WRYNECK HEAVEN!

   The Wryneck is a bird I have wanted to see for several years now which is a member of the woodpecker family and is found widely throughout Europe, Scandinavia and North Africa. It used to be a resident in certain areas of the UK but has been extinct as a breeding bird for a while now and is only seen in small numbers on migration mainly on the East coast on their way to Africa for the winter. As with other woodpeckers they nest in holes in trees and walls but are quite small in size only being a little bigger than a sparrow; from a distance they look dull brown in colour but close up they have intricate patterns of brown, grey and buff and to me appear almost reptilian. They are apparently quite shy and reclusive but during migration they can  be much bolder and give fantastic views.

   Last Saturday evening there was a Wryneck  reported from the old sewage works at Corton so early Sunday morning I made the trip over to see if I could finally observe one. On arrival I, along with a couple of other people spotted a Redstart followed by 2 Whinchat and a Whitethroat but nothing else so after a couple of hours searching I made the decision to move to Covehithe and Benacre and walk along the coastline there. This too resulted in no sign of a Wryneck and I was nearly ready to give up for the day when reports came through of a sighting at Minsmere in the sluice bushes so I got back in the car and drove over there.

   Walking through the gorse bushes to the sluice there was no sign of a bird but further on a group of people were stood watching some bushes so I walked up to them and Jon Evans who is a very good local wildlife photographer told me that a Spotted Flycatcher was in there and that a Wryneck had been showing just were I had just walked. I stopped for a while and managed to get a few photos of the Flycatcher but it wasn't easy as the bird stayed in the middle of the bushes and didn't show well.

   Moving back to the gorse I joined about 10 other people looking for the Wryneck and eventually it was spotted in the distance disappearing into a gorse bush. Everyone converged in the area of the bush but there was no sign of the bird and after 45 minutes people lost patience and began to disperse. I stuck around and creeping through the bushes finally came across the Wryneck sitting in a bramble bush only about 7 metres away whereupon I froze and carefully managed to get some pictures. After a little while the bird seemed to get used to me and relaxed, dropped onto a path and began to search for food allowing me to get some super views and snap away to my heats content. Close up the bird was beautiful to see and the variation in its plumage was amazing so I was lucky to observe the bird for a good 20 minutes before it was flushed by a family walking a dog and disappeared into a bush. Finally seeing this bird made my day and it was one of quite a few seen in the area last Sunday but by the next day most of them had moved on so I count myself lucky that I was in the right place at the right time.   
  

WHINCHATS

   Following reports today of a few migrants making their way south along the coast I paid a brief visit to Lowestoft north beach and walked to Ness Point to see what was around. Making my way along the sea wall I saw several Wheatear on the shoreline and at the bird's eye factory along with a few Turnstones; further out at sea quite a number of Terns were hunting along with the obligatory collection of Gulls. In the area near the net posts I spotted two Whinchats and managed to creep closer to get a few photos before they were put up  by a dog being walked.

   The Whinchat is another of our migrant birds that arrive in April and May from Africa and breeds in the north and west of the country. They nest in a variety of landscapes which include rough grassland, bracken, moorland and young forestry plantations in May and June and often manage to raise a second brood before leaving our shores in August and September. When migrating south they often stop off in Spain or Portugal and feed up before crossing the Mediterranean and the Sahara in one go which is pretty remarkable for a bird a little smaller than our Robin. The pictures here show the birds in autumn plumage but if seen in the spring the males especially have much more vivid plumage with black cheeks and prominent white stripes above and below and an orange/brown chest.

SWALLOWTAILS AT LAST!

