CATCHING UP WITH SOME WATER BIRDS

 With little likelihood of reaching my 'usual' butterfly yearly total of 47, ( I still have only 41, my most recent being a brown hairstreak at Otmoor) , I decided to pursue my birding target of 175. I've failed to reach it by one or two in the last two years but I was on 166 ( including my first chough when on holiday in Pembrokeshire) before I visited my sister last week. We made a trip to Frampton Marsh rspb which is very good for waders and often hosts some unusual species during peak migration times. We didn't arrive till mid- afternoon but with a fine evening ahead decided we'd stay until 6  - 6.30 p.m. and avoid the rush hour/bank holiday traffic which  held us up a bit on the outward journey. 

There were a lot of birds close  to the visitor centre window and I quickly picked out a bar headed goose (escapee?) amongst the greylag flock. We could also see several spoonbills and little egrets.  Out on the reserve there were the expected water birds, and from one of the paths I noticed a single swan. But its bill was yellow and I was able to add a whooper swan to my year list, a species I had missed in the new year. 

Further on, we could found a few yellow wagtails feeding on the mud, again, a pleasing tick for the year. Another birder with a 'scope also pointed out  a curlew sandpiper. 

After the visitor centre had closed we walked round the side and watched a few little ringed plover. 

whooper swan

cattle egrets and spoonbills ( and other species)

little ringed plover

Pleased my list was now increasing a bit, once back home, I decided to visit Slimbridge on my last free day of the school holidays. It was a warm day with variable amounts of sunshine - and although the Centre was busy with families, the hides were very quiet. In the Rushy someone quickly pointed out a greenshank which was calling from one of the islands. Other birds of note here included redshanks and spotted redshanks together with black tailed godwit (some still in breeding plumage) and a juvenile garganey. Birds of note seen from the other hides included a green sandpiper and a couple of snipe together with teal and mallards, also avocets and ruffs.

greenshank

snipe

green sandpiper

black tailed godwits

PERHAM DOWN BUTTERFLIES

I discovered the site at Warren Hill, Perham Down, near Andover  last year when I read that it supported a colony of silver spotted skippers. It is roughly an hour's trip away but nearer than my previous location of Aston Rowant. Having made a note on where to find  the silver spotted skippers  following last year's visit, I  headed straight up the main track and then turned off to a scrubby area to the left  to begin my search. These skippers are one of the later butterflies to emerge and consequently I tend to look for them at the start of August.

I had arrived  fairly early in the day - around 930, but already it was quite warm and I soon spotted my first butterflies.    At first I only saw meadow browns - plenty of them, together with a few gatekeepers and small heath butterflies, but then I noticed a smaller orangey brown butterfly fly at good speed and land on the path in front of me -  I had found my first silver spotted skipper of the year! I saw only a few more although a recent report had recorded about 25, however, I did not explore the whole of the site. 

A bit later on, I found another 'first for the year' - two chalkhill blue butterflies were fluttering about close to the ground, occasionally settling for a short time. I also found one female chalkhill blue and a common blue. 

It hasn't been a great year for butterflies, and I am  a few down on last year's total. I did, however, manage to find a purple hairstreak in my daughter's back garden last week. I shall hopefully look for brown hairstreaks next week, but it remains to be seen if I  see the migrants (clouded yellow and painted lady), sightings of which seem to be few and far between. I also wonder if the long tailed blue will be seen at all this year. 

male gatekeeper

male chalkhill blue

silver spotted skipper

view of warren hill

male chalkhill underwing

female chalkhill underwing

female chalkhill blue

common blue male