Saturday, July 16, 2011

The last couple of weekends

It's getting quieter around the park now although most of the regulars can be found with a little leg work. Last Saturday we had at least one Common Sandpiper on 100 Acre and a Kingfisher along the Cut. Along the Riverside side of the Cut there were plenty of Ringlet butterflies along the slope along with Meadow Browns and the occasional Gatekeeper.

Definitely not a butterfly day today with drizzle interrupted by heavy rain. However we still managed a few Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs and excellent views of a Green Woodpecker, from Kramer hide, as it fed on grubs chiseled out of the dead tree. At the STW bridge we had a Kingfisher and a Mink. Back at the main lake hide in the park, as we waited out a heavier spell of rain, another Kingfisher flew out from the south side to the island and over to the west side of the lake. Great to see them a bit more often in recent weeks.

After that we made a break for the cars and made it just in time as the rain really came down on the drive home.