THE EASTLEACH SHRIKE AGAIN

I paid my  third (and final?) visit to  Eastleach Downs yesterday to see the Long Tailed shrike which has been resident there for the past month. I gather that it has been  undergoing a moult which would explain its long stay, it certainly hasn't been short of food, with plenty of grasshoppers and the occasional small rodent amongst its food. Over the past couple of weeks it has been perched frequently along a fence line and on long stemmed grasses only 20 feet from the path, returning to roost in a bramble bush adjacent to the path. I'd seen many reports of how well it had been showing,  accompanied by some excellent close photos, so with a few free hours I drove the  twenty minutes from home over to the field car park before walking the quarter mile or so to the footpath which passes alongside the shrike's favourite locations. 

There was only a handful of cars in the carpark and about 8 - 10 people with cameras waiting for the shrike to make an appearance after having disappeared for the past half hour. I was assured it would return, and it wasn't long before it did. The bird perched along the wire fence, watching the dried grass below it for anything it could feed on. Occasionally it would  drop down then appear further along, sometimes on the wire, or a post, or on some tall plants. It wasn't always easy to get a clear sighting   through the long grass but when you did, it gave great views as  perched almost still for several minutes before moving along to its next look out point. 

Several visitors had travelled south from places such as Manchester and Birmingham to see it, and a few mentioned that they'd even  been up to Scotland to see the one which was seen a few weeks before, but had only seen a small shape through a 'scope of binoculars. Certainly that was my experience on my first visit, but since then it has provided closer and closer views. I wonder how much longer it will stay, it has certainly given many birders a lot of pleasure to see a Long Tailed shrike at such close proximity.  

AN AUDIENCE WITH THE QUEEN OF SPAIN

 Well, what a year it's proving to be for butterflies, especially with summer migrants such as painted lady and clouded yellow. I've had a good year too, with three new lifers so far. Today I was able to add that total, by following up a sightings report of  several Queen of Spain fritillaries which had been seen in a field in a  small village in Hampshire. 

Some of these extremely rare migratory fritillaries have already been recorded in the Isle of Wight, and with a holiday booked there for next week, I was hoping to catch sight of them then. However, a couple of days ago another sighting was reported in Hampshire in a field in Monk Sherborne. I didn't initially think of looking into this sighting, but then realised it was only an hour from my home, and twenty minutes from my daughter's. And with at least four butterflies seen, it was highly likely that they would still be around if I visited today. 

I set off at eight o'clock thinking that traffic should be easier ( on a Saturday) and hoping that the warm temperatures would bring the butterflies out early in the day. I was right on both accounts, but I hadn't really expected it to be something of a twitch, with a dozen or so cars already parked at the entrance to the farm through which the public footpath led to the location site. 

Some butterfly enthusiasts had travelled from as far as Manchester, but others only an hour or less as I did. I suppose living towards the south of the country, most rare migrants are likely to be coming up from Europe, possibly making it nearer for me to travel to. I heard some people talk of long tailed blues north of Portsmouth so I made a mental note to try and fit in that visit in the last two weeks of the summer holidays. 

As I  followed the footpath from the car, I met someone returning who assured me I would find the butterflies easily, and to follow the path until I saw a group of people all with the same purpose. As I reached them, I could easily see an orange butterfly sunning  itself on the path ahead of me. The Queen of Spain fritillary is a medium-sized orange butterfly with black markings, similar to the other fritillaries. However, it has distinctive large pearly-silver spangles on the underside of its hind wings and  this regal appearance gives the butterfly its name. The species has a preference for warm dry conditions and often basks on bare ground to absorb heat to give it rapid flight.

This was the first of many sightings of these fritillaries. There were perhaps four or more, mainly males, ( should they be called the King of Spain?)  apparently, though I have not learnt how to differentiate between the sexes yet. 

Initially they were stopping on the bare ground, occasionally shutting their wings, but eventually one or two stopped to rest or nectar on thistles which gave everyone the chance for the better photographs they were after. Even when they disappeared, it was not long before they returned to the same area, an area of set-aside bordering the wide stony footpath. I also saw common blues, small copper, small white and a clouded yellow whilst there. After a couple of hours enjoying this  'twitch'  and having achieved the photos I was hoping for,   I left  having added species #51 to my year list and being a  'lifer' too. 

A FABULOUS MORNING IN A HIDE

 I've been meaning to revisit a bird hide on a BBOWT reserve in East Oxfordshire for some time; the pond in front of the hide is a magnet for birds in the woodland, especially during hot and dry spells and I was keen to see what wildlife would visit, especially since hawfinches have been reported recently. 

The reserve carpark and visitor centre is accessed along a mile or so of narrow, potholed roads and I was afraid the small hide would be full, especially when I saw the number of cars parked in the carpark. However, when I tentatively opened the door, I was pleasantly surprised to see just three people, who kindly moved up to make room for me. I read later that there are work parties on Tuesdays and Wednesdays which would probably explain the number of vehicles. 

Straightaway I  could see a male bullfinch having a bath, and was also shown a spotted flycatcher perched on a branch. Both new ticks for the year!  As I settled down for the next couple of hours, we were in for a treat. 

Dragonflies were continually  patrolling the area above the water, I identified an emperor dragonfly, but was unsure on any others as they did not stop. They sometimes hovered for a few seconds in front of the hide windows, but as soon as I pointed my camera, they would zoom away!  A couple of bank voles appeared periodically from under a log, and would dart about amongst the undergrowth, giving away their presence by a quivering blade of grass here and there and occasionally nibbling something out in the open. 

A good range of birds came down to the pond during my morning visit, some visiting several times,   including chiffchaff, robin, male and female bullfinches, chaffinches, treecreeper, nuthatch, juvenile green woodpecker, marsh tit, blackcap, blackbird, blue tit, great tit, pheasants, dunnock, and the star of them all, a hawfinch which surprised us as it flew in  and landed on a piece of branch, then proceeded to drink and bathe in full view of us. Wow! 

Oh and I nearly forgot, a grass snake swam across the pool too and a muntjac passed by the back of the pond, 

Although I stayed in the bird hide, the reserve has many paths and grassy areas through woodland which provide excellent  habitats for flora and fauna, including butterflies and orchids and would be well worth a future visit

spotted flycatcher

bullfinch m

tree creeper

juv green woodpecker

bullfinch f

tree creeper

blackcap f

marsh tit

blue tit

tree creeper

bank vole

marsh tit

nuthatch

pheasant

female bullfinch

bullfinch

grass snake

hawfinch f

taking a drink

and having a bath

drying off

FRAMPTON MARSH BLACK WINGED STILTS

During a much needed break at my sister's home in Cambridgeshire we deliberated on which reserve to visit on our birding 'day out'.  This time of year is quite quiet on the bird front, but I'd read of a pair of  black winged stilts that had been resident at RSPB Frampton marsh for quite a while,  so we decided we'd head there for the morning. 

We  spent some time looking out at the pools in front of the Reception foyer where the most unusual species were a little ringed plover and a yellow wagtail, before heading on to the  reserve. We'd been told that that the black winged stilts could be anywhere but they particularly favoured the scrape in front of the Reedbed hide so that's where we headed first. On the way we noted half a dozen or so painted lady butterflies, all in pristine condition, they have certainly been abundant this year. 

In front of the Reedbed Hide we were treated to excellent views of one of the black winged stilts, which spent al long time preening before walking on its elegant long red legs off to the right and out of view.   In the past, some stilts have bred at the reserve but they were unsuccessful this year. We also had views of spoonbills, ruff, avocets and black tailed godwits. Some of the scrapes were bone dry but were attracting a few pied wagtails.  

On the mammal front, we were excited to see a family of stoats run across the grass in front of the Visitor Centre during our lunch but they were too quick to get  a photo!  .