   Yesterday I decided to have one last try for the year to see a Swallowtail butterfly at RSPB Strumpshaw Fen reserve even though it's getting very late in the season. Swallowtails are the largest butterfly that live in this country and they are only found in certain areas of the Norfolk Broads which is because their caterpillars only feed on one particular type of plant called Milk Parsley which in itself is rare and is only found in the reed beds surrounding some of the rivers and broads.
   The adults are normally on the wing from May to June and sometimes a second brood will emerge later in August. Most of the experts agree that because this spring had been so cold no second brood would emerge this summer as the first brood was a month late making its appearance so I wasn't very hopeful of seeing an adult flying but thought if nothing else that I could get some more photos of the caterpillars which can be seen in a certain area of the reserve. Finding the caterpillars is not difficult once you know where they can be seen as they are quite distinctive and are now fairly large as well compared to 2 weeks ago when I last saw them. Below are pictures of a mature caterpillar which is about 6 cm long and a close up of the head as it eats some of the Milk Parsley.

   Walking alongside the river I would stop and examine every Buddlia bush of which there were several most of which were covered in various butterflies including Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Painted Lady, Brimstone and several different Whites. Whilst looking at one bush I saw an impressive butterfly gliding powerfully through the breeze high up on the bush chasing any other butterfly that came close; it was an adult Swallowtail, my first ever siting in the wild but unmistakable with its spectacular markings. The butterfly rarely settled for very long on a flower and when it did it was always high up on the bush so all of my photos were taken with my 500 mm lens. I couldn't believe that nobody else had spotted it but as I snapped away more and more people came up and asked what I was photographing so pretty soon a crowd of people were round the bush taking pictures and watching this amazing butterfly. Below are pictures of the Swallowtail feeding on a Buddlia flower and one of the butterfly flying above me taken from beneath. 

WINTERTON TO HORSEY AND BACK

   Parking the car at Winterton I made the leisurely walk through the dunes to Horsey looking for butterflies and dragonflies without much success as the sun disappeared as soon as I started! Apart from a few Grayling  the only butterflies of note were one or two Small Coppers both species being shown below.

   Reaching Horsey I noticed one or two people with scopes looking in the distance for the Roller that had been reported in the area for the last few days. Eventually we spotted it but it was very elusive and so I spent the next couple of hours trying to get a picture but the bird never came close so I had to settle for this long range shot which at least shows the fantastic colour of this very rare visitor who normally frequents southern and eastern Europe and Africa.

   Returning to the dune area I encountered the amazing Kestral featured in the previous blog and then a beautiful male Stonechat which showed very well on a bramble bush. Turning around and looking at the flowers on the western side of the sea wall I saw several different looking butterflies which turned out to be Dark Green Fritillaries.

   Deciding to walk along the beach back to Winterton I immediately came across two Arctic Skuas which unfortunately chose to fly before I could get any pictures and so I carried on noting several various Terns diving for fish a little way out to sea. About halfway back I passed the area that is fenced off with electric wire to prevent people or predators disturbing the Little Tern colony as these small birds are very prone to disturbance. I was walking  a good 40 yards from the fencing along the beach as the tide was low when I heard the alarm calls of Little Terns and one or two adult birds flew straight at me just swooping up at the last minute. Looking around for the reason for these attacks I spotted a recently fledged youngster hiding in the footprint of one of the hundreds of people who had walked along this beach during the day. This fledgling was at least 50 yards from the protected area and must have been making it's way down to the shoreline to join the other youngsters who were being fed by the adults. I was encouraged by the numbers of young which would indicate a successful year of breeding for these at risk birds so after snapping a quick picture from a distance I hastily removed myself from the area and made my way back to the car.

GORGEOUS KESTRALS

   Yesterday at Winterton and Horsey was a mixture of sunshine and cloud, mostly cloud to start off with which made butterfly hunting more difficult. However all of this was forgotten later on when I came across this most obliging Kestral which didn't seem to mind people approaching it at all. I managed to get some fantastic pictures when it was perched on a post and on the ground where it seemed to be chasing insects on foot; then later in the bright sunshine when it hovered and flew within 20 yards of where I was standing hunting for prey. Not much in the way of information in this post, just an excuse to show an amazing bird in some half decent photographs.

