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| A first for me at Brandon (White Admiral) |
A quiet start but by the time I arrived for lunch in the Big-Hide I'd managed a decent bird count, the highlights being two Lesser Whitethroat at Carlton Hide, three Green Sandpiper and a Hobby which was hunting Dragonfly when the sun eventually appeared around lunchtime. JR, who was ringing near Newlands reported a reeling Grasshopper Warbler very early on, too early for me on this occasion. Garden Warblers and Blackcap appeared to be more in evidence today and several Willow Warbler were calling. Three Nuthatch in various locations is also worth mentioning and the sight of Brandons Emperor Goose hybrid, normally seen more in the winter months, is an ominous sign that the seasons move on! Snipe are also starting to appear in one's and two's, this will start to build now as autumn approaches, but the usual late July/early August Greenshank have not yet made an appearance.
Mid-morning a trip around the Tip and Farm Field produced some good numbers of Butterfly. The first of which was my first White Admiral seen at Brandon, a not so pristine example spotted on the path that leads past the bottom dipping pool, we did however manage a second in excellent condition (pictured) just prior to leaving. The Tip area will normally throw up Brown Argus on occasions, if you know where to look, but today an exception with four in close proximity. Also seen were various numbers of Red Admiral, Small Copper, Small Skipper, Common Blue, Peacock, Comma, Gatekeeper, Brimstone, Meadow Brown, plus all three Whites!
Back at the marina late afternoon while washing down the roof a noisy Raven was seen heading south towards Napton and several young Tree Sparrow were being quite vocal in the Hawthorn. The best of the day though was around a half hour ago when the calls of an Arctic Tern alerted me to a single bird heading south over the mooring.
