July 31, 2008
Shorebird season begins
One sunny evening I biked up along the River Cam to the Waterbeach side of the Cam Washes to find it teeming with birds. These were mostly adult shorebirds, many still in breeding plumage, but also some juveniles of locally breeding Lapwings and Avocets. Two of the ten Avocets present (both juvs) were banded - one had a red ring on each leg, and the other just on its right leg.
Among the larger waders were a couple of Greenshanks, Black-tailed Godwits and a white-faced Ruff.
By far the most numerous waders were sandpipers - there were at least 20 Green Sandpipers and 5 Common Sandpipers, often feeding side by side for easy comparison. The left hand Common Sandpiper in the first photo is still in breeding plumage.
A few Common Snipe, plus single Dunlin and Little Ringed Plover completed the wader line-up. This group of 10 Little Egrets is the largest I've seen together in Cambs, though I gather up to 80 birds have been seen together on the washes.
Well, that's all from me for a little while, as I'm off on my annual visit to the US, this time taking in Wisconsin, California and Georgia - will hopefully fit some birding in around conferencing, being best man at a wedding and general socialising!
Meanwhile, back at the lab...
... the spell of hot weather has produced an explosion of lepidoptera, the best of which was this Hummingbird Hawkmoth...
... but also included multiple Peacocks...
Gatekeepers...
Commas...
... and Six-spotted Burnets.
We took advantage of the good weather to survey a couple of 2km squares close to Cambridge for the forthcoming county ladybird atlas. We found 10 species in a single cemetery in town, including this critter in a lime tree.
We believe it to be Rhizobius chrysomeloides, a species first recorded in the UK in 1996. This may well be the first county record - watch this space!
Also seen was a single Orange Ladybird...
and a bizarre-looking young Cream-streaked.
As a birdy bonus we had nice views of a male Bullfinch feeding at the roadside.
This odd-looking pupa we picked up while ladybirding...
... turned into a Magpie Moth.
Jersey
I just got back from a delightful weekend in Jersey.
I didn't fit in that much birding, but certainly enjoyed seeing some maritime specialities such as Shag and Fulmar.
While visiting Elizabeth Castle I saw several Gannets far offshore, and in the castle grounds found Wall Lizards to be abundant.
The clifftops at Grosnez offered magnificent views along the coast and over to Sark and Guernsey...
... plus the chance to get eyeball to eyeball with the breeding Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls.
A walk through the heather here produced this recently-fledged Meadow Pipit...
... and masses of butterflies, mostly Wall and Common Blue...
... but also a few stunning Green Hairstreaks.
A less welcome insect sighting was 3 pupae and 1 fourth instar Harlequin ladybird larva in my friends' garden. The Harlequin was first spotted on Jersey in February 2007, so looks like they are now well established.
July 25, 2008
Final French fling
Last weekend I headed down to Montpellier for what will probably be my last visit to France in the near future. Much of the weekend was spent eating, drinking and sightseeing, sans scope or even binoculars. Nonetheless, we managed to see some interesting stuff. In the riverside town of Sauve, this Black Kite (Milan noir) flew over carrying a fish.
A Grey Wagtail (Bergeronnette des ruisseaux) was foraging in a stream here.
As the day got hotter, we decided to drive up into the Cevennes, with a stop in the Gorges de la Jonte for vultures.
As usual Griffon Vultures (Vautour fauve) were easy to see overhead.
Also seen were a wheeling flock of Red-billed Chough (Crave a bec rouge) and best of all, a well-grown Black Vulture (Vautour moine) chick in a nest just opposite the vulture-watching station. The buddleia bush here was swarming with butterflies, including a Great Banded Grayling.
Screaming families of Common Swifts (Martinet noir) were filling their crops with the abundance of flying insects.
Next day we lunched at the Lac de Ceceles, where this young Sylvia warbler was foraging in bushes beside our table. I assume it was a young Subalpine (Fauvette passerinette), but would welcome second opinions...
Many interesting insects were seen here. The male Southern Demoiselle has a dusky pink body, but it wasn't until this one started to flick its wings and raise its abdomen that I noticed the brilliant pink patch at the tip.
This Southern Swallowtail had lost one of its tails.
I took several photos of this blue butterfly to look up in the books later, and after leafing through several plates of the Collins Guide came to the conclusion that it was the same Common Blue that I see in the UK all the time!
No ladybirds were noted on this trip, but this ladybird mimic was locally abundant.
The next morning I returned to the source of the Lez, where I'd previously located a Golden Oriole nest. The youngsters have now fledged and the birds were relatively easy to see, sunning themselves in the early morning light and calling frequently.
The male with a large cricket, or perhaps one of the many cicadas which were buzzing at the same spot.
Several Rollers were about, but remained generally elusive in the canopy.
The afternoon was spent sightseeing around Arles and Aigues Mortes, and our route just happened (ahem) to take us past the Etang de Scamandre and along the edge of the Camargue. Drive-by birds included all 3 egrets, 2 Squacco Herons (Crabier chevelu), Purple Heron (Heron pourpre), Bee-eaters (Guepier d'Europe) and Gull-billed Terns (Sterne hansel), but the only species I managed to photograph was a White Stork (Cigogne blanche) at the nest.
Two years living there and umpteen return visits since brings my French bird list to 317, but with many localised breeders still to see I dare say I'll be back. A la prochaine, alors!
July 8, 2008
Cambridge peregrinations
There has been precious little bird activity recently, save for a lone flyover Crossbill seen from my workplace. From time to time I jog down to Grantchester meadows, which is a great place to observe some of the commoner species such as Chaffinch...
Common Whitethroat...
... and Yellowhammer.
Banded demoiselles are frequently seen fluttering over the Cam. This female appears to have lost a leg.
Many of the Moorhens along the river now have chicks.
The first young Common Swifts have also fledged, and screaming family parties can now be seen over the city centre most evenings.
This male Kestrel, photographed through my kitchen window, was using the Pembroke library as a hunting perch.
I took advantage of a sunny weekend to survey 2km squares for the Cambs ladybird atlas. Adult ladybirds were relatively thin on the ground, with most of last year's adults already dead and the new generation only just appearing. I did reasonably well, getting three of the commoner small species (14, 22 and 24-spots, respectively)...
... and additionally one of our cryptic smaller species, Rhizobius litura.
During my surveys I came across a young pike at Dickerson's Pit, Milton CP.
Another survey designed to measure the changing abundance of deciduous tree-dwelling ladybirds along the Backs turned up a Pine Ladybird pupa, suggesting that this species has found a suitable food supply to reproduce on limes.
Mediterranean critters
In addition to all the breeding birds, I saw a wide variety of insect life on my recent visit to the Montpellier area. Of most interest to me was my first wild stick insect - by the looks of it Bacillus rossius.
Butterflies included the Wall...
Spotted Fritillary...
Cleopatra...
... and Iberian Marbled White, which was particularly abundant.
Rich B helped me out with some dragonfly IDs (be sure to check his Subalpine Birding blog for some amazing dragonfly pics). These formidable anal appendages belong to Onychogomphus uncatus (Large Pincertail).
White featherleg was a lifer.
Copper demoiselle
Female Red-veined Darter
This attractive ladybird larva appears to be Oenopia conglobata, a species not found in Britain. I have yet to see an adult, whose elytra have a distinctive pink background colour.
I was unable to identify this tiny ladybird, which was adundant on oak trees (Pullus sp?).
A mystery bug.
A few lizard orchids were in bloom.
A few random shots to finish up. First off, a bear and newborn cub at Montpellier Zoo.
Clear skies on the flight back meant we had great views of central London on our approach to Stansted.
