25th August..... In Search of Migrants.

With a Wryneck turning up at Naphill on Friday & six Pied Flycatchers over the border in Herts yesterday, it seemed the right time to go in search of migrants at Ivinghoe Beacon. As the weather Prophets predicted a scorcher an early start was in order, arriving at the car park just after 7-30am (well that's early enough).

Things started well as we hit a purple patch straight away, with 4 Marsh Tits in the area of Rosebay Willow Herb on the path from the car park down to the S bend, where they continually returned to the Thistle stems, grabbing beak fulls of fluffy seed heads, flying off with them into the nearby bushes. Also present in the same spot: Blackcap, 3 Chiffchaff, 2 Whitethroat, Nuthatch & Willow Warbler. Making our way down to the Sheep Pens, 17 Lesser Black-backed Gulls were in the fields, as a Kestrel hunted the slope.

A very obliging Wheatear sat on top of the pens preening for a while, before it began actively feeding on insects on the ground around the pens.

Returning back up the slope to the Ridgeway path, we encounted 2 Redstarts using the fence posts along the hedgeline as look out positions, watching for prey in the grass below, one was seen to take a nice big green Caterpillar, they were in the company of a Song Thrush & a Robin.

By 9-00am we reached the watch point where Mike was on station, havin' seen a flew past Marsh Harrier nearly two hours earlier out in the Smog above the Vale. Lingered here for a while only gettin' a Swallow movin' through.

On the way back up hill to the car park we found 2 Garden Warblers picking off the ripening Elderberries.
A short drive round to Pitstone Hill, took the path along the eastern fenceline, came across 16 Corn Buntings, sat on the Hawthorn bushes eyeing the combine harvester, cutting the crop, no doubt the Buntings will mop up any spilt grain, as will the Yellowhammers present. A couple of Whitethroats & Meadow Pipits in this area. On reaching the intersecting path we headed over to the gulley, beyond the first hillock. Here we found a few Chiffchaffs, more Whitethroats, one of which was sharing a branch with a Lesser Whitethroat (good for comparison).

Common Blue feeding on Scabious.

Meadow Brown feeding on Harebell.
















 A Whinchat sat on the upper most twig of a Hawthorn near the top of the hillock.

Lower down the slope a Great Spotted Woodpecker did the same, few more Meadow Pipits on the bushes. At 10-30am 26 Swallows flew through purposefully heading north following the line of the hills, rounding off a successful morning on the Hills.
Don.












Images Copyright : Don Stone/Stewart Dennis.

24th August...... Goldfinches & Webs.

This past week a family group of Goldfinches have been in the garden feeding on the seed heads of the fading Knapweed.

I've lost count of the number of Painted Lady butterflies I have seen this year, with them all evading the camera, 'til I managed to grab this record shot of an individual on the Michaelmas Daisies.

It's the time of year when, if you're out & about early enough the Spiders handy work is highlighted by the combination of the rising sun & the early morning dew, but it doesn't take long as the suns rays soon causes them to vanish for the remainder of the day.

Here's one of the workers.

  

                                                                                

Judging by the number of vapour trails blazin' across what would have been a clear blue sky, there must be plenty of health harming/global warming pollution up in the atmosphere, as we witnessed the following day as the early morning Smog formed a layer above the Vale of Aylesbury.

A Tawny Owl 'hooted' on several occasions during the day, in the evening it could be heard uttering the weird warbling 'tremolo' courtship call. Don.                                                                                                                                                                                            

23rd August..... Kingfisher delights.

Dragonfly and darter numbers have been increasing around the garden this week.

Wednesday a southern hawker settled briefly near the pond.

Common darters were also present at the pond, both singularly and paired couples.

Thursday morning over at Wilstone Reservoir good numbers of the smaller migrant hawker and a few ruddy darters were to be found.

Found a coupled pair of migrant hawkers just outside the hide.

 

A fishing kingfisher delghted watches in the hide as it hunted from a nearby perch, as another flashed close by.

Two hobbies were hawking dragonflies over head as two green sandpipers fed in the shallows in front of the hide.

Early Friday morning at home two greenfinches on the feeders with a juvenile nearby.

A single chiffchaff searching through the fennel for insects close to the back door.  Stewart.

Images Copyright : Stewart Dennis.

                       

20th August..... Adonis Blue.

With a sunny day forecast went to BBOWT Yoesdon Bank hoping to find adonis blue butterflies, (named after the Greek god of beauty and desire). Found good numbers of this little gem. No females found but others there did find some.

 

 

Other species of butterfly seen included chalk hill blues (both male and female).

 

Brown argus, small heath, meadow brown, one brimstone and several whites.                                

Also many other insects and grasshoppers on and among the wild flowers at this site.

Good to see the Chiltern gentian growing well there.               Stewart.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Images Copyright : Stewart Dennis.                                                                                      

Spiders

Found these delightful specimens at their webs guarding their offspring in the garden recently.

Don.