A SUCCESSFUL DAY

Last year I saw my first Pearl bordered fritillaries at Oakley Woods near Cirencester, so having had a few sunny warm days, I guessed that they would be just emerging there again this year about now.  I was right....heading straight for the area where I saw them last year, I soon saw a few around,  though very reluctant to land.   I did, however, manage to spot one individual who posed with wings closed, showing the beautiful 'pearls' on its undersides; it didn't, however, show its open wings fully so to get that shot it looks like I shall have to return another day.

Yesterday I didn't get to see the black necked grebe at Farmoor Reservoir, so with a bit of time to spare, I headed over there next. The bird had been seen from the causeway that morning, so that is where I went first. Meeting a couple of people returning, I asked if them if they'd seen it, and they shook their heads. 'But did you go round the whole of the F2 reservoir?" I enquired.   Apparently not. I thought it would be worth checking seeing as I'd come all that way and that was where it was seen on previous occasions. 

Half way along the western bank I spotted it!  Only 10 metres or so from the shore, diving regularly.  No one else was watching it so I spent a little while taking photographs, following it as it reappeared each time  slightly further along the bank back towards the way I'd come. Then suddenly it took flight and flew low over the water a bit further out. By this time I was deciding which was the quickest route back to the car.. and decided to go the way I'd come. 

I stopped off at the corner where there is a kestrel nesting box, looked up and noticed the male kestrel sitting preening itself outside the box. A few photos later, the female appeared at the entrance hole before disappearing again inside. 

All in all a satisfying afternoon. 

THE ELUSIVE GARAGANEY

With another sunny day forecast I had intended to visit Slimbridge but then an entry on a local birding blog caught my eye, a garganey had been seen at Standlake Common. 

This being a species I've not yet manage to see ,I quickly made a change of plan and headed there straight from work. From the first hide, it was a peaceful scene, some canada geese and their young brood of goslings, a grey heron, oyster catcher and inevitable blackheaded gulls.  But no garganey here.

From the Langley Lane hide a coot was nesting right in front of the hide, some common terns popped in close by, and teal and egyptian geese were also noted.   A close look through my binoculars showed a sleeping duck which in my view looked very much like a drake garganey, although when I got home, apparently there had been no sign of it this morning. What do you think? 

garganey?

canada goose family

coot on nest

common tern

grey heron

Leaving Standlake, I headed for nearby Farmoor Reservoir. Here there were more broods of goslings and ducklings, a dunlin,   a little egret from the hide, but annoyed I missed the black necked grebe in the far SW corner! GRrrr.!

more coots eggs

dunlin

GARDEN SIGHTINGS

A lovely sight in my garden recently.. a vixen and her two cubs on my back lawn.  They came back and forth under the hedge to my neighbours several times 8 - 9pm, all three then later the cubs individually, not sure if the same cub twice though.  I wonder if they have a den nearby. 

A couple of visits to the bird box by a great tit yesterday, maybe still incubating, as not the regular activity I'd expect if feeding young. 

OTMOOR MORNING

Turtle doves are back at Otmoor RSPB so I was hoping to see one on my morning visit to day. It was quite an early start in order to catch the best of the sunshine so I arrived at 7.30a.m. although the car park was already full. 

I walked up the main track, enjoying the birdsong all around me. Sedge and reed warblers were, as usual, in full voice, although the latter less easy to see amongst the reeds. A cuckoo could be heard in the distance, but sadly no purring of the turtle dove. 

Asking several people I met, they kept providing the same answer.. no, they hadn't seen or heard the turtle dove today. 

On the scrapes, breeding has begun in earnest; there were at least three canada geese families and  a couple of greylags, though doubtless  there were more, hiding amongst the long grasses. I also saw a couple of young lapwing chicks. Other birds on the scrape included redshank and snipe. Snipe could also be heard drumming overhead. 

The sun was intermittent and it began to get warmer, by now it was nearly 10.45 and I started to head back to the car park. Just as I approached the corner by the cattle pens, someone approached me and informed me that there was a turtle dove feeding on the ground the other side of the gate!!    I managed to get a few photos before it flew up onto a nearby telegraph pole,  then posed for a while before flying off  again. It had appeared just in time  and enabled me to put that tick firmly on my list!

common whitethroat

chiffchaff

greylags

canada geese

sedge warbler

reed warbler

reed bunting

snipe

two geese families

lapwing and chick

turtle dove

RODBOROUGH COMMON BUTTERFLIES

With the warmest early May Bank holiday weekend on record, the early Spring butterflies are emerging, and I headed off to Rodborough Common to hunt some out. 

It was sunny but slightly cooler than the last few days, which made searching rather more comfortable, and towards the end of my visit it began to cloud over. 

There were plenty of green hairstreaks about, though most preferred perching on grasses, and not always easy to photograph.  As I was trying to photograph one individual, I was approached by another photographer who was keen to point out some rare Pasque flowers. 
He also showed me the best place to look for Duke of Burgundy butterflies and indeed, we soon saw several of these, together with some dingy skippers.  Other butterflies seen included my first speckled wood of the year, orange tip and some whites which   were too distant to identify. 

duke of Burgundy

dingy skipper

green hairstreak

Pasque flowers

speckled wood

Rodborough Common

COOMBE HILL MEADOWS

An afternoon's trip to Coombe Hill Meadows near Gloucester, where I followed the towpath alongside the old canal, then paid a visit to the hide which overlooks the scrapes and wetlands. 

Birds  of note along the canal included blackcap, chiffchaff, grey heron and a coot family whilst on the scrape there was a nice selection  of ducks and waders etc. These included redshank, curlew, lapwing, black tailed godwit,oyster catcher, gadwall, mallard, pintail, canada geese, black headed gulls, lesser black backed gulls, also a swallow. Sadly not the garganey I had hoped for. 

On the butterfly front I saw brimstones, small tortoiseshell, orange tip and green veined white. 

towpath alongside the old canal

grey heron 

the scrapes viewed from the hide

coot family 

curlew

redshank