Today was supposed to be an easy day to get out and enjoy Nature as it was my one day off this week but things never quite work out how you plan.I ended up having to be in Scunthorpe Medical centre for my treatment at 9am followed by a couple of hours work:(
This prevented me getting out early as planned but with the sun starting to get through the clouds I decided it might be a good day to have a Bug Hunt with maybe a few birds thrown into the mix.
I chose Whisby Nature Park near Lincoln as my hunting ground for the 2-3 hours I had.
http://www.lincstrust.org.uk/whisby-nature-park
I sat down with a bowl of chips and a coffee on the cafe decking and watched the antics of the Black Headed Gull colony before heading down to the first hide.
The colony was overrun with little legged balls of fluff.:)
A Great Crested Grebe braved the barrage of abuse from the Gulls with her own 2 chicks.
Arctic Terns had taken up residence on a raft in Teal Lake.During a change between the adults for incubation duties I was able to spot 3 eggs:)
As I walked to a trail to begin my bug hunt I heard the melodius song of the Nightingale.I stood and listened for a few minutes before the bird flew from its hidden stage and away from us.
This was shortly followed by more bird song.I caught a tantalising glimpse of the warbler but wasn't certain of its identification.On getting home I played the bird song I thought it was and got a match, my first Cettis Warbler:)
After all the ornithological distractions I finally began my bug hunt.The problem with doing this is my arthritis.If I stay down too long I won't be getting back up again in a hurry lol.Thankfully I had my trusty assistant (fiancee) with me to help me back up when needed.
Not long into my search and I was excited to spot my first Chimney Sweeper Moth of 2015 and suddenly realised there were around 40 of them lol
The warmth of the sun also brought out the Butterflies with Peacocks, Brