A week on Madeira to re-charge the batteries and to relax and take things easy for a few days. Not so easy when the hotel gardens were full of Monarch Butterflies and two species of Blue Butterflies that were incredibly difficult to photograph. I had also lined up 2 afternoon seabird and Dolphin trips to try and […]
I managed to get a record shot of the lingering near adult Yellow-legged Gull that has been present on and off at Staunton Harold & Foremark Reservoirs for the past few months. Not a great deal else at the local patch this morning. Tufted Duck numbers are building as I count around 260 this morning.
Plenty of common waders on offer at RSPB Titchwell, in Norfolk and RSPB Frampton Marsh in Lincs. A total of 22 species were seen to-day. Highlights being a 1stw Red-Necked Phalarope at Frampton; 22 Spotted Redshank at Titchwell; c300 Black-tailed Godwit at both sites; c200 Bar Tailed Godwit at Titchwell along with 16 Spoonbill, an
Warm weather continues and this was my second Moth Trap of the year. A fairly good assortment simply running an actinic tube, “Neighbourhood Friendly" Trap. Twentynine species with Large Yellow Underwing and Common Rustic the most numerous. In no special order – THE MACROS – Marbled Beauty 4; Willow Beauty 6; Large Yellow Underwing
The North East Coast of England provides some great birding opportunities. With the Farnes and Coquet Island not too far away, Sand Haven Beach at South Shields is a great place for watching Terns. We had a great morning here photographing the rare Roseate Tern, and fortunately we discovered a pair feeding two juveniles
Another day spent at Frampton Marsh, near Boston, Lincolnshire, one of the RSPB’s finest reserves. Only an hour or so drive from home and a place I really enjoy visiting. The reserve always has great potential and you never know what you might find here. A recent White-rumped Sandpiper and a good variety
My quest to photograph all the resident breeding British Butterflies finally came to an end this afternoon. Holly Blue was photographed along a local Nature Trail in Stretton, Staffordshire, called the “Jinny Trail”. During the past week I was sure that second generation Holly Blue would emerge in the warm sunshine. Sure enough, Anita &
The moth trapping year so far has been disastrous across the country. Many people running moth traps have commented on how poor the trapping results have been. The weather has been the main culprit with months of cold & wet conditions. It wasn’t until early July that the weather finally settled down to
