Butterflies around Green Tye

As the bird life has been a bit thin on the ground I have taken to looking for butterflies on our local patch.

Dave has not followed with my level of enthusiasm and so I thought I would put some photos on the Blog just to pee him off!
                

Painted Lady



Small Skipper

 Small Tortoiseshell

 Meadow Brown

 Ringlet

 Small White

 Comma

Raptor heaven at Deadmans Hill and Therfield

Late last night a quick decision to visit an area which is relatively close by but I had not visited.

As I decided at midnight to leave at 4.45am I thought it a bit late to ring Dave!

I arrived at Deadmans Hill near Sandon at 5.30 and immediately heard a singing Quail - a lifer for me!

The morning was bright and sunny and as I climbed the hill I got great views of Linnet and Corn Bunting.

A fleeting glance of a Quail scurrying into the grass was the best view I had but there were hundreds of hares and rabbits so further searching was fruitless.

Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Whitethroat and Yellowhammer all showed well until finally I took a breather at the top of the hill.

I was glad I did as, within a minute, a stunning female Hen Harrier flew over the valley below finally settling in a tree some half mile away. Too far to get a photo but magical nevertheless.

On my way home I saw the sign for Therfield and had seen reports from this area on Bird Alert so made a quick detour.

I parked up and followed a footpath adjacent to lovely heathland. Surprisingly, little showed and it was very wet underfoot so headed back to the car. Just as I was about to get into the car I caught a glimpse of a large bird in a tree on the other side of a small valley.

Grabbing my binoculars I saw to my amazement a male adult Red Kite and further scanning found a juvenile too.

I tried everything to get nearer but the valley was fenced in barbed wire and I just could not get closer.

Still, a fantastic end to a super mornings bird watching!