Back Out And About

Well it has been a month or so but this weekend I finally laid the cricket season to rest and finally got back out there. Thought I’d ease myself back in with a run out to Old Moor. I had a good couple of hours too. I managed to pick out 4 Curlew Sandpiper, feeding in a fairly secluded area, and 2 Spotted Redshanks resting on a spit. The big challenge though was to sift through numbers of Teal to find a juvenile Garganey. I had to wave the white flag in the end and admit defeat. I’m fairly confident if it was still there it was one of the birds asleep by the waters edge. I must have checked every bird on the water ten times, it became like a magic eye picture, and the more I stared the more I started to see things! Just not a Garganey!

If I’ve learnt one thing though this weekend, it’s that I need to brush up on Dragonflies and Damselflies. They were buzzing around the paths to the hides and in most cases offering good photo opportunities, but a book is needed I think? When it comes to nature I am always up for broadening my horizons so will get swatting and hopefully strengthen this chink in my armoury! Like a fool I walked obliviously past the bookshelves on my way out where I’m sure there would have been a book to answer all my questions? I will post the photos anyway but will welcome any identification advice. Think one of them is a Common Darter but that’s as far as I’m prepared to stick my neck out?





Not sure what this is either?



Red Admiral



After that I headed to the area of Langsett where the pair of Black Redstarts had been seen a few days before, I hung around for an hour or so but the windy conditions made sure I was always against it so I came away windswept and empty handed, anything with a brain would have been out of the way sheltering. Plenty of Meadow Pipits and Swallows went over but other than that it was fairly quiet.

Pheasant



Dunnock



Time was still on my hands and apart from the wind it was a very nice day so I decided upon a lap of Scout Dike before returning home. Again, not a vast amount of birds but a pair of Greenshank and a Yellow Wagtail made up the quality where the quantity was lacking.

A juvenile Pied Wagtail



A record shot of the Yellow Wagtail which was loosely associating with its pied cousins.



Scout Dike