LOCAL BLUES

   There are several species of blue butterfly that may be encountered in our region but this blog concerns the two most likely to be seen, the Common Blue and the Holly Blue. In most cases it is only the males that are actually blue and the females are a browner colour although this can vary and sometimes they appear almost blue as well.
   The Common Blue as the name suggests is our most common blue butterfly and can be found on the wing between May and October over any kind of grassland. When found perched on a stem of grass or flowers it will often open it's wings wide in the sun to show off the vivid blue colouration but if seen in the shade or on a cloudy day the wings are normally closed revealing the undersides which are grey/brown in colour with white ringed black spots and orange blobs along the back edges. The caterpillars are mainly plain green in colour and are short and squat in shape feeding on clovers and related plants.

   The Holly Blue is much more likely to be found near trees and large shrubs than on grassland and is on the wing between March and October. Also when seen it is much more likely to have its wings closed even in the sunshine and it is here that you can see the difference between it and the Common Blue. The wing underside is silvery blue in colour with small black dots without noticeable rings, also there is no orange colouration at all. The caterpillars again are mainly bright green, possibly yellow and feed on Holly, Gorse and several other shrubs in the spring and more commonly on Ivy in the late summer. These pictures of the Holly Blue are some of my favourite photos taken thus far!

BURNET MOTHS

   A trip to the coast today in search of different butterflies was less successful than anticipated due in the most part to the cloudy and showery conditions however all was not lost due the appearance of Burnet moths. These moths are part of a wider collection that unusually for most are quite willing to fly during the day. They occur in about 10 different varieties but these today were Six Spotted Burnet moths and they are certainly hard to miss with their bright red markings on the upper wings and nearly totally red lower wings. The Six Spotted Burnet moth occurs widely over the British Isles and is normally on the wing between June and August and like all the Burnet moths relies for its defence the fact that it contains foul tasting poisons.
   The insects pictured below were seen just behind the dunes feeding on both Ragwort and Thistles along with one or two butterflies which were mainly Common Blue and Small Copper.

LIZARDS AT STRUMPSHAW

   Yesterday a few hours were spent at RSPB Strumpshaw Fen where I was on the lookout for Swallowtail butterflies. As it turned out there were one or two around the reserve but I was never in the right place at the right time to see them; never mind hopefully they will appear in a future post. The bird life was also on the quite side with only a few waders around so I had to content myself looking at some of the more common butterfly species along with some spectacular looking dragonflies. At least the weather was nice for a leisurely stroll around the reedbed trail which is some 3.8 km in length and it was while I was on this trail that I met two 'old boys' who pointed me in the direction of a wooden walkway through the reeds where they informed me that if I was very stealthy I might be able to see some lizards that come up onto the walkway to sunbathe. Following their directions I did indeed find the reptiles which turned out to be Common Lizards and after taking one or two shots I managed to lay down on the walkway and get some eye level photos which were a little more striking. I even found a little baby Common Lizard that was only 3 or 4 cm long and got a picture of that too!

   My knowledge of lizards is very basic so I have no idea if the adults I pictured are male or female, all I do know is that they hibernate between October and March, feed on small animals and insects and give birth to live young in the early summer. On a fine day Strumpshaw Fen is fantastic for a walk and you wouldn't believe you were so close to human habitation.


   Below is the picture of the young Common Lizard.

NORTH COVE SLOW WORM

   As well as the butterflies today at North Cove nature reserve the other notable find was a Slow Worm. In some grassy areas around the reserve the wardens have placed small sheets of corrugated iron on the ground for the express purpose of attracting reptiles, predominantly snakes to rest beneath them. I checked under several of these without finding anything but the next one revealed a beautiful Slow Worm.

   Although looking like a snake this is in fact a legless lizard that can be found all over the country but it is not often seen. It is a golden brown colour and it's tail is usually quite blunt and can be shed to distract predators. It can be found in hedgerows and woodland edges as well as gardens where it can grow to 50 cm in length feeding on slugs and insects. It is only active during the warmer summer months and hibernates between October and March and certainly made a pleasant surprise for me today. 

