St Aidan’s

 Just back from holiday so trying to catch up. If I can I will try to do a relatively local Blog in-dispersed with a holiday Blog. Anyway, at the end of last month my wife and I had a trip down to St Aidan’s just outside of Leeds. The birds were great and so was the weather although this time we unfortunately didn’t see Bittern (we did however hear a few) or Black-necked Grebe it was still a great day out though.

Loads of Sedge Warblers were singing in the reeds.

Reed Warbler.

Shoveler.

Common Tern with Little Ringed Plover.

Common Tern.

Gadwall.

Black-headed Gull with nesting material.

Great Crested Grebe displaying.

Graylag chick.

Blue-tailed Damselfly.

We stopped off at a pub on the way back home and this female Grey Wagtail was taking insects back to its young.

Holiday day six part two

 My final Blog from our holiday in the Cotswolds and this one is about some of the birds we saw while at RSPB Otmoor oh, and one from the cottage.

Someone said they had seen at least six Cuckoos at Otmoor this was one of them.

One of the first Blogs I did from Otmoor contained an image of a Red Kite carrying what looked like a white rat. I’m finishing with a similar image. Looking at the wings I think it’s the same Red Kite and  another white rat.

 A pair of Marsh Harrier teased me every time I was at Otmoor they were always too far away for any decent shots.

Heron skimming across one of the pond.

Then waiting to catch something.

Great Crested Grebe gliding past the reeds.

GCG coming in to land on the pond.

GCG about to take off.

Reed Warbler skulking about in the reeds.

Garden Warbler.

I was sitting in the cottage getting the images I had taken that day from the camera onto the laptop when I heard a commotion outside. At first, I took no notice but it went on so I decided to take o look. On the ground under a tree lay a dead Jackdaw but flying away was this Peregrine. I’m not entirely sure what happened but it looks like the Peregrine had had a go at the young Jackdaw in the nest and the parents were having a go at the Peregrine and that was the commotion I heard. It ended with one dead young Jackdaw and the Peregrine flying off with just a feather. That’s nature, raw in tooth and claw.

Burdon Moor

 A walk around Burdon Moor nearly always produces some wildlife this walk was no exception with both insects and birds seen and photographed. As with all my Blogs especially with insects involved the identification is not always correct so my apologies in advance if that is the case here.

Hairy Shieldbug.

There was a lot of mating going on.

Red-and-black Froghopper. 

10-spot Ladybird.

Leucozona lucorum or Botch-winged Hoverfly.

Sphaerophoria scripta or Long Hoverfly.

Female Platycheirus albimanus.

Helophilus pendulus.

Eristalis species of Hoverfly.

Common green bottle Fly.

Common carder bee.

Orange-tip Butterfly.

Green-veined White Butterfly.

St Mark’s Flies.

Beetle.

Tortricidae species of Moth.

Sedge Warbler.

Stonechat.

Whitethroat.

Buzzard.