Spring day trip to Bempton

Gannets bonding
 

Puffin

Shot through wild flowers
 

Gathering nesting material
 

Razorbill
 

Love the tone on this Gannets crown

 

Barn Owl
 

Barn Owl
 

Just a few of the 11,00 pairs of Gannet

Puffin

Kittiwake

Kittiwake

Take off time

Corn Bunting

With this cold & wet weather system set to continue I had to make the most of any breaks so on Wednesday I woke up early and headed to Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire. With no chance to get out to the Farnes this year, Bempton is the next best thing. The jouney from the midlands is around 3 hours 20 mins however I shaved 15 minutes off that with a clear run from a 4.45am depature. The staff at Bempton hadn't arrived at the centre when I got there. 

The Tree Sparrows were chirping away as I passed the visitor centre and headed down towards the cliffs when there in front of me was the local Barn Owl hunting and not taking any notice of a small audience stood in admiration of the birds flying skills. Both Corn Buntings & Tree Sparrows were singing from fence post on the edge of the same field. 

The cliffs were fulls of birds nesting and protecting their territories for another busy season. Bempton is a place you really appreciate what is in front of you, just full of life in every direction. I won't list the species observed as all were very much as expected. I did have a walk around Flamborough but couldn't add anything to what I'd seen at Bempton but I did help a few people see their first ever Puffins.

 

Rodborough & Strawberry Banks butterflies

Marsh Fritillary

Duke of Burgundy

Small Heath

 

Small Copper
 

Duke of Burgundy

Brown Argus
 

Duke of Burgundy
 

Marsh Fritillary
 

Marsh Fritillary
 

Common Blue
 

Marsh Fritillary
 

Duke of Burgundy
 

Common Milkwork
 

Early Purple Orchid
 

Marsh Fritillary

Rodborough Common

We decided to make the most of the extended weekend by driving to the south cotswolds hoping to see a few butterflies emerge and a lovely lunch. Our destination would be Rodborough Common where there is always a excellent variation & you can have a good walk. 

As we headed around the common there were immediate sightings of Small Heath & Small Copper which are always great to see. Our main target was the Duke of Burgendy, a stunning fritillary that always take a bit of finding. We did see one quite quickly but it didn't hang around and whilst we kept searching we added Common & Small Blue to our sightings. 

The views are stunning from all over the common and we did well to narrowly miss a heavy shower. As the rain past I found another two Dukes tucked out of wind and enjoyed some warmth in a hidden spot. For lunch we booked "The Bear at Rodborough" which was really lovely. Great food & drink (inside) with a fabulous view.

Before heading back up the M5 we decided to try Strawberry Banks for Marsh Fritillary which was only three miles away. They had been seen in Wiltshire so it was worth trying, worst result would be another lovely walk. As we reached the reserve the clouds hung over us and nothing was flying. A small gap of blue sky gave us hope so we decided to take cover and let the rain shower pass over. Then as the sun emerged so did my favourite butterfly the Marsh Fritillary. Only two, but we were treated to some fanatstic views.

Golden Oriole continues midlands good form

Yellowhammer

 

Lamb on the farm

 

Barn Swallows

 

Swallow

 

Green-veined White

 

Grizzled Skipper

 

Dingy Skipper

A pretty quiet week at the pits despite some favourable conditions. I picked up a single Common Tern early on in the week whilst a Garden Warber was an addition in the company of Jon on Sunday.

The previous day I had a few hours with the Squire at Monk Wood close to Worcester to get some brief views of a Golden Oriole.  Sadly it was not an adult bird so locating it was extremely difficult despite it singing beautifully on and off. It was a lifer for the Squire and as pleasing as it was we couldn't wait to get out of there due to the amount of people. Other sightings included a Treecreeper, two Hawfinch, Garden & Willow Warbler.

On Sunday I nipped up to Honeybourne to see if any Dingy Skippers had emerged. I was however greeted with a heavy rain shower so I made use of the bridge to take cover. Then as if by magic the sun emerged giving enough heat to tempt the Dingy & Grizzled Skippers out. The numbers were low but predicatable given the weather.

Drayton Basset Hoopoe

Hoopoe always a delight

Hoopoe

Busy feeding

Perfect for a Yellow Wagtail

I was quickly out the house after work on Tuesday for a trip to the M42 to see a fantastic Hoopoe. When I first started to see rarer birds, a Hoopoe was one of my big targets. Hoopoes tend to overshoot in the spring when migrating from Africa to northern Europe. The stunning pink crest, black & white wings & curved bill makes it unmistakable. This individual was feeding in some horse paddocks between the Belfry & Drayton Manor Park. The viewing was done from the public rights of way, although a bit distant it was still a pleasure to see such a bird.  In the same area I noted 2 Grey Partridge, Yellow Wagtails & sitting Lapwing. Many thanks to the finder who shared the news on the bird news services.

Pits & pieces as Fritillary season commences

Whinchat

Always greets me on my walk

Common Sandpiper

Pearl-bordered Fritillery on a bluebell

Pearl-bordered Fritillery

Holly Blue

Mrs D in forest

Minotaur Beetle (?)

Pearl-bordered Fritillery

Common Lizzard

Small Copper

 Small Copper

Just the one year tick at the pits this week however I didn't visit at the weekend. On Monday, I picked up 7 Sanderling that circled the pit three times before getting gradually higher & moving on. My own first Whinchat was a pleasing find however the bird was very mobile making any photography difficult. There wasn't anything else of note.

We visited Buttonoak on Sunday to see our first fritillaries of the year. We had to work very hard for the four Pearl-bordered individuals we saw as part of our three hour visit. A quick stop on the way home at Hartlebury saw me record a Small Copper which was my 13th species of the year.