Whooper Swan at Helston Boating Lake

  This juvenile Whooper Swan has temporarily made its home on the boating lake at Helston. When we arrived the swan was resting on the island but it soon joined the Mute Swans that were being fed with bread by passersby and their children. Although it received the odd peck from a Mute Swan it was constantly whooping, as though it was looking for its family.

  There were several male Mute Swans with the Whooper Swan, all trying to be in charge of the lake! They would charge through the water,with their wings up and their head and neck tucked in against their body.

 

Portrait of a Mute Swan

  I photographed this Mute Swan at College Reservoir today as it fed on weeds at the waters edge.

Spoonbill on Marazion Marsh

  Late this afternoon we visited Marazion Marsh to watch the Starlings coming into roost. However as we walked into the reserve we saw a juvenile Spoonbill fly over the marsh and land in the area in front of the standing stone.  We watched it feeding and preening for a short time and it even called a couple of times, before flying off to the sanctuary area north of the railway. 

  We then spent the next hour, with the sun setting, watching the thousands of Starlings coming into roost over the marsh and Long Rock pool. 

  I took these pictures with my Panasonic Lumix compact camera.

Spoonbill feeding in the setting sun

Sunset over Marazion Marsh

Glossy Ibis in the Rain

  A day birding in West Cornwall proved quite successful today. Nanquidno valley produced a female Redstart together with a Firecrest and Siskin. We then joined the many birders in Cot Valley and had good views of the Yellow-browed Warbler that had joined a feeding flock of Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits, Chiffchaff and Goldcrests. 

  As the rain started and we were about to make our way home we heard news of a Glossy Ibis in fields near Sennen. This very confiding adult Glossy Ibis was feeding in the puddles in a stubble field near to Escalls Chapel at Sennen.

  I took these record shots with my Panasonic Lumix compact camera as my SLR camera is currently not very well! The light was not very good and it was pouring with rain. In the second photograph you can see the rain across the plumage of the Ibis! 

Damsels and Dragons at Breney Common

  This weekend we visited Breney Common nature reserve to look for damselflies and dragonflies. We saw eight species in all. Below are three of the species seen.

Emerald damselfly - Male

Emerald damselfies in the "wheel" 

Black Darter - Male

Black Darter - Female

Small Red Damselfly - Male

Small Red Damselfly - Female

Insects on the Lizard

  Today was spent on the Lizard with a trip to Windmill Farm and Bray's Cot pool. 

  First was Windmill Farm with the star of the show being a Hobby which we watched catching dragonflies. It would hold the dragonfly in its talons and then nip the wings off before eating the body. 

  There were several dragonfly species on the wing over the various pools on the reserve. We were very lucky to see at least four Red-veined Darters, looking a little worn, accompanied by Emperors, Black-tailed Skimmers, Common Darters and a pair of Broad-bodied Chasers.

Red-veined Darter - Male

Red-veined Darters in the "wheel" position

Hoverfly on a thistle flower

 Close up of the hoverfly's head showing the pollen on its face

Cornish Heath

  Lastly we visited Bray's Cot pool near Goonhilly. It was raining when we arrived and all the insects had hidden away! As the sun came out a few damselflies started to fly including Blue-tailed Damsefly. We also saw another Hobby fly over the pool.

Raindrops on Bray's Cot pool

  Our last bug of the day was this rather ugly looking fly! We think that it is Tachina grossa, which is a parasitic fly which predates on caterpillars and other insects.

Alners Gorse, Dorset

  Making the most of the sunny weather last weekend John and I visited the Butterfly Conservation's reserve at Alners Gorse in Dorset. Our target butterfly for the day was the White-letter Hairstreak.

  We were lucky enough to see at least six adult White-letter Hairstreaks flying around the tops of the Elm trees. We had good views through our binoculars, but unfortunately they would not come down to the lower branches for their photographs to be taken!

  There were lots of Marbled Whites on the wing as well as Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers. We also saw Silver-washed Fritillary and lots of Small Skippers.

  The pictures below are a selection of the those I took during the day and show a variety of insects that we saw whilst walking around the reserve.

Ringlet

Gatekeeper

Common Darter

Common Blue Damselfly

Hoverflies

Beetle (not identified!)

Yellow-tail Moth - the tip of the abdomen has a tuft of yellow hair.

A slightly different view of a hoverfly! I took this picture whilst the hoverfly was hovering in front of me in a sunny patch next to the trees. The hoverfly seemed to be territorial as it kept returning to the same area.