I ran my 20W Actinic garden moth trap overnight on 16th February 2024. Results were – 3 Oak Beauty; 3 Common Quaker; 2 Dotted Border; 2 Hebrew Character; 1 March Moth.
RSPB Frampton Marsh, near Boston in Lincolnshire, is always worth a visit during the winter months. Even more so when a Lesser Yellowlegs is over-wintering, and looking rather smart after nearly completing its moult. Another spectacle was the thousands of Golden Plover and Lapwing, estimated at 10,000 each, being bombed by several Peregrines, so the sight of all these birds, along with thousands of ducks and hundreds of other waders, was simply fantastic to witness. With 2 Great White Egret, several Marsh Harrier, 6 Pintail and a few Goldeneye, it was a thoroughly enjoyable days birding, whilst managing to fit […]
Well you’ve got to twitch a Cattle Egret when it’s right on your doorstep! A post went out on social media on 30th January, stating that a Cattle Egret was in a sheep field at Staunton Harold Hall, ten minutes from where I live, but unfortunately in Leicestershire by a couple of miles! So the morning of 31st January, I decided to go and look for it. Well I scoured the fields and areas where I thought it might be and couldn’t locate it, or any sheep for that matter. I did find 2 Red Kite, a Raven, five Nuthatch […]
During this winter 2023-2024, the UK has been the host to an invasion of Bohemian Waxwings (Aka, Pink Punks due to the account of their Pink Crests). A rather large flock gathered at Hassop, near Bakewell, providing superb opportunities to see these birds at close quarters. The flock, around c300-400 at its best, but regularly around 200 birds, was quite a sight and one of the largest in Derbyshire for many years. We paid them a visit on 29th December 2023, and I was able to obtain some pleasant photographs, as they were making frequent visits to a hawthorn bush […]