A few bits

 Broad-bodied Chaser

 Brown Argus

Wildlfower verge on London Road- part of the biodiversity improvements in town

 

Done the usual Saturday circuit today at the farmlands. Lapwing chicks on 100 acre, plenty of warblers still in song with Garden Warbler by the hide, a couple of Common Buzzards over and the other guys had Ringed Plover and Yellow Wagtail. Biggest news of the days is that there is one pair of Tree Sparrows- so not quite extinct- yet!  

A few insects about and still trying to work out some of the hoverflies.

Moth trapping in the bugry at moment. Little Rings are calling and there were 150-200+ Swift at dusk. A few moths so far including Heart and Dart, Pale Mottled Willows, Knot Grass, Vine's Rustic, Seraphim and a few micros. 

Meadows etc

 Mother Shipton on Clover

 Burnet Companion- a few on the Southern Mound

 Large Skipper- my first for year

 Black-tailed Skimmer- 5+ on the Southern Mound, my firsts for year

 Bird Group meadow by hide looking even better

 Grass Rivulet?

Shelduck still with eleven young- safe and well! Great stuff

Had a walk round the mounds this afternoon to check on the meadow habitat. Quite lively. 

Little Oak Green Spaces

 (Top two pics) With garden pond, weeping willow, romping ground cover plants, wildflowers and a species rich lawn- there's not really too much maintenance required in this really nice garden. Looks good and loads of wildlife- and not too much work! Just a bit of tidying up every now and then and can spend most time watching the wildlife.

 A wildlife garden in the Bedzed eco-village. Not looking its best yet as waiting for things to flower but maturing shrubs and a clover rich lawn means hardly any maintenance required. A bit of shrub pruning and soon need to mow a border and path through the clover rich lawn.

A more typical sub-urban garden but still plenty of interest for wildlife. More maintenance in keeping lawn weed tree, paths tidy and large shrubs trimmed but a more formal look which is often favoured. Good for business as plenty of work!

Spent today doing site visits and pricing. Here's a few of the green spaces I visited. Garden environments increasingly important habitats for wildlife and luckily in this area lots of great little gardens hiding away. In the recent Cambridge publication 'Urban Ecosystems', Adler and Tanner detail how biodiversity is often at it's highest in these human created environments. Perhaps with a tweak in the perception of what nature is- the 'State of Nature' is probably not so bleak if embracing a wider definition. There is probably several hundred species in these small green spaces, indeed many introduced but biodiversity nonetheless. 

Oaken Wood, Surrey

 Marsh Tit (juvenile)

 Downy Emerald (we think?)

 Speckled Yellow- very common on the site

 Four-dotted Footman

 May Fly (and Lee)

Helen and Rachel (The ladies seem to enjoy nature more than just birds!? What's that about?)

Met up with Lee and Rachel and also Helen from Juniper Hall FSC to have a look for Wood Whites at Butterfly Conservation reserve Oaken Woods in Surrey. The first butterfly targeted trip (rather than birds) I've done. We dipped!

A few other bits and also Nightingales singing, a flock of Marsh Tits, a few Buzzards, Blackcaps, Willow and Chiff, Yellowhammer. A nice spot- will try again in improved weather.

More from Lee here ALMOST BIRDING

May bugs and stuff

 Long-tailed Tits - young birds have been out for a few weeks already. Flocks beginning to form on the wooded edges

 Adela cuprella?

 Black Sexton Beetle (Neocrodes littoralis) ?

 Chrysopa perla ? Like a Green Lacewing but a bluish-green tinge etc?

Bird Group Wildflower meadow by the hide- blooming well

 

A quick update on some records from earlier on in the month at the farmlands.

Will sure up the ids (hopefully with help of i-spot) asap. Any comments/ suggestions welcome as always. 

Finland, Day 5

 Female Three-toed Woodpecker

 Male Pallid Harrier

 Whooper Swans

 Black-tailed Godwit, presumably of nominate form

Willow Warbler- singing literally everywhere- one of the highlights of the trip

Willow Tit 

 

The last day in Finland and a very successful morning. The trip list closed at 146 with 10 personal lifers.

FULL TRIP REPORT HERE

 

Top Ten highlights of the trip for me were (in reverse order): 10. Willow Warblers singing everywhere, 9. Singing Waders, 8. Little Gulls displaying, 7. Red-necked Grebes displaying, 6. Ruff Lekking, 5. Hawk Owl, 4. Three-toed Woodpecker, 3. Doug missing a Pygmy Owl inside a box! 2. Great Grey Owl and No 1...... Ural Owl.

Thanks to Jaffa for organising this trip through his nature tour company WISE BIRDING

and thanks for great company of Jaffa, Helen, Sue, Neil, Doug and local Finnature guides Petri and Antero. Brilliant trip- absolute magic.

Finland, Day 4

 Male Hawk Owl

 Red-flanked Bluetail

 Siberian Tit

 Siberian Jay

Male Capercaillie 

 Female Capercallie

Male Black Grouse 

 Female Black Grouse

 Willow Grouse (above and below) 

 Arctic Hare

Reindeer

 

Another great day in the Northern Forests. 

Finland, Day Three

 Little Gulls (above and below) - flock of up to 150 over some lakes

 Red-necked Grebe- 25 degrees today produing a heat haze over lake making a peculiar effect to this pic. Very unusual weather conditions for this area.

 Slavonian Grebe

 Shades of Grey- 'Northern' Herring Gull, 'Baltic' Gull and 'Heuglin's' Gull 

Baltic Gulls 

Muskrat 

Our group

 

Three WP ticks today- Pygmy Owl, Hazelhen and 'Heuglin's Gull'. Loads of great Arctic stuff on the bogs and lakes. Singing waders, displaying Little Gulls, calling Divers and displaying Red-necked Grebes. Magic!