We set off for Aberdeen on 23rd September in anticipation of seeing the Sandhill Crane that had been discovered at St. Combs, Aberdeen. We managed to see the Crane along with a few Lapland Buntings before we caught the Ferry to Lerwick, Shetland. My second Sandhill Crane in the UK. (Photo1- Sandhill Crane – […]
For the past few days now the UK has been battered by the remnants of the USA Hurricane Katrina. Inevitably numerous seabirds have arrived on inland waters. One of the pick of the crop is a juvenile Sabine’s Gull that arrived at Belvide Reservoir in Staffordshire several days ago and still present this weekend. An
My wife & I spent last week in Dorset. One of our favourite holiday locations is the area of Studland & Swanage. The tail end of Hurricane Katria began to affect the coastal area on the 5th September and there were several hundred Mediterranean Gulls in the Studland Bay area. Also 3
It really is hard work birding in South Derbyshire. I take my hat off to the group of locals that do Willington day in & day out. Having said this, it wasn’t too bad this morning. We had a fly through Little Stint, the juvenile Spotted Redshank still present; 5 Greenshank; 3 Green
The prolonged drought has given rise to Incredibly low levels of water at Carsington Reservoir. The above photo should show the public sailing club with water up to the grass on the left handside!! Not much about bird wise, best bird of note was a drake Red-Crested Pochard. At Willington Gravel Pits, the
The traditional visit, to a superb Chalkland Hillside reserve, brings the butterfly year to a close. Aston Rowant is simply superb, despite the M40! We had good numbers of Silver-spotted Skipper, these little jewels were darting about everywhere even though the weather was not perfect. Also good numbers of Chalkhill Blue and surprise of the
I had one resident species of butterfly left to see in Britain – SWALLOWTAIL and Strumpshaw Fen, in Norfolk is probably the best place to see them. August is the flight period for the second brood and so I took a chance today in the hope of seeing one. The weather was not ideal
The best time for Lulworth Skipper is late July into August and one of the best places to see them is Durlston Country Park. This species is not easy to find as they live in small colonies scattered along the cliff tops of the Dorset coast. Even more difficult when the sun is not