A SELECTION OF BUTTERFLIES AT SWT NORTH COVE

   This afternoon I spent a couple of hours at the Suffolk Wildlife Trust North Cove reserve on the lookout for butterflies. From previous experience I knew that the reserve was home to various species but I must admit that I was surprised to spot 12 different varieties in the time I was there. Not all species were photographed so I will just include the more unusual varieties or the more attractive.
   The Brimstone butterfly emerges from hibernation early around April and only has one brood in the year which feed from the Buckthorn tree or the Alder Buckthorn. The adults emerge again in August when they feed on nectar until hibernation in late September. They are bright yellow in colour which is more noticeable in flight as their wings are often closed when feeding.

   The Peacock butterfly is amazingly common here with literally hundreds on the wing at the moment and is another species that normally has one brood per year before hibernating often indoors or in sheds. The larval stage requires the Common Stinging Nettle to feed on so the species is found widely over the country.

   The Comma butterfly is more of a woodland species not often seen in our gardens and usually has two broods each summer and therefore can be seen during most of the warmer months. It too, in it's larval stage can feed on Nettles but can also use the Hop, Elm, Sallow, Gooseberry and Current plants.

   The White Admiral is another butterfly of the woodland and in it's adult form loves to feed on Bramble flowers. It emerges as an adult in late June or July and is on the wing until August laying its eggs on Honeysuckle plants. When the eggs hatch into caterpillars they feed on the Honeysuckle into the autumn then hibernate and wake up in the spring to carry on feeding, pupate and then emerge as adults in the summer. Because it requires Honeysuckle in unmanaged woodland it is not a common butterfly but is found over a wide area of the south of the country in small numbers.

   The Red Admiral is a much more common species some of which migrate from the continent in the spring. It too requires the Common Nettle to feed on in the larval stage and is one of the more successful species as it can hibernate in any stage of it's life cycle.

   The Painted Lady butterfly is unusual in that it migrates from Africa up through Europe sometimes over several generations but when autumn arrives the adults in this country have to head south as our winters are too cold for them to survive. In this country the larval form can feed on a variety of plants including Nettles, Thistles, Mallow, Burdock and even Garden Runner Beans.

   The Gatekeeper is a very common butterfly of grassland areas and is predominantly brown in colour with orange patches on the wings. It is another butterfly that overwinters as an immature caterpillar feeding on various grasses and is on the wing from mid July until September.

   The Ringlet is dark brown in colour with the males being a sooty brown and the females slightly lighter. It overwinters in the same way as the Gatekeeper and feeds on similar grasses but the adult emerges earlier in late June lasting to the end of August.

  

NESS POINT WADERS

   This afternoon with the fine weather and a high tide due I paid a visit to Ness Point at Lowestoft. The reason the tide was important was because it drives the waders up onto the rocks where they remain until the tide goes down when they disperse again which gives us a chance to get very close views of birds that we only usually see at distance.
   First up and most numerous were the Turnstones which at this time of year would be birds that nested in northern Europe and are on their way to Africa. Turnstones don't nest in the British Isles but during the autumn and winter we have a population that stay here having nested in Greenland and north-east Canada. The two pictures below show the bird firstly in summer plumage and then one in winter plumage showing that different birds in a flock can be at different stages of moult.

   The next bird was a Knot which was also in summer plumage but looking tatty and about to moult. This is another bird that doesn't breed here but instead arrives from Arctic Canada where it has to breed very quickly in the short arctic summer. They migrate almost non stop and usually only stop for a brief rest in Iceland before making their way here and congregating in flocks of 10,000 or more where they make magnificent displays at high tide in the winter around the Wash.

   The last wader today was the Dunlin which can actually breed here as well as Northern Europe, Russia and Greenland. They breed in upland areas and then make their way down to the coast to spend winter where they too can congregate in large flocks at their preferred feeding sites. The bird pictured below is also still in summer plumage but not for much longer.