Sunday 25 August 2019

25th August


A walk along the river today was quieter than last week with little sign of movement although a group of ten Goosander was nice…



I also had Kingfisher, two Little Egrets, three Snipe, Greenshank and two Green Sandpipers…


This afternoon I looked around the Magic Garden. A good range of dragonflies with Brown, Southern and Migrant Hawkers, both Common and Ruddy Darters and Banded Demoiselle.



There were also up to four Sedge Warblers in the reed bed, these must be passage birds as they haven’t been present through the summer.
As usual also saws lots of insects I couldn’t identify including this wasp with its head fully in the plant...



Sunday 18 August 2019

18th August


Yesterday I had my first walk along the river for a few weeks. First bird was a Kestrel following the line of the river and then a huge female Sparrowhawk, which spiralled up and then it too followed the river south. A second Kestrel followed and as I was looking at this I almost missed an Osprey, again moving south down the river. By the time I got the camera on it, it was already past (pushed on by a blustery wind)…

Not surprisingly given the recent rain the river was running very high so there was no wader habitat but I did flush five Snipe and later saw a Greenshank flying along the river (my first of the year). A group of four Little Egret were on Big Bend


I also saw my first Sedge Warbler, in rank vegetation on the far bank, and two Yellow Wagtails. A third Kestrel passed over and then small number of Buzzards flying high south. As I watched these birds I picked up two Swift which flew in ahead of the storm clouds. Not a bad morning.

Sunday 11 August 2019

A short interlude..


Just back from a fortnight in Shetland. Good weather (and much better than North Yorkshire had!) and stayed in a beautiful cottage on the shore…


(that’s a hell of a garden view!)

Lots of highlights - my first visit to a misty and atmospheric Foula was high up there. 1200 foot high cliffs…



Amazingly on this isolated island I had at least 25 Painted Ladies.

… the everyday Shetland wildlife (including Otter)






…Edmonston’s Chickweed, which grows in a little area of Unst and nowhere else in the world…


But pick of it all were our first Orcas, a pod swimming through Yell Sound…


Back to normality next week...