Spring Turns To Summer

 Meteorologically speaking we are now in Summer! Yay!! Doesn't particularly feel like it yet but it's early days 😊

 

There were no big news stories through the last week, with the highlight being the sighting of my first Cuckoo of the year.  In previous years I've seen a few Cuckoos by now, although last year was worrying with only a single sighting, but I thought this year was going to be a landmark year for the wrong reason until one flew in front of the hide yesterday. It announced its presence a minute or so before with a clear call from the East of the hide then whizzed by so quickly the camera had no chance of getting it.

 

Young birds are out and about all over the place with Blue Tits, Great Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Great Spotted Woodpeckers joining the Mallards and geese with fledged broods. This female Linnet looked a bit frazzled as it collected food for its nestlings and probably wished they were out and about too:

Female Linnet with food

Adult Great Spotted Woodpecker

Adult and young GSW

Young GSW with red cap

Young GSW placing its feet carefully

 Some local Herring Gulls have young ones running around out of the nest while others are still sitting on their nests. The location isn't hard to guess 😂😂

Herring Gulls and chicks

I haven't seen any young warblers yet, nor any adult birds carrying food.

Sedge Warbler

Sedge Warbler in song

It's getting harder and harder to see and count the geese in the fields now the crops are growing well. 

Greylag Geese slowly submerging in the wheat

We have two pairs of Lapwings locally but whether they have young in the nest is impossible to tell. Fingers crossed they have but I see them in multiple locations...

Adult Lapwing 

I see Red-legged Partridges regularly but they are very wary and never come within reasonable photo taking distance. I obviously need to work on my field craft.

Red-legged Partridge

I found a new insect species, well for me it's new, and first checks online said it was rare - further research showed it to be rather mundanely common. Still, a new species for the list is not to be sniffed at is it?!

Slender-footed Robberfly (Leptarthrus brevirostris)

Butterflies and moths were in profusion early in the week and made walking though the fields an absolute joy. 

Yellow Tail moth caterpillar

Poseudargyrotoza conwagana micro moth

Common Blue

Large Skipper

Small Copper

Speckled Wood

Yellow Shell moth

Yellow Shell moth

Let's finish on a happy note for a change, with a mammal taking centre stage. Rabbits have all of a sudden seemingly increased in numbers, as I see lots every day. Most seem pretty normal but this one was obviously having a bad day 😀🤣