Spring displays

To my readers: I'm spent a bit of time drawing this while watching Wimbledon the other day, I hope it is of use to you. I took the design from RSPB's Birds magazine and thought it was quite useful.

The drawings are of breeding displays of the 5 breeding species of larks and pipits that can be seen in the UK.

Pipits have a parachuting display where the bird rises to the air and then descends rapidly back to the ground whereas larks have a more elaborate and looping display and tend to fly higher than pipits.

A piece of summer

It finally felt like summer was here last week but it didn't last long, a day or so and that was all. The clouds and the rain have been at the forefront, is climate change to blame here?

While the sun was out a few pairs of Common Blue Damselflies Enallagma cyathigerum appeared so I took the opportunity to photograph them:

Common Blue Damselflies

North Norfolk holiday 12-18th June 2012

A thoroughly enjoyable week in North Norfolk in the middle of June, knocked up a fair few species of birds, but there were a shortage of insects most likely due to the dreadful weather conditions that the whole country had to embrace for months on end.

Species seen:
Reptiles:

• Adder Vipera berus 
• Common Lizard Lacerta vivipara  

Male Common Lizard

Butterflies:

• Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas 
• Speckled Wood  Pararge aegeria 
• Swallowtail Papilio machaon ssp britannicus 
• Wall Brown Lasiommata megera

Swallowtail

Birds (heard only):

• Green Woodpecker Picus viridis
• Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur

Birds (seen)
(There are 88 altogether but I'm just going to name a few):

• Barn Owl Tyto alba 
• Cettis warbler Cettia cetti
• Common Buzzard Buteo buteo 
• Common Crossbill Loxia recurvirostra 
• Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea  
• Dunlin Calidris alpina
• Dunnock Prunella modularis 
• Firecrest Regulus ignicapillus
• Gadwall Anas strepera 
• Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
• Little Egret Egretta garzetta
• Little Tern Sterna albifrons 
• Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus 
• Mediterranean Gull Larus melanocephalus 
• Nightjar Carprimulgus europaeus 
• Song Thrush Turdus philomelos 
• Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia 
• Woodlark Lullula arborea
• Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella 

Male Reed Bunting

Juvenile Bearded Tits

  Mammals:

• Brown Hare: Lepus capensis
• Chinese Water Deer Hydropotes inermis
• Common Seal: Phoca vitulina
• Fallow Deer Dama dama 
• Grey Seal Halichoerus grypus 
• Water Vole Arvicola terrestris  

Chinese Water Deer

  Insects:

• Black Tailed Skimmer Orthetrum cancellatum
  
• Blue-Tailed Damselflies Ischnura elegans 
• Common Blue Damselflies Enallagma cyathigerum 
• Four-spotted Chaser Libellula quadrimaculata
• Glow-worm Lampyris noctiluca 
• Norfolk Hawker Aeshna isosceles 

Four-spotted Chaser

Glow-worm

Plants (currently trying to learn these):

• Deadly Nightshade Atropa belladonna 
• Giant Hogweed Heracleum mantegazzianum 
• Orange Hawkweed (Fox and cubs) Hieracium aurantiaca
• Oxeye Daisy Leucanthemum vulgare