FRAMPTON AND SLIMBRIDGE

 A  free day meant I could spend the morning at Slimbridge WWT Centre and enjoy some spring sunshine.

However, I'd recently read reports of a ring necked duck  that had been found at Frampton Court lake so as it would be more or less en route, I decided to stop off there first. Slimbridge doesn't actually open to the public till 930 so  I  arrived at Frampton on Severn at around   8.40 . The tiny car park was already full so I found a place on the road side and took the footpath to the lake. Several years ago there was a tawny owl  regularly roosting in one of the dead trees  here but with the tree   having fallen in a storm the owl had long disappeared. I last visited the site to see an osprey last year so I knew where I needed to go to find the duck which had been with some tufted ducks in the northern part of the lake.

There was a strong easterly wind blowing which felt quite cold so I  was glad of some extra layers. I got into conversation with a photographer who told me where the duck was but it was quite far round the lake and I could not make out the bill pattern from where I was. I decided to walk round the lake a bit and soon caught up with some other birders who showed me where it was, distantly viewed between some branches but with its bill pattern easily seen. One photographer with a rather good lens had achieved a frame filling picture of the duck, but I had to be content with a rather blurred  record shot!  There were several sand martins flying over the lake too which were an additional year tick. 

The duck obviously had no intention of coming closer, it was regularly diving and lost to view so I returned to my car,   and went on the few miles to Slimbridge.

Being a Saturday and the start of the holidays for some, (though not Gloucestershire) the centre was fairly busy with families though the hides were nearly empty for the most part. You could also feel the cold wind blowing in through the hide windows.  A few wigeon and pintail were still on site although the wintering Bewick and Whooper swans had all left. There  were few birds of note really apart from the long-staying spoonbill. I didn't see many waders at all, just a lapwing, godwits and some avocets. though apparently there were reports of a spotted redshank and a greenshank but I didn't find them. Some snakes-head fritillaries were in flower in a wild area of the grounds which reminded me  of the fields of them in Cricklade which may be worth a visit soon, often the field is flooded but this year I imagine it would be quite dry. Watch this space!

ring necked duck

little egret

spoonbill

snakes head fritillaries

chiffchaff

BUTTERFLIES ON THE WING IN SPRING

This fine spring weather is bringing out a few of the spring butterflies and with  an afternoon of sunshine forecast I decided to make the most of it and visit Lower Moor Farm in the Cotswold Water Park to see what I could find.

Lower Moor Farm is owned by the Wiltshire Wildlife trust and has a lovely little cafe called the Dragonfly Cafe which overlooks one of the lakes, and from which sometimes you can see otters. 

There are three hides but they were very quiet today and I turned my attention to butterfly spotting. 

I saw a Brimstone flying along one of the lakeside paths which is bordered with a thick hedge. At the same time I became aware of a smaller white butterfly but which one was it? 

After flying up and down for a while it then halted and settled on a bramble stem from where  I could see it was a green veined white, its greyish-green veins very obvious in the sunlight. 

I continued my walk and  saw an orange tip flying past at speed, that was two  species new for the season now. I stopped off at the cafe for a cup of tea, and a chat with the Wildlife Trust representative  who had a stall adjacent to it. Rather than return to my car I decided I would re trace my steps, and perhaps find a few more butterfly species. However, I didn't see anything apart from a flyby peacock. until I reached the entrance to  children's  education wildlife area which has a pond and a couple of huts some grassy paths.

I met someone coming out  who told me they had seen various butterflies including an orange tip so decided I would linger in the area.  I soon saw a couple of peacock butterflies which obligingly perched on some blackthorn flowers. Then a small white butterfly again, another  green veined white?  But a closer look revealed it was a female orange tip, which lack the orange tips to its wings, but has black tips instead. I didn't get a glimpse of the underside which is a sort of mottled green and white  colour. 

An old notice board had something on it, which turned out to be a butterfly with wings closed, but its small white 'comma'  gave its identification away. A Comma. After a while it  opened and shut its wings a few times before  flying off on to some dried grasses and turning to face its wings to the sun. .

It was a nice afternoon to be out in the sunshine and always satisfying to see my first of any butterlfly species for the year.

 

green veined white

green veined white

peacock

female orange tip

comma