Blue is the colour..

Easterly winds and heavy rain... east coast here we come. As we approached Spurn at dawn, an early start was filled with anticipation.

First stop was Cliffe Farm where yesterday a Red-Flanked Bluetail showed well. Spotted Flycatcher, a couple each of Redstart and Chiffchaff boded well. Suddenly pagers bleeped - the Bluetail had been trapped and was going to be released in 10 minutes.  A quick dash to Church Field and we joined a socially distanced line to patiently wait. Red-Flanked Bluetail has been a bogey bird for me so the next ten minutes was totally worth the early start...

What a start to the day. The Bluetail was then released back into the garden of Cliffe Farm where it performed well for the rest of the morning. We popped in for seconds and thirds later in the day.

We next worked our way along the Canal towards the Warren. More Redstarts flicked through the Hawthorns, whilst Song Thrush, Redwing and various finches kept flying over. Siskin, Redpoll, Greenfinch and Brambling were in amongst the most numerous Goldfinch. We walked past the obs, towards Chalk Bank. Possibly the flighty Olive Backed Pipit (which had been reported) called within a group of Meadow Pipits, although Tree Pipit was also seen today by others, so left at that.

A couple of sharp showers saw us head back towards Kilnsea. A cracking Short-eared Owl was perched up, along with Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and a Ring Ouzel.

Around the church, a Firecrest was difficult to pin down, but called a few times. More Redstarts appeared and a couple of Migrant Hawkers added variety. We watched some more ringing - always great to learn new stuff...

It was getting very busy in Kilnsea so we decided to head towards Sammy's Point, Easington.

Simon and I really enjoy birding Sammy's Point - its like a magician's hat as birds appear and disappear at will. It makes for frustrating but fascinating birding.

Amongst more Redstarts and Chiffchaffs, a couple of Yellow-browed Warblers flicked about with typical enthusiasm. Reports of Olive Backed Pipit, Wood Warbler and Common Rosefinch got us searching more closely. More Redstarts and Blackcaps appeared from nowhere, Reed Buntings, Song Thrush, Redwing and Fieldfare flew about. Then a quick glimpse of a dark tail and orange flanks... there had been another Bluetail here yesterday, but this glimpsed bird was not seen again.

The third paddock was getting very busy now and birds were getting harder to pin down so we headed back towards the car park, a distant Peregrine adding another raptor for the day.

Half way down the second paddock, a group of Pipits appeared. This time a solid Olive Backed Pipit stood out as it was feeding with a couple each of Meadow Pipits and Yellowhammer. Quite distinctive as it fed differently to the Mipits with frequent tail movement. Another Yellow-browed Warbler was in the first paddock, when three Owls appeared!

Two were clearly Short-eared Owl, the third slightly smaller and darker - Long-eared Owl. Shame this didn't come as close as one of the Short-ears...

Unfortunately afternoon plans meant we had to leave at lunch. It did mean we missed a few new ticks for Simon (Icterine and Western Bonelli's Warblers) but the close up Bluetail more than made up for it. Another cracking visit to Spurn 😀

Wryneck - Horwich Moors

A classic migrant of south and east coast hotspots (I remember seeing 3 at Portland Bill one time!), a Wryneck near home is always a bit special.

Fifteen years ago one decided to do some shopping at Middlebrook, Horwich, and showed stupidly well by the side of a road!

Fast forward, and an excellent find by Peter Webb, meant another chance to watch a local Wryneck.

Brief, but very, very close views on Tuesday were nice - but the definite views were all on the Manc side of the border. A plentiful supply of Ants has meant that it has hung around. Time to see it again, and hopefully this time in the Chorley area...

A bit of patience and eventually the Wryneck flew into the pines on the Lancs side 😀 Then onto the grass before onto a post for cracking views. Alas, the fieldcraft of some left a bit to be desired, and I decided to make my exit as the bird was chased along the lane. Glad to know it was being seen later on.

Bearded Vulture - Crowden, Derbyshire

We've been following the summer travels of the young female Bearded Vulture as it has traveled across Europe, then the Channel Islands, before finally ending up in the Derbyshire Peak District. The last month has seen regular sightings in the valley north of Crowden, so we arrived at the car park at 7.30am full of anticipation...

Half an hour later we joined a dozen other birders looking at its empty roost spot wondering where it was... The cloud cover kept rising and falling but for the next hour there was no sign.

Solace was taken in the Ring Ouzels though, flying around. A noisy flock of about 20 birds flying south, was then added to by at least 10 more in the nearby Mountain Ash trees. Later on we saw another flock of 20... maybe the first flock again, maybe over 50 birds during the day? Whatever the number they were great to watch. A family of 5 Kestrel, Buzzard and Raven got the eye in for raptors and scavengers...

Then, at 9am, a joint call went out... There she was, circling high in the valley to the north. Wow, definitely worth the patience. What a beast! After about 5 minutes she headed further up valley, so Simon and I decided to lead the way and walk up the valley.  Half an hour later we were near the hill top looking down into the valley when up she came again, this time below us. Beautiful. She then soared higher before eventually landing opposite us on a crag.

