Lakenheath Birds

Great day   at Lakenheath RSPB reserve yesterday  in the good company of  RPS members with lots of sightings of Hobby, Bitterns, Great Crested Grebes, Little Grebes, Marsh Harriers and Kingfishers.

Hickling Broad

A very enjoyable day at Hickling Broad yesterday - amazingly we must have seen around 20 different Swallowtails and only one other butterfly - a Speckled Wood. Emperor moth caterpillars were every where together with Wooly Bear (caterpillars of Garden? Tiger moths. Lots of other insects and also birds including flying Bitterns and Cranes.

St Aidens RSPB Reserve

 St Aidan's RSPB Reserve has been transformed from an old, open cast mine to a reserve with a rich variety of habitats including reedbeds, wetlands, meadows and woodland. It has a breeding population of Black-necked Grebe, which I was keen to see as I hadn't seen summer plumage birds before. There were lots of Bittern booming and several took to the air during our visit. Otherwise the numbers of singing Warblers - Sedge, Reed and Willow were very impressive along with Reed Buntings and all the usual water birds

Far Ings Reserve Humberside - Bittern and Friends

It is not often you go to a reserve hoping to see a target species but, yesterday, we were lucky and within a short while of arriving at Far Ings everyone in the Nature Group party had photographed a Bittern as it walked across the reed bed. Otherwise the reserve was fairly quiet but there was enough around to keep my camera happy. 

RSPB Otmoor (1)

 My first visit to Otmoor (Oxfordshire) and was rewarded with some great sightings - Common Crane, Bittern, Heron, Red Kite with Prey in Talons, Heron and Spiked Shieldbug with its impaled caterpillar prey.   There were also some better photographic opportunities of small birds -  next Blog. The Grass Snake was nearer Aylesbury on a stopover.