Well since my last post 10 days ago nothing much has changed but having said that a brief encounter with a Spotted Crake by Geoff Hood and Jim Rushforth at Brandon Marsh certainly got the pulse racing!
After receiving the call shortly after 7am on the Thursday morning I raced down there, only to spend a few hours in the big hide drawing a complete blank. Although a few reports since have been a little sketchy, I'm not aware of any decent views being had by anyone!
 |
| Draycote Water Essex Skipper |
I spent a little time at Draycote water in the company of Bob Hazell and Keith Foster on the 27th and although the birding was a little slow, my highlight being a Red Kite, we came across Bob's first Essex Skipper of the year.
 |
| White-letter Hairstreak - River Meadow |
Of course when the birding is slow at this time of year butterflies are always a real treat and during my regular Tuesday visit to Brandon Marsh on the 28th I came across the above White-letter Hairstreak. In fact during today's visit a Purple Hairstreak was near Sheep-Field gate plus my first Clouded Yellow of the year, when one zoomed across the 'Tip' area in the strong wind! Also on the wing some very pristine looking Brimstone.
Another surprise, this time on the birding front was a very early Siskin, when I spotted one flying SW over River Meadow after hearing the call mid afternoon. Other highlights were two Marsh Tit and five Green Sandpiper, plus a juvenile Redshank, which a birder in the Teal Pool Hide insisted was a Ruff! Although I am aware of a video showing a Ruff on Teal Pool yesterday evening!
 |
| Brimstone - Several on the wing at Brandon |
 |
| Hawker Sea Hurricane |
Finally, another passion of mine being aviation I thought I'd mention an excellent visit to Old Warden Aerodrome, home of the Shuttleworth Collection and Sunday's airshow.
 |
| The amazing De Havilland Comet 1934 (its the red one!) |
Here two of my all time favourite aircraft took to the skies, along with many other vintage classics: Hawker Sea Hurricane and De Havilland Comet 1934!