Our pictures don't really do her justice, there are much better ones out there. But in the binoculars she was fantastic to watch, that wingspan was outrageous!

As we started to descend a Merlin flashed through rapidly, as well as 8 Red Grouse. The Ring Ouzels continued to fly around as we returned past our first viewpoint.

Wherever she ends up as a category on the British bird list, who knows and who cares. What a wonderful bird to experience in the UK, and in a lovely Peak District valley. Brilliant 😀😀😀

Hic Bibi Dragons

I headed down again to see if a) I could get some better pictures, and b) some scarse dragons have been appearing in Lancashire, so you never know...

Final totals seen were: 6 Brown Hawker, 2 Common Hawker, 1 Emperor, 1 Black Darter, 1 Ruddy Darter, 2 Common Darter, Emerald Damselfly c10, Blue-tailed Damselfly 3, Azure Damselfly c10.

I was pleased with the following pictures 😀

Female Emperor ovipositing...

The Common Hawker kept teasing me with close fly-bys, until one perched very close...

I was pleased to get a better shot of the Black Darter...

Nothing out of the ordinary with the Damselflies but pleased with these of Azure and Emerald Damselfly...

Totals for Dragons and Butterflies this week...

Butterflies:

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Dark-green Fritillary, Wall Brown, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Silver-studded Blue, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Grayling, Small Tortoiseshell, Small Skipper, Peacock, Red Admiral, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Small Copper, Speckled Wood, Comma, Ringlet, Small Heath = 21 species

Dragonflies:

Emperor, Southern Hawker, Migrant Hawker, Brown Hawker, Keeled Skimmer, Four-spotted Chaser, Ruddy Darter, Black Darter, Common Darter, Emerald Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Azure Damselfly = 13 species

Welsh and English Dragons (part 2 - Hic Bibi)

Whilst enjoying the sun, sea and sand of North Wales I had read about Ruddy Darter at Hic Bibi - a potential Chorley tick. 

Once the car was unpacked, off to Hic Bibi on a hot, sticky afternoon. On the first pond, 2 Brown Hawker, several Common Darter, and some very showy Emerald Damselfly...

The second pond had a couple more Brown Hawker and a single Emperor. The third pond was where the Darters were more numerous and showing well. Firstly a male Black Darter, then a Common Darter (paler red and showing the pale back to the legs)...

The next Darter was a wonderful bright red, reminding me of the Red-veined Darter we'd seen at Ainsdale. A very nice Ruddy Darter, showing off its all black legs...

Before leaving, one of the Brown Hawker was ovipositing - a great opportunity for pictures...

Welsh and English Dragons (part 1)

Thursday 13th was a quiet day for wildlife, the day spent on Newborough Beach again, with numerous Grayling butterflies flitting along above the sand. The Red Arrows were doing a practice display over the beach at lunchtime which was a spectacular surprise!

Friday meant home time, but before we left Anglesey we decided to explore the fens at Cors Erddreiniog.

 A bit cooler and breezier than the last few days, butterflies and dragonflies were a bit harder to come by on this fantastic reserve. Wall Brown were a surprise on the access track, amongst numerous Speckled Wood...

Once into the fens proper we had Southern Hawker and Emperor, and numerous Common Darter on the paths. A couple of Keeled Skimmer flew around us but didn't stop for a picture. Four Spotted Chaser was also seen, but unfortunately all the Damselflies we saw were the commoner species. We will have to return next summer to try again. There were many Common Blue including this pair...

We returned home in the afternoon, ready to then make a stop at Hic Bibi to try and get a local dragonfly tick...

South Stack and Cemlyn Bay - 12th August

Grand tour of Anglesey today, a day off from the beach, although another glorious day 😎

We arrived at South Stack just after 10am and walked down to Ellis's Tower. 3 Chough were feeding at point blank range on the grass. Fantastic! In total we saw 14 Chough before we left...

Also in the heather were a couple of Silver-studded Blues, as well as numerous Grayling and our first Wall Brown's of the trip. The images below show the difference in the underwing pattern - the row of spots on the hindwing of the Wall Brown, not seen on the Grayling...

Offshore several Manx Shearwater moved past, as well as Gannet and Kittiwake. A bonus was a Bottle-nosed Dolphin in the bay to the west of the lighthouse. 

On the heathland we also saw 3 young Wheatear, a family of Stonechat and a Kestrel zooming by with a couple of Raven in tow...

Next stop was Cemlyn Bay. A marvellous sight and sound of Arctic and Sandwich Terns, with good numbers of young birds. Soon we found the Roseate Tern that has been staying here recently, resting quite close on the rocks... Alas it flew before we got photos 🙁 New tick for Simon though 😀

Rhosneigr - Tuesday 11th August

Another glorious sunny day, this time spent at Rhosneigr. In between the chillin' (highlight being a Hummingbird Hawkmoth flying past), a few wanders into the dunes behind the beach. Insect wise, a single Dark-green Fritillary, as well as Common Blue, Little Heath, Peacock, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Large and Small White. A cool Ichneumon Wasp (I think) also seen...

Rhosneigr

...and the wasp?

And a selection of the amazing flowers found in the dunes... (Will id them when I return home)...