17th: Saw me heading up to Appleton Common just west of Pickering …. always a good site in Summer for Swallows and Swifts coming down to drink at the small pond … but trying to photograph them another level altogether !!! An added bonus were some really close Emperor dragonflies … there have not been to many dragonflies or butterflies around this year… maybe due to the cold Spring?? So seeing them was a real annual treat!!
20th: Kicked off to a great start… the neighbours must have thought I’d lost it completely … half way through having a shave … when I heard the unmistakable call of a Peregrine !!! And then another call similar but higher pitched … two!! So I snatched my camera and bins and ran outside…. again I heard the call and right above the house were two birds having a really loud shouting match …. not a bad start to the day!! Then I remembered… one half of my face was still covered with shaving foam !! Later on in the afternoon the local swallows really started up with their high pitched alarm calls .. which is a sure way to show that a predator is about and sure enough a big female Sparrowhawk came floating over… pursued by some very angry Swallows …. a great day… Peregrine and Sparrowhawk over the back garden .. I’ll take that one .. Thank you!!
22nd: Really pleased as today, we had more Dragonflies hatching out in the garden pond … Southern Migrant Hawkers brilliant to see … this year we have had six successfully hatch …. just shows how Nature can adapt …. we’ve only got a small pond yet in the first year we had frogs and dragonflies breeding … amazing!!
26th: On a recce today for sites to watch Honey Buzzard … and visited Cawthorne Camp which was back in the day a Roman Fort, it is situated in a strategic position with amazing views … but sadly the views have been totally obscured by fast growing Silver Birch … however, there is always something to see … and I wasn’t disappointed with prolonged views and photos of some gorgeous Marbled Whites… first ones for the year for me!
28th: Had a great time photographing Swifts in the garden this afternoon and then things changed dramatically could not believe my luck when a Hobby blasted through … the visit only lasted a short time ..but it was a privilege to watch this Summer visitor circling over the house for less then a minute … then completely disappearing from view … Wow .. three great species of raptor in just over a week!!
30th: A beautiful warm warm day was forecast today so I had a butterfly day … and visited Pickering Woods. I had heard news that Silver Washed Fritillaries were on the wing so keeping fingers crossed I had a couple of hours searching for these localised beauts. Eventually after a lot of searching and cursing I managed to see two distant butterflies .. YES !! my first SWF around the Pickering area. Really nice to see these butterflies… their intricate black markings contrasting sharply with their bright orange bodies … Magic. An added bonus was watching a small family of Spotted Flycatchers flying out from their designated perches and snatching unsuspecting flies that flew too close.
31st: Had an afternoon out at Scampston Hall this afternoon…some decent weather too…And the weather certainly brought out the dragons!! Great to see Banded Demoiselles in good numbers … these Damselflies must surely be one of our most attractive species. There were good numbers of Emperors … but another Dragon’ took centre stage today… Brown Hawkers that were ovipositing …It’s not often you can get close to Brown Hawkers but today I was lucky and got some amazing views!!
Today I was made up as I took delivery of a new piece of kit, something I’ve fancied for a few years: A Thermal Imager.. these imagers allow you to see literally in the pitch darkness and you can see the heat signature of mammals and birds that you wouldn’t ordinarily see … can’t wait to give it a full field trial … and see what this imager can do … really exciting days ahead!!
