Tuesday 10 July 2012

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.

Tuesday 3 July 2012

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