The Cranford Park Kestrels and more

On July 13th I led a guided Butterfly Walk and Talk - it was very successful with a good turn out and we saw all eight target species plus the added bonus of a Purple Hairstreak

 

After the walk ended my friend Sue and I loitered by the buddleia and were lucky enough to see a Silver-washed Fritillary - only my second ever time of seeing one at Cranford Park

 

Yesterday (21st July) I decided to see if it was still there

 

There were plenty of the usual suspects

 

Small Skipper

Comma (underwing)

Comma

Comma

 

Peacock

Peacock

Red Admiral

Red Admiral

Red Admirals (female at top with male underneath)

 

Red Admiral

And then came along the unmistakable large Silver-washed Fritillary

When Sue and I saw it last week we just took a couple of record shots on our phones - but today I was ready with my camera

 

This is a male and he was behaving in a very territorial manner chasing away any other butterfly species and also having a go at a patrolling Migrant Hawker

 

He is looking a little tatty now with a chunk missing out of one lower wing (possibly an attempt by a bird to catch it) It is not necessarily a rare butterfly - they are fairly common in the south - but according to my UKBMS mentor (Paul Busby) this is only the third recorded sighting in 21 years at Cranford Park

 

So now for a complete overload of photos

 

 

 

The buddleia was also attracting a number of hoverflies including the huge Volucella zonaria

 

 

Other species were seen too - ids under photos

 

Volucella pellucens

Eristalis sp

Syrphus sp

Chrysotoxum bicinctum


 

The Migrant Hawker also favouring the buddleia posed for me nicely

 

Dragging myself away some time later I made my way to the meadows

Last week I had forlornly walked around the meadows for some time looking for any fledged kestrels but to no avail - however at the Family Fun Day on Saturday I got talking to Trevor and Karena and they confirmed they had seen four kestrels that same morning

 

Whilst I searched with my binoculars I had three Common Buzzard go over and this tatty Red Kite

 

 

The Kestrels are fairly predictable - just like previous years they do like to sit on the tree guards and watch the world go by - it's also a handy perch to watch the grasshoppers and crickets on the grassy paths

 

I could see the adult male and three juveniles but no sign of the adult female - she was probably watching her brood play fight and hone their hunting skills from the safety of a nearby tall tree

 

So now for an overload of Kestrel pics - the ones of them on the paths aren't that clear - I had the wrong lens on the camera - that's my excuse anyway :)

 

 

A very productive visit to the park and again a reminder that even though Cranford Park is surrounded on three sides by Heathrow and the M4 and the A312 - it is still rich in wildlife

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My birthday at Maple Lodge

Yesterday was my big 50 birthday and all I really wanted to do was hide somewhere outdoors - where better than Maple Lodge NR where there are toilets and a kettle and a microwave

 

The weather was perfect - not too hot and the sun was out for most of the day

 

There were plenty of Yellow and Black Longhorn Beetles around - some were even playing 'piggy back' :)

 

 

As to be expected at this time of year there were plenty of butterflies around too

 

Meadow Brown

Essex Skipper

Essex Skipper

 Up by the Sluice there was a fairly tatty Painted Lady - there has been an influx of these migrant butterflies this year and I've seen them everywhere from a car park in Uxbridge to Cranford CP to Maple Lodge

 

 

Lots of Darters around too - they never seem to mind posing for a photo unlike the larger dragonflies that I rarely get to snap

 

 

Several hoverflies were on the wing too - this is one of the Syrphus species

 

 

At Long Hedge hide one of the Common Terns stopped fishing for a while to pose on a post

 

 

and a small family of Pochard went by

 

 

From the Teal Hide I could see two Little Egrets

 

 

There was also a distant Common Sandpiper but it was too far away to get a decent photo

 

My favourite hide is the Clubhouse where you can relax with a mug of coffee and watch the lake and the coming and goings on the bird feeders

 

Along with this Jay I also saw a Treecreeper and there was the added bonus of a Nuthatch that came down to the feeders along with a young looking Coal Tit

 

The usual Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Stock Doves were also seen

 

 

But the high-light of my day (and my birthday present) was having the Kingfisher all to myself for several minutes - I was going to apologise for the complete overload of photos but it's my birthday so I wont !

 

 

 

A fantastic day and the peace and privacy was very much needed and required - no better way to spend a special birthday