It was a very quiet Prestwick Carr on Sunday with Collared Doves unmoved as I passed by, silence from all but the occasional Willow Warbler and a sign of Autumn as a Great Spotted Woodpecker cached food in a dead tree. As I watched a tribe of Long tailed Tits a sharp metallic call alerted me to No 100 on the Prestwick Carr 2010 list. A Grey Wagtail lifted off a dried out pool and flew to the top af a nearby tree so avoiding the camera but the Long tailed tits were more obliging.
The bridal path was again lifting with butterflies Small Whites being the most abundant but a count of 31 Small Coppers with 2 Commas was pleasing. Even managed another Silver Y moth now I know the ID. Then the sun went in and the rest of the day was spent searching the county for something good. Black necked Grebe at Bothal Pond was nice but sun and distance prevented a decent image being obtained. Then to Monday and after a day of torment I ended up at BanksPond where the Damsels and Common Darters have been showing well. Of course the sun went behind a cloud the moment I got there so I spent some time lining up daft shots of drinking Swallows when a wader flew through the frame, flushed by the numerous hirundines circling low over the water.
As it passed me to the left a white rump was apparent and it climbed steeply being joined by another bird both calling a shirp like call. Positive ID for No 101, Green Sandpiper present here regularly a few years ago but these were likely passage birds. I lost track of them amongst the Swallows and spent the next half hour checking to see if they had dropped back down but to no avail. As I searched a deer came in from the fields on the right and totally ignoring me, walked toward the road.
Eventually I think it heard the camera and gave me a quick look before disappearing into the undergrowth.
A decent way to end the day and nice to get the list going again.
Peter,
ReplyDeleteBanks Pond seems to be getting more interesting as time goes by.