Monday 22 July 2019

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
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Friday 12 July 2019

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