Willow Emerald

In Suffolk so went to Minesmere. Very quiet due to the fact that there was hardly any water. A single juvenile Ruff and Curlew Sandpiper and a few Little Egrets was about all to be seen. However, we did find this unidentified critter which bit Tom a few times:

We headed to Staverton Lakes in Rendlesham Forest to look for Willow Emeralds. I wasn’t too hopeful as the sunshine had quickly turned into thick cloud cover, with even a touch of light rain. Indeed, only three individual dragonflies were seen in total, so I was very fortunate that one of these was a male Willow Emerald. Too distant to photograph, but myself and the children got good views through the ‘scope.

Edit (10/09/2009): Apparently this is the larva of a Carrion Beetle such as Silpha tristis.

Shepreth L-moor

A very quick walk around Shepreth at midday produced two Linnets and two Spotted Flycatchers (new for the site) as well as single male Whitethroats and Blackcaps.

Stonechat and Yellow-legged Gull

A good start to the day as when walking from the house across the field to the train station I found a Stonechat (female type) in the hedge. The Foxton autumn passage begins!

The westerly wind suddenly picked up in the evening with heavy showers and Fowlmere proved hard work, producing just a Teal and the winter’s first Snipe. However an adult looking (though see below) Yellow-legged Gull was briefly seen in the field bordering the reserve amongst a hand-full of Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

Whilst driving home I passed another flock of about thirty, mostly adult, Lesser Black-backs along Fowlmere Road in Foxton. I was late to take Sam to football in Shepreth but returned to take a look and found a third summer Yellow-legged Gull.

Fowlmere

Very quiet again: Two Swifts, a Sand Martin, and small groups of Linnets (ten) and Corn Buntings (four.)

Shepreth L-moor and Fowlmere

Quiet at both locations; heavy showers failing to produce anything extraordinary.

At Shepreth a female Yellowhammer was carry food, two Linnets continually flew around, a Blackcap was heard, and about fifteen Lapwings were also present in the field to the north-west.

At Fowlmere a Yellow Wagtail went over, a Turtle Dove was seen, and three Swifts flew around the mere with hirrundines (including a Sand Martin.)

Forest of Dean

Our second day in the forest was spent rowing for nine miles along the Wye between Kerne Bridge and Symonds Yat in a four-seater Canadian Canoe. Great fun, but surprisingly not much wildlife was seen apart from a few more Mandarin Ducks, though a distant accipiter looked reasonable for Goshawk.

Afterwards we gave Speech House a quick try, and found Nuthatches, followed by another short and fruitless search at New Fancy View.

Forest of Dean

In the forest of Dean for the weekend, and we spent the best part of the day on a bike ride. We saw...

An interesting Hawker (possibly Common, but Southern couldn't be rule out on the views), several Ravens, four Mandarin Ducks (new for Tom) and many Buzzards.

The ride incorporated New Fancy View where we spent a short while looking for Goshawks and Willow Tits, but without luck.

Fowlmere

A quick late afternoon walk before driving to the Forest of Dean produced twenty Ruddy Darters and a Migrant Hawker.

Fowlmere

Very little of interest apart from four Swifts and a vole (probably a Bank Vole.) However, Tom wrote a nice piece on a Reed Warbler family. Also, a Grey Partridge was calling behind the allotments.

Holkham

After spending the morning around the campsite, we headed to Holkham for the afternoon. It was very hot as we went on a quite long walk to the western pines (crossing the nudist beach on the return journey!) Not too much was seen: four Marsh Harriers and four Walls as well as about thirty Painted Lady butterflies.

Cley

Camping in Norfolk with the family at Kelling Heath. Arrived around lunchtime and whilst Michelle went to Holt, myself and the children went to Cley. In calm conditions there was little going over the sea apart from Sandwich Terns and a few Ringed Plover, so after playing on the beach, we had a look on the marshes:

Spoonbill – adult.
Marsh Harrier – juvenile.
Curlew Sandpiper x 4
Ruff x 2
Little Egret x 2
Snow Goose!

Fowlmere

A single Turtle Dove was the only bird of note.

Migrant Hawker

One in the Botanic Gardens in Cambridge at lunchtime.

Deadman’s Hill

Myself and Tom spent several hours on Deadman's Hill near Sandon in the hope of seeing the very elusive male Montaugu's Harrier. Unfortunately we failed but had an excellent time seeing a total of six or seven species of Raptor:
Marsh Harrier - difficult to tell numbers but at least five juveniles.
Red Kite - three.
Peregrine - one briefly.
Hen Harrier - possible ringtail but too distant to conclusively identify.
Kestrel - several.
Sparrowhawk - one.
Buzzard - up to ten.

In addition, we also heard Quail and Yellow Wagtail and saw a pair of Grey Partridges with a number of chicks. Tom also caught (and lost!) a rodent, probably a Field Vole, and found and photographed (on my phone) this Four Spot Orb Weaver spider.

