Wednesday 5 June 2013

Lowland Moorland in June

On Tuesday we drove on a long winding route to a place we have never actually started from before. I could hear a Turtle Dove from the car park, but we couldn't see it. From the car park Whitethroats could be seen and a Yellowhammer heard. We saw a couple of Yellowhammers flying about once we set off. A short way from the start we heard a Garden Warbler, but it failed to come into the open.
Cuckoo
 Hobby (c) 2013 Mike Day
All remaining photos (c) 2013 Maggie Bruce
Whitethroat
 Whitethroat - preening
 Willow Warbler
 Willow Warbler
 Willow Warbler
We carried on a good way with the same birds being heard or seen with the addition of a pair of Linnets. The woodland walk produced dozens of Large Red Damselflies. One of them was being munched by a Four-Spotted Chaser - if only we had anyone with a camera! On e way back the same thing happened. On the next section more Garden Warblers & Whitethroats were heard, as were some Blackcaps. We reached a lake and here we saw some Tufted Ducks, a Teal, a Mallard, and then a male Marsh Harrier flew in & hunted along the edge of the lake.  
Tiger Beetle
 Tiger Beetle
 4-Spotted Chaser
 Large Red Damselflies
 Quite a Few Large Red Damselflies
 Azure? Damselfly
We carried on a bit further where I had a brief view of a Hobby. We looked across at a reedbed, and in that direction we heard a Sedge Warbler and saw a Reed Bunting, and above that we saw a Marsh Harrier, followed by a Buzzard, and then another view of the female Marsh Harrier. 
Small Copper
 Peacock
 Click Beetle 
 Soldier Beetle Species
 Comfrey
On the way back I spotted another Hobby above the tree tops as it crossed the path ahead of us, but I don't think anyone else managed to see it. In the afternoon we saw at least 5 Hobbies, but they were all pretty distant, and fairly high in the sky. We also heard a Cuckoo, which flew right over us & headed for the patch of woodland, from where it sang for the remainder of our visit. 

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