OUSE FEN RSPB RESERVE-BLACK WINGED STILT

Me and Owen called in at Ouse Fen RSPB this afternoon in Cambridgeshire to try and connect with a Black Winged Stilt that had been reported.We had previously visited here in May to see a Great Reed Warbler so we new the site and where to look for the Stilt.

It didnt take long before we connected with the Black Winged Stilt,feeding at the back of Cell 10.

The Black Winged Stilt showed really well but was always on the move and then got flushed by a Marsh Harrier as it flew over low and the Stilt ended up flying to the back of the marsh.

Other birds of note on Cell 10 were a Wood Sandpiper,Greenshank,Ringed Plover,Great White Egret and a Eurasian Spoonbill.

Greenshank

Great White Egret

A great afternoon's birding and a really nice reserve that the RSPB has purchased for the future.

Wildlife 'bouncing back' after reedbed fire-Neston Reedbed

More than two years after a fire destroyed part of Neston Reedbed in Cheshire, wildlife is "bouncing back", according to the RSPB........CLICK ON LINK

ASTON ROWANT-OXFORDSHIRE

I visited Aston Rowant in Oxfordshire this afternoon with Jenna hoping to see another two Butterflies we needed,Adonis Blue and Silver Spotted Skipper.This site was also chosen as an area for the reintroduction scheme for Red kites which were once common across Great Britain, but they were hunted to extinction across England and Scotland by the end of the 20th century as people believed they were killing lambs and game birds. In fact, Red Kites are mainly scavengers, unable to kill anything larger than a young rabbit.Red Kites were reintroduced using Spanish birds in 1989 in a remarkably successful project run by the RSPB and the Nature Conservancy Council.The introduced birds first bred here in 1991,now there are now hundreds of breeding pairs and many chicks have been exported to repopulate other suitable areas of England and Scotland.

On arrival at the carpark we walked down through the wooded area which then opened up into a flower-rich chalk grassland.It didnt take long before I saw my first male and female Adonis Blue,sky-blue with it's fine black lines that extend into the white fringe of their wings,stunning!

Adonis Blue

The bottom ditch was alive with Chalkhill Blue's and Common Blue's as we walked along.

Common Blue

Charkhill Blue

Walking further up the hillside and looking through the short grass a Silver Spotted Skipper landed in front of me.

Silver Spotted Skipper

This species of Butterfly was looked for at the beginning of the month in Dorset but we had no luck in finding them but as we walked along we found atleast four different individuals.

The Silver Spotted Skippers were found in this short grass on the side of the hill 

Other species of Butterfly that were seen were:

Small Tortoiseshell

Brown Argus

Small Heath

Good numbers of Red kite were seen as we were looking for the Butterflies.

An enjoyable day which was finished off with calling in at Grafton Woods in Worcestershire on the way home where Jenna saw her first Brown Hairstreak.