End of July

A day off to do some different things turned up some different photos. Four WT Eagles were seen through the day but it was much smaller stuff that caught the eye starting with a moth that I haven't been able to identify...yet.

A Crossbill turned up in a conifer and didn't seem to be bothered by the presence of humans.

Along the shoreline a couple of Whimbrel, four Common Sandpipers and a Grey Wagtail were seen.

Find of the day had to be the recently fledged Common Redstart.

A Common Blue was stunning in the sunshine...

...and a Speckled Wood was keen on sunbathing.

Year list stands at 133 species while the PWC scores are 101 species with 126 points.

Never a dull moment.

I'm playing catch up again so it's photos from a couple of tours. The first day we didn't get Golden Eagle but it was one of those calm, humid days - not really the best weather to see big birds flying around. The rest of the day was fine with a good sighting of a Northern Wheatear and Common Sandpiper wandering around on the grass.

The Adder showed well but there was as much interest in this Common Blue butterfly!

Hooded Crows are very common and they are an interesting bird to see for people from further south. They do get mistaken for other birds but they will always catch your eye.

We paid a visit to the WT Eagle nest and found the youngster had fledged but there was an adult present. The Otter was a bit elusive through the day but we eventually got a good sighting of one.

The following day was a bit wet to start with but it soon cleared. I had spotted an Otter on the way to pick up the guests but there was no sign of it on our return. I did see a Lesser Repoll sitting on some wires.

There was no sign of the young WT Eagle but there was an adult present at the nest. A decent number of Red Deer were seen and we got a fleeting glimpse of an Otter. The weather cleared up and after viewing the Common Seals we managed to get some good sightings of an Adder. A WT Eagle appeared over a close ridge and landed on the top but this was in the middle of a Golden Eagle territory! It appears that the WT Eagle saw one of the Goldies sitting by a carcass and thought it might get a share but the Golden Eagle had other ideas - you can see the Golden Eagle has a full crop.

The WT Eagle didn't hang around and flew straight over the top of us.

We finally caught up with an Otter at the end of the day but it brought it's catch onto the back of a rock just out of sight for us - that's wildlife for you.

Branching out.

Wednesday was another nice day. The target species for the day was Hen Harrier which we managed to get within the first ten minutes! It was a female bird that showed briefly...

...but the male bird that flew up the road in front of us more than made up for that. We bagged Mountain Hare and another male Hen Harrier too. The common birds were making up the numbers with Whinchat, Wheatear, Goldfinch, Lapwing, Eider etc all boosting the tally. A distant Golden Eagle sitting on the ridge wouldn't give us the pleasure of seeing it flying. We passed the time photographing the Adders and casting an eye over another female Hen Harrier. We got a Cuckoo on our way to lunch, much better views of Golden Eagle while we had lunch and another male Hen Harrier as we finished lunch! An Otter finally put in an appearance near the end of the day. We had a big finish with the WT Eagles. An adult bird was perched in a tree...

...and one of the youngsters was branching out.

Strangely, the most photographed beast on the day was this female Common Blue butterfly - awesome colours!

Thursday - it was nice, again. A bit of a steady day as we had to work for everything but that makes the encounters all a bit special. We bagged the WT Eagles, SE Owl and Hen Harrier without too much trouble. We got some cracking views of Kestrels through the day and one of them even posed for a photo!

A small speck on a hill top was a Golden Eagle - we waited for it to fly but it wasn't happening. We headed off for Mountain Hare and got a real close encounter.

Almost an hour later and the Golden Eagle was still sat on the hill top - we left it. A chance stop produced a much better view of a Golden Eagle and it flew too. Our best view of Hen Harrier was as we stopped to view a Red Deer stag - it flew straight past us and out of sight.

There was only Otter to get now. We managed to find one and got well in front of it so we could conceal ourselves behind some rocks and wait for it. Stunning views as it brought an Eel ashore in front of us - what a way to finish!!

Three days worth.

The internet has been off for a couple of days so it's three days squeezed into this post with the highlights as photos. The Adders continue to perform well with the best find being a young Adder with a Newt in it's mouth...

...and a nice adult posing in the sunshine.

There are still plenty of waders around with the likes of Redshank with young, Ringed Plover, occasional Dunlin and the Oystercatchers too.

The WT Eagle chicks are growing well and they were ringed on Thursday. I've not seen any Hen Harrier fledglings yet but we have heard them calling along with seeing the adults performing the food pass. Golden Eagles are always good to see but we've had to wait for them at times.

Wood Warblers are still singing in the woods, Spotted Flycatchers seem to be in good numbers, a flock of 30 Common Crossbill were a good find and odd ones on the beach have been Chaffinch...

...and Dunnock.

The Otters are still elusive with one sighting out of the three days. There are still plenty of Short-eared Owls on show. With a bit of patience you can get some stunning views of the birds when they land. This photo was taken in the rain and filled the view in the scope - awesome!

The House Martins at the shop don't have any nests built yet so they may not breed this year but other pairs are doing well, the Swallows should have chicks on the go by now but I haven't seen any signs yet.

The Orchids are starting to come into flower with Fragrant, Northern Marsh, Early Marsh and Heath Spotted all on show at the moment. Butterflies have been difficult to get to grips with but Small Pearl-bordered and Common Blue are seen regularly. This Common Blue was fresh out.