After lunch I drove over to Morgan's Hill where  there were a few patches of blue sky but  also large grey clouds overhead. The wind had died down, as I followed the path uphill and across the ridge then dipped down to a sheltered area which is always a favourite for butterflies. 

During the first short burst of sunshine  I saw a dingy skipper,  then checking through my binoculars, found a green veined white, the latter being a new sighting this year.  Shortly afterwards three small butterflies suddenly appeared together, then separated, one of which flew towards me and settled for a brief moment- a grizzled skipper. Sadly I was not quick enough with my camera and it flew off as the sun was once again obscured by dark clouds and disappeared down amongst some grass a little way off where I couldn't relocate it. 

The weather wasn't ideal for butterflies, and although I did catch sight of a couple of dingy skippers mating, the grizzled skipper remained hidden. However, I was pleased to get the sighting for this year.   With Morgan's Hill being a popular site for Marsh Fritillaries, I may return within the next couple of weeks, and perhaps find the grizzled skipper again. 

view from Morgan's Hill

dingy skipper

pair of dingy skippers

SLIMBRIDGE AGAIN

 

I spent the morning at Slimbridge Wetland Centre today, making the most of some dry weather. Although cloudy until lunch time, there was no wind and the walk out to the estuary was pleasant.  The hides are not due to open until next week, but nevertheless the staff have made a good number of view points by  taking down parts of fences so it is still possible to have some good views of wildlife. The centre is also having a lot of redevelopment at the moment, which promises some new experiences and places to explore this summer when it opens up. The new signs are looking very smart. 

 
On the Rushy pen I was able to spot my first avocets, oyster catchers, black tailed godwits and little ringed plover for the year. Many birds are nesting right now,   and there were several broods of greylag goslings already around the centre. From the summer walkway I saw wheatear, meadow pipit, whimbrel and curlew, and heard sedge, reed and grasshopper warbler, also a cuckoo calling. 

avocets

nesting avocets

goldfinch

greylag goslings

As I returned from the hides, I was met by 3 families of greylags!

Little Ringed Plover

Sedge warbler

swallows

whimbrel

RODBOROUGH COMMON

 

I made a trip over to  Rodborough Common this morning in search of the Duke of Burgundy butterfly which is now on the wing. I arrived late morning, to allow time for the butterflies to warm up, but although it had been sunny all morning, it was now starting to cloud over. 

I quickly made for the usual spot where there were a few people already searching for butterflies. . My first sightings were of small heaths, and then as the sun  reappeared, a common blue and dingy skipper took flight.  Then someone called out they'd found a duke, but it had flown and he hadn't located although he knew the general area where he thought it was. After a few minutes, the butterfly appeared from the long grass and  after fluttering around for a while, conveniently landed on a stone, which gave everyone good views and photo opportunites. With the sun gone again, it rested there, perhaps taking advantage of the warm surface of the stone, until someone got too close! As it didn't look as if it was the cloud was going to disperse for a while, I decided to leave, having added 4 more new butterflies to my year list. I may be back later on, as there has been a reintroduction of large blue butterflies on this site over the past year so it would be interesting to see if some emerge next month.

common blue - the only photo I could get today

 dingy skipper 

duke of burgundy

A FEW FARMOOR WADERS

I spent a pleasant couple of hours at Farmoor Reservoir this morning; it had brightened up after yesterday's hail storms and I was hopeful of seeing a few more bird species.  On arrival I could immediately see there were many hirundines crisscrossing the  reservoir as they fed on insects on the wing. On inspection, they were made up  primarily of swifts and house martins, but also some swallows;  some only passing a couple of feet from my head as they zigzagged across the causeway from one basin to the other.  Further along I could make out a number of  house martins resting on the edge of the causeway, but I never got near enough for any photos as they were disturbed by some walkers ahead of me. After finding  the greylag family from my last visit, still, with their one gosling, my attention was  suddenly drawn to a group of  4 waders flying off, though not close enough to identify what they were so I just had to hope  that they would return later.   After reaching the end of the causeway without any wader sightings, I  followed the path down to the PInkhill Nature reserve and then along to Shrike Meadow. I could hear warblers ( blackcap, sedge warbler, reed warbler and chiffchaff) and caught sight of a cuckoo flying along the river before it landed amongst the leaves of a tall tree. 

Returning along the causeway,  there were fewer people about, and I spotted a couple of turnstones on a raft, also a common sandpiper.  The house martins and swifts had begun to disperse as the weather improved but five yellow wagtails were  at various points along the wall. As I paused  to admire a brood of mallard ducklings, a lady stopped and informed me she had seen a sandpiper at the end of the causeway by the boats. I made my way along,  but only to find it was not a sandpiper at all but a dunlin! 

greylag family

mallard duckling

yellow wagtail

 dunlin

turnstone

common sandpiper