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Showing posts from May, 2010

Sword-leaved Helleborines OMFL!

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Taking an annual day off from work I decided to look for a new orchid for me in the nearby county of Warwickshire. The orchid in question was Sword-leaved Helleborine. Driving over to Oversley Wood, near Alcester, it took me another 2 hours to find these exquisite orchids as I walked around the wood. Just off the footpath I found at least ten of these lovely plants and as usual I took a few shots of them. My British orchid list now stands around 40 species and only another 15 to go before I have seen the lot!

Flowers and a Dingy Skipper Saltby and Sproxton Quarries

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Here is a couple of photos I took at Saltby and Sproxton Quarries last week and just wondered what the plants were?

Sproxton and Saltby Quarries

I checked out these two excellent sites in the north-east of the county yesterday and was pleased on what I saw and found. These two quarries are very unwatched but every time I have been there I keep on finding more surprises on the wildlife front. So the sightings I saw yesterday included good numbers of butterflies, which included Green Hairstreak,Dingy Skipper, Brown Argus and large numbers of Common Blues. Day-flying moths I encountered included  Burnet Companion and Mother Shipton. However the surprise of the day was a female Marsh Harrier slowly quartering the fields of the airfield just after 1.00pm. Over the next few weeks I will up date you on what else I see and find at these two under watched sites.  PS: Check the link for a map of the two sites!

First Orchid of the Year 2010: Green-winged Orchid

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Here is a few shots of the Green-winged Orchids at Muston Meadows NNR , Leicestershire I took on Sunday. At this site you can see up to 5,000+ plants of this early flowering orchid.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper OMFL!!

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Following a day out to Kent to see a rare breeding bird in Kent (any guesses?) with Brian Moore and John Waters, I got a text message via the LROS twitter feed to say that a Buff-breasted Sandpiper had been found by Matt Berriman on Lagoon 4 at Rutty Water. As I knew it was a first for Vc 55(Leicestershire & Rutland), it wasn't hard to persuade Brian to take a detour to Rutland Water on way home. We arriving on site around 8.30pm and were soon watching the Sandpiper as it feed on the Lagoon with a small group of Ringed Plovers. GET IN!! Buff-breasted Sand on my county list!! Talking to a few familiar faces we all said that it was about time that Buff-breasted Sandpiper had finally been added to the county list and well done to Matt for finding a cool looking bird! After finishing work yesterday afternoon and the Buff-breasted Sandpiper was still being reported on Lagoon 4, I meet up with John Hague and took a few digishots of the bird at Plover hide until it flew off NW ar

A cage bird, Wood Sand and a Pratincole!

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An account of my twitching exploits over the last few days will appear shortly...... but did include seeing the House Finch at Land's End, Cornwall, a cracking Wood Sandpiper on my local patch in the Soar Valley and a mad rush to Frampton Marsh RSPB after work for the Oriental Pratincole !! Sunday 9th May : OK the pager went off on MEGA on Saturday and I read the message, which said House Finch singing and showing well at Land's End, Cornwall!! At this point a delusion must have hit me as I arranged a trip overnight  to see the bird with Colin Green and Ben Croxtall. Thanks to Colin driving overnight we arrived at a very cold Land's End around 5.00am and waited for it to get light. By 6.00am a small crowd had formed in the car park, which included our crew, Dave Mack and Tony Shepherd. Over the next hour the finch was heard singing in the nearby swing-gates garden but was reluctant to show its self. During this hour I however did year tick Cuckoo and Turtle Dove a

The Orchid Season

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With the beginning of May this signals the start of the Orchid hunting season. This year I will be concentration on trying to find possible extinct species for Vc55 which include Musk Orchid , Birds-nest Orchid and Burnt-tip Orchid in the east of the county. Also I will see if I can find more different varieties of Bee Orchids in the county and will update you on my progress?..... Search Amazon.com for british orchids