Late May

Practically nothing ornithological or photogenically (if that's even a real word) to report during a busy spell carrying out Newt and Bat surveys around the country but here's some pictures anyway....

Common Clubtail on the River Severn - I think its the first I've ever seen!

 

 

 

Great-crested Newts

Baby Oystercatcher at Blithfield Reservoir

 

21st May

A look at Venus Pool at lunchtime saw 3 Sanderlings fly in to land briefly at midday before swiftly moving on along with two broods of Shelduck, each with 9 small ducklings, 4 Little Ringed Plovers and a Yellow Wagtail.

Shelduck ducklings

This Heron seemed more interested in small fish than the nearby bite-sized ducklings!

19th - 20th May

Spent the morning of the 19th at Grafham Water where it was pretty uneventful with the exception of 3 Sanderlings on the dam and an Osprey which made several slow circuits of the reservoir (always keeping to the opposite side that I was on!) and had a couple of unsuccessful fishing attempts.   After dusk / dawn bat surveys a little walk along my stretch of the River Teme at Leintwardine produced brilliant views of a brute of an adult female Peregrine who came within inches of nailing a Common Sandpiper, a couple of Yellow Wagtails and a fresh looking juvenile Dipper.

Sanderlings

Very far away Osprey

Snapped shots of the Peregrine along the River Teme

18th May

Bit of a jaunt round Anglesey today which didn’t produce anything unexpected but good views of many of the specialities with a couple of pairs of Chough at South Stack while there was a steady stream of Manx Shearwaters offshore with the cliffs seemingly packed full of Guillemots and Razorbills.   The island in Cemlyn Bay was then full of Sandwich Terns, Arctic Terns and Common Terns with at least 6 Mediterranean Gulls with the Black-heads (including a pair of adults seemingly already settled down, a pair of 2nd summers looking interested and a 1st summer getting bullied by the others) a few displaying Red-breasted Mergansers on the lagoon and a couple of Sanderling with Dunlin and Ringed Plovers.

Chough

Arctic Terns

Sandwich Terns

 

Mediterranean Gull

 

Red-breasted Mergansers

Rock Pipit - maybe with some Scandinavian genes!

Stonechat

15th - 16th May

Surveying in Staffordshire again where a little look at Blithfield Reservoir in the evening of the 15th produced a single drake Common Scoter and lots of low flying Swifts; between surveys on the 16th birds during a pleasant walk on Cannock Chase included 3 Hobbies, plenty of singing Tree Pipits and Stonechats feeding fledglings while good numbers of Green Hairstreaks and a few Green Tiger Beetles were a nice distraction.

Stonechat family

Tree Pipit

Whitethroat

Green Hairstreak

Green Tiger Beetle

Common Terns at Blithfield