Elsewhere, in the garden there were three very fresh Painted Lady butterflies on buddleia and at Gog Magog there was a pair of very vocal nesting Sparrowhawks.

In the evening, a couple of late Swifts ('ours'?) circled the garden with hirrundines.

Amwell

Being close by, I popped in to Amwell with the children. Not much to see, a couple of Common Sandpipers being about the most noticeable birds.

Fowlmere

Went to Fowlmere early evening with Tom. A big clump of Deadly Nightshade had berries on, and Woody Nightshade was nearby.

The water level after last night’s constant heavy rain was too high for any Sandpipers, but two juvenile Water Rails were on the mere cutting. A Kingfisher pair were often on show, but the highlight was very close views of a hunting Barn Owl. The pair have three young to feed and presumably didn’t do too much hunting the previous evening so were out early. At one point we saw it catch a small rodent.

Other species included at least one Sand Martin with the other hirrundines, excellent views of a young (probably male) Sparrowhawk, and close views of a Reed Warbler pair feeding young.

Swifts and Willow Warbler

One, maybe two, Swifts entered and left the nest site this morning. Are 'our' pair (or two of the young) the two that are still hanging around? Whilst waiting for them to return (they didn’t) a Willow Warbler came into the garden.

Swifts

Two Swifts still lingering all evening above the garden.

Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans to Foxton!

Decided to try once more at dawn at Christophe, leaving Michelle in bed. En-route I flushed a Nightjar, and at dawn had a Marsh Tit and a Jay, as well as close views of a family of Chamois. However, the only additions in a two hour search (hampered by patchy hill fog) were of a Chiffchaff, a Blue Tit, and a Garden Warbler.

At Grenoble airport I noticed a male Hen Harrier hunting in the short grass. Finally a flock of about fifty Jackdaws flushed by the plane taking off proved to be the last new species for the trip.

Back home in a sunny UK(!) a Holy Blue was in the garden as well as several Painted Ladies.

Queyras

The thought of Christophe at dawn didn't appeal (I'd slogged around for several hours the day before), so we decided we'd drive to Briancon and the Queyras National Park. We did so in torrential rain and heavy thunderstorms (the first rain in the area for some considerable time!) Driving on the mountain roads was therefore slow and we didn't arrive at Briancon until late morning. However, as soon as we did, the rain stopped and the sun shone for the whole afternoon.

After looking around Briancon (more nesting Crag Martins) we drove slowly through the park to L’Echalp near the Italian border. A lunch stop at Vieille produced a Short-toed Eagle and a pair of Honey Buzzards. A Red-backed Shrike was seen soon after whilst driving. L’Echalp looked promising for Partridge, but none were seen. New birds for the trip included Peregrine (immature), a Yellowhammer pair, a Bonelli’s Warbler and Whinchat (both found by Michelle), and Serin. Several Common Crows were also noted and it was interesting to note that they were corone (we were apparently right on the zone of overlap were they change to Hooded.) Several Chamois were seen distantly as well as closer Fox hunting on the mountain slope. I hoped it would flush out a Partridge, but of course it didn't.

The highlight however was found whilst walking back to a car: A Nutcracker. It frustratingly called out of site at the top of conifers for several minutes before eventually showing itself in flight.

Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans and La Berade

The target for the day was of course Rock Partridge, and with this in mind, set off after breakfast to Saint-Cristophe-en-Oisans where they are supposedly present. We weren't particularly early and drove slowly to admire the scenery, so by the time we arrived it was mid-morning and already fairly hot. We hiked for about three hours, but it was hard work in the heat and there was no sign of any Partridges. Indeed, there were very few species seen at all, and I was particularly surprised to see no raptors. Species we did see were Crag Martin, Grey Wagtail, Great Tit, and a scraggy immature male Rock Thrush. We also had good views of a couple of Alpine Marmots and a brief view of a lizard.

Giving up, we had some lunch in the village before driving to the end of the road at La Berade. Whilst Michelle sat having a drink and a look around, I found another trail which looked promising. Birds of prey were more evident here and included Golden Eagle, Sparrowhawk, and Kestrel. A singing Melodious Warbler was an unexcpected find, and Alpine Choughs were good to see (several flocks which may been the same birds coming and going, but at least sixty birds.) A Goldenfinch was also seen, but the highlight (which I initially thought to be a Lesser Whitethroat!) was a nesting Western Orphean Warbler.

After meeting up with Michelle and visiting the village of Venosc (Crag Martins were nesting in the houses), I tried at dusk at Cristophe for the Partridge, this time trying a different trail. However little was seen (a Green Woodpecker was heard) and I eventually gave up to drive to Le Bourg d’Oisans for dinner. A Blackbird was seen en-route, and Mallards were heard whilst we ate.

Back at the chalet I went through the butterflies I'd seen that day and came up with the following:
(Southern?) Swallowtail
Apollo
(Eastern?) Bath White
Brimstone/Cleopatra
Red Admiral
Painted Lady
Cardinal
Marbled White
Plain Tiger - out of range but couldn't see what else it could be?