I walked along to the north cliffs on Sunday to try and get the Pied Flycatchers that were seen the previous day, but no luck on that front. However I did get a Spotted Flycatcher so all was not in vain.
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Spotted Flycatcher at North Cliffs
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Spotted Flycatcher fed up of posing
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On the cliff tops, along the small hedgerow, there was a family group of 4 or 5
Whitethroats. They looked very good in the bright sunshine.
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Juv Whitethroat
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| Whitethroat |
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| Whitethroat |
A Yellow Wagtail came in-off and landed in the stubble field but I was unable to get a usable photo. They will be coming in regularly over the coming days so plenty of opportunity to get a better image.
A bird that we have lost this year from the fields around the Mere is Tree Sparrow. There are a few along the cliffs here and still some close to the Mere so hopefully some will disperse and we'll have them back breeding at the Mere next year.
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Tree Sparrow
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This morning (Tuesday 22/8) I walked along Southorpe Road and along the paths to the south side fields. As I was plodding along a noise alerted me to something big coming into the hedge on my right. I got the camera ready just in case but had it at 600mm zoom so really lost the three Roe Deer that burst out of the hedge, across the road right in front of me and into the field on my left. I'm glad I wasn't in their way!!!
These photos are straight off the camera and show just how close the deer came to me 😀😀
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Roe Deer (too) close up
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That was a fantastic thing to experience but, as I said above, I'm really glad I wasn't on their route into the field. They have better survival instincts than I have so hopefully they would have changed course to avoid me!
More mundane wildlife soon distracted me from my close shave though and I was soon back to normal. It isn't time for Swallows and House Martins to be leaving us yet, but they can be seen resting on wires and fences.
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Barn Swallow - not just any old Swallow, a Barn Swallow 😂
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Butterflies continue to show themselves, usually Gatekeepers, Meadow Browns and Speckled Woods. I got a different view of a Speckled Wood today - an underside photo! Don't get many of those.
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Underside of Speckled Wood
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I've seen many more Ruddy Darters at the Mere this year than Common Darters. Why? I have no idea.
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Ruddy Darter (male)
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By far the most numerous dragonfly at the Mere is Migrant Hawker. You'll see them every day, even if the weather is bad.
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Migrant Hawker (male)
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Going past Weatherhill I had 3 Buzzards, including at least 1 juv, then a Kestrel, then a Jay. Along the south side footpath either the same or another Kestrel hovered then stooped on prey.
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Kestrel closing on prey
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Empty talons - next time maybe
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Until I saw this sequence of photos I hadn't realised how intent the bird is on its prey, almost at ground level before it lifts its head and goes talons first. Wow!
In the next field another (or more likely the same) Kestrel hovered for a long time before flying off.
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