Missed the Hoodie – drat… but a new tick – an Ivy Bee – NOT – Miss Identified !! You can't win em all, as they say. We missed out today (18th Nov) on the Hooded Merganser at Pagham Harbour, apparently seen to fly off late afternoon on Saturday 17th November. Well it had done […]
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 &
At last, some warm sunshine has arrived after almost continuous dull grey and wet weather for what must have been 8 weeks or more. Most reservoirs in my county of Derbyshire are now classed as 99.5% full. To-day I joined Barrie, Anita & Elliott on a Butterfly walk around Foremark Reservoir. The walk
I decide to take a walk round Staunton Harold Reservoir this morning, my “Local Patch”. It proved to be a good move as no sooner on site I discovered two female Common Scoter. The birds were sat in the middle of the reservoir at the dam end and the first record here for
I photographed Carsington Water, in Derbyshire 9 months ago when the water levels there were at an ALL TIME LOW. What a difference now, when we have had effectively nearly 3 months of continuous rain. The reservoir is now the complete opposite, brim full as never before. This morning it was another grey
The first sunshine for weeks apparently. Having just come back from Rheims in France on Friday 29th June, I was hoping for some good weather in order to try and photograph my final British resident Butterfly, the Holly Blue. I was really Living in Hope. Several of the villages not far from where
We were on our way to spend a few days in Rheims, France and so not to miss an opportunity, we stopped off at Blean Woods in Kent for Heath Fritillary. One of my final two species of breeding British Butterfly left to photograph. The RSPB reserve at Blean Woods is one
The Fenland area of East Anglia is a very unique habitat and a days birding in the Fens can be very spectacular and rewarding. Today was one of those days when everything “Clicked” into place, with a little perseverance. At one of the RSPB reserves in Suffolk, we managed to see most of the Fenland
