Roosting Red.

This Red Admiral choose an exposed location to spend the night, exposed to predators. The following morning on a cold damp day it flew off at 9-50, just as I was viewing my images. One second it was there, the next it had vanished..... hate it when that happens. (Note to self, must clean those windows).

Inside view :

Outside view :

Don.

24th - 25th June.

 24th June and another hot day forecast, went for a morning walk to Weston Turville reservoir and on to the Wendover canal and The Wides. Common blue damselflies and male broad-bodied chasers patrolling the top path and a family of mute swans, the adults and their six cygnets in the north corner of the reservoir.

Chiffchaffs, blackcap and a sedge warbler heard from the path towards and past the sailing club. At the canal, right towards The Wides and came across a lone male mandarin on the tow path which allowed us to pass without it taking to the water.

Several moorhen and coot families seen and feeding well in these warm and sunny days.

Back home before it became too hot and had a family of swallows, six or seven in total feeding above the house and garden, the young often resting in the tall trees close to the garden.

Early Thursday and a chiffchaff in the fennel close to the back door, searching for insects.

An indoor day in the heat, but an evening walk close to home, came across a cock pheasant and a hare hiding in a hay field.

A last look around the garden with the torch and found a toad which had just crawled out of the pond and still covered in duckweed.

Stewart.

          Images Copyright : Stewart Dennis.

Hey Boris, this is what Folks think....

21st - 23rd June.

Sunday night set the trail-cam onto the roof of a bird table in the garden hoping to catch the local kestrel or tawny owl using it to perch on. A wood pigeon triggered a 20 second clip at 5.05 Monday morning and it picked up a call that I, Don and a few others can't ID as yet, but we're working on it. Possibly involve getting up early, waiting and hoping it calls again.

Tuesday 23rd and another hot day, went to Pitstone Hill for a good walk before the temperature rose, hoping for butterflies and birds. Heard a corn bunting's jingling song from the car park and later saw another on a fence post. Followed the path along the east edge and on to Aldbury Nowers with large numbers of marbled white very active all the way with a few stopping to feed on knapweed and field scabious. Also large numbers of meadow browns, ringlets & small heaths all very active.

Large skippers feeding on yellow asparagus pea.

Small skippers on bramble flowers... 

... along with a few dark-green fritillaries, so called because of the green underwings.

 

Many skylarks singing in the air and from the tops of bushes.

Meadow pipits feeding young and being chased off by a fine looking male stonechat.

 

A good show of orchids, both pyramidal and common spotted with a few chalk fragrant seen. Stewart.
Images Copyright : Stewart Dennis.

Grass Snake.

Set the camera trap next to the Mallards nest, as two of the clutch didn't hatch, my thinking being that they would prove irresistible to a predator, a cat checked them at midnight, a Vole skirted around the edge, with this Grass Snake also sliding by, the eggs still remain untouched.
Don.

Mallards.

A pair of Mallards bred in the garden for the first time, nesting in vegetation by our pond, on hatching the family only spent a day with us before moving on to the pond at a nearby farm, where within a day all but one of the ducklings had been predated.
Here they are seeking the safety & security of their mother.

Don.

16th - 21st June.

June 16th and interesting to see how quickly adult starlings start developing winter colour after their breeding season has finished. Had an adult turn up at the feeders this morning with its beak turning black already.

Later  we went to BBOWT Aston Clinton Ragpits to look at the orchids that grow at this small but special site where thousands of orchids grow and flower at this time of year. Amongst the pyramidal, chalk fragrant, common spotted. twayblade, greater butterfly flowering now are a few bee orchids, some caged  for their safety.

 

First marbled white butterfly of the year seen along with large and dingy skippers.

Also a few Roman snail seen, our largest British snail, introduced in the Roman times.

17th June young great spotted woodpeckers coming in regularly to the feeders and also noticing how quickly the moorhen chicks are growing.

21st walked from home to check the violet helleborines growing nearby, looking good and hopefully be flowering soon. Stewart.
Images Copyright : Stewart Dennis.

Swallow.

This Swallow was busy have a bit of a preening session.

Don.

Lesser Black - backed Gulls.

It's not often you see Lesser black backed Gulls in Little Missenden in the summer, but then again it's not often you see a good flow of water in the River Misbourne in the summer!!

Don.

Grand Union Canal.

9th June parked up at Wilstone and walked the farm track/footpath to the Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal first passing an awful case of fly tipping on the farm track. Nearing the canal damselflies started showing including white-legged

 

blue-tailed.
 At the canal turned right and a juvenile grey wagtail was on far bank. Soon passed a family of newly fledged sedge warbles flying back and forth across the water. Adults catching damselflies to feed their young.  Banded demoiselles and emperor dragonflies seen. The canal was quite busy with narrowboats, a young couple I spoke to as they were navigating a lock had come from North Wales and were heading for the East Coast.

Passed a lock keeper's cottage noticed coupled red-eyed damselflies egg laying on floating vegetation and also female emperors egg laying.

Joined the Grand Union and back to the car passing the reservoirs and a paired pair of broad-bodied chasers and shoals of fry at Wilstone. 

13th on a walk from home, an early ringlet butterfly, past an interesting mix of mares with foals.

Stewart.
Images Copyright : Stewart Dennis.