Saturdays weather forecast was rain, and for once the forecast wasn't wrong.
I decided to visit Maple Lodge NR as it not only has plenty of hides to shelter in, but there was the added bonus of lots of sightings of Kingfishers over the past few days, plus a slim chance of seeing a visiting Osprey which had been reported on and off. Plus with other duties pending, Saturday would be my only chance to visit the reserve for a good few weeks.
Well it rained.....
and rained....
and rained....
Therefore I was gobsmacked to spot a Green-veined White butterfly out in the open. I could only see it from the Clubhouse Hide hence the odd angle on the photo below....
There have been some cracking photos on the Maple Lodge facebook page of the resident Kingfishers recently, so I was very optimistic that I would see one today, and I did, several times.
From the Long Hedge Hide I got distant views of two birds chasing each around, then one landed and I managed a record shot.....
From the Teal Hide I was expecting to get some really good views as the work party have set up some new perches right in front of the hide. Last week the Kingfishers took to them really well, and the quality of the photos on the fb page was outstanding. Saturday however, the Kingfishers had other ideas and avoided the perches, preferring to fish from the scrubby bushes behind them....
Spot the Kingfisher !
From the Clubhouse Hide I had much more luck, but still would have preferred a closer sighting......
Other birds that didn't seem to mind sitting out in the rain included this Wood Pigeon....
and this adorable Long-tailed Tit....
A good sized flock of these kept passing through the whole reserve, and several times I glimpsed a Goldcrest or two amongst the rapidly moving birds.
Also undettered by the rain the Great Spotted Woodpeckers were actively feeding in front of the Clubhouse. At least two males and one juvenile male, were regularly coming down to the feeders.
The photo below is dreadful quality but it shows how the juvenile is shedding it's 'red cap' feathers leaving it with a fresh set of red nape feathers which identifies it as a young male and not a female.....
a side profile of the same bird, and you can just about see the remains of the 'cap' along with the fresh 'nape'....
Also on the feeders I spotted a fungus. Zooming in and cropping tightly, it looks like the start of the Jellys Ears fungi.....
Other than sitting in the Clubhouse Hide drinking coffee and watching birds in the rain, I did venture over to the Teal Hide for a couple of hours. As mentioned above, the Kingfishers weren't as obliging for me as they had been for other members this week, but there was a lovely Teal out on one of the shingle islands. My usual views of these small ducks are with their bums in the air as they dabble around under the water surface...
The now familiar Green Sandpiper was also viewable, though a little too far away for my lens to capture a really good shot....
Twice it flew off as I watched, circling around then landing back on the islands, and both times it 'called' as it landed.
It really was a soggy Saturday, the work party was cancelled and for several hours I was the only person on the reserve. But the weather didn't dampen my spirit, I really am a big fan of Maple Lodge NR and as I can only get there about once a month, I make the most of any visit that I make.
No Osprey either, but I knew I couldn't be that lucky.
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