The Wonders of Stithians.

I managed to fit in a bit of birdwatching while doing some voluntary work at Stithians NR.

Lesser Yellow-Legs

Have not done a lot of birding this week but did get down to the very obliging Lesser Yellow-Legs at St. Clements this afternoon. Although mobile it came in quite close, the different angles making the water appear grey in some shots and blue or green in others. Earlier this week we also saw our only Painted Lady Butterfly for the year.

Painted Lady Butterfly looking very fresh so late in the season.

A Day Out at Cornish Birds of Prey Centre.

I gave John a Falconry experience for his birthday earlier in the year and he finally got around to doing it on Saturday. It was a brilliant afternoon and he got to handle a lot of Owls and Falcons and even fly several of them. I went along to do my David Bailey bit and would highly recommend it. Although the bigger birds are very impressive, for John the bird of the day was the American Kestrel, which we have seen in the wild but didn't realise just how small it is.

In search of Dragons

We went to Ventongimps NR for the first time on Friday and were not disappointed. It is a great place for Dragonflies etc, with a couple of great ponds and heathland. One of the ponds was created when a WW2 Bomber was discovered and excavated.

The Grayling were taken in the woods at Croft Pascoe, on The Lizard, as was the Wall Brown.

We have never seen them there before and they kept landing on us and the 'scope. In the first picture the wings are open slightly showing the rarely seen splash of colour.