LATEST NEWS
RECENT BIRDING TRIPS AND SHORT OUTINGS
FRIDAY 27TH AUGUST - SUTTON BINGHAM RESERVOIR
A report of a Whinchat and a Wheatear at Sutton Bingham by local birder Pete Ackers saw me toddle off around lunchtime to see if they were still there. A few other people had dropped to confirm the bird's presence including Guy Campbell, he found 2 Whinchats and 1 Wheatear.
I saw the same as Guy but the birds were very distant, viewable from the main causeway to the south of the West Pool
Record shot of Whinchat (left) and Northern Wheatear at Sutton Bingham
During a sunny spell in the garden I captured a couple of picturtes of Small Tortoiseshell and a Southern Hawker
Small Tortoiseshell on my Dwarf Buddleia
Southern Hawker
SATURDAY 28TH AUGUST - STOFORD WALK
We were due to set off for a couple of days visiting friends in Salisbury but before we went I had time for a quick walk into the fields above the local stream in Stoford.
It was fairly quiet but I could see how much the hedgerows had changed since my last visit. It looks like there will be abumper crop of berries this autumn, many bushes are heavily laden. Blackberries, sloes and elder berries are in abundance.
a Blackcap taking advantage of the bunper crop of Elder Berries
Walking around the large grass field above the village I saw Blackcap, Goldfinches, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits but not a lot else.
a male Great Spotted Woodpecker
a typical autumn sighting, a family party of Goldfinches
through the hedge at the top of the field I could see all the way across to Barwick Park where 'Jack the Treacle Eater' Folly can be seen.
SUNDAY 29TH AUGUST - CANADA COMMON (NEW FOREST, HAMPSHIRE)
We arrived our friends house on Saturday afternoon, their house is situated a couple of miles south of Salisbuiry in a village called Alderbury. On Sunday morning it was bright, clear and sunny, so we decided to go for a stroll on Canada Common which is 5 miles south from where we were.
It was beautiful out there, the Common is covered in gorse and the grass is kept really short by wild horses, Donkeys, Sheep and Cattle. It was virtually birdless until we got to some mixed woodland.
We found Great Spotted Woodpecker, Spotted Flycatcher, Robin, Crow, Jackdaw, Common Buzzard, a couple of Pied Wagtails and on the way back we found a single Stonechat.
record shot of the Spotted Flycatcher
this Common Stonechat was the only bird we saw as we walked two miles across the heathland!!
This doe Roe Deer kept an eye on us as we entered the woodland
Common Darter was the only dragonfly that we saw during our New Forset walk
Back at our friends I photographed this docile Hornet, I do not reccomend picking one up!!
Our friends Nick and Debbie have a Hornet's nest in their loft space above their bedroom, how nice!