| Travel is still fraught with stress at the moment but when I was invited to join a friend who lives in SE England I took up the offer of "getting away". I'm glad I did. The insect fauna was quite different from what I usually see. For example the Hoverflies; I ended up ordering the Hoverflies of Britain to try to photograph then identify more of them. However, our main targets were a bird, Little Owl, and a mammal, Water Vole. The vole seems to making a bit of a comeback so we were delighted to be able to view at a private pond. Due to fluctuating water levels they were not as predictable as hoped (when is wildlife?). Through a fair bit of patience I was able to secure a selection of pictures of this, most charming, indigenous mammal. |  |
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 A change of scenery was needed, so we decided to head south and visit the Northumberland coast for a couple of days. Not a county we know well. A particular target was Roseate Tern, but there were plenty other things of interest to seek out along the coast. Visiting one of the many coastal wetlands to look for Barn Owl (which we failed to see!) we passed a farm with this Little Owl sitting outside on the wall. Another highlight was a damp meadow with a Grasshopper Warbler in full song.
We did a couple of boat trips and did see Roseate Terns as well as plenty Sandwich and Arctic, but never close enough for good photos. Butterflies were abundant too with lots of Small Skippers and Dark Green Fritillaries around the wet ponds.
 Summer is always a difficult time for bird enthusiasts but if you have a wide range of interests there's always something to see and do.
For the past week we have been based at Malham Tarn a Field Studies Centre in Yorkshire for the purposes of studying Moths and Butterflies. Like our previous courses around the UK it has been a satisfying week with new things to see and plenty of exercise in pleasant surrounds. The moth highlight was the pretty one in the picture. It is a Vestal which does not breed in Britain. It has come from the Mediterranean or further afield in North Africa. Flying high, it fortunately avoided Swifts to fall to earth close to Malham FSC before finding John's light trap. Lucky us.  Just back from a great trip to Somerset concentrating on Light trapping Moths and Butterfly walks. Many highlights to choose from but I have chosen the Privet Hawkmoth as the star, even over the Large Blue Butterfly and rare Heath Fritillary. It has the largest wingspan of any of the native moths.
More pictures from out Somerset visit can be found here:http://www.pbase.com/wildscot/somersetleps |
AuthorEric & Lesley McCabe Archives
June 2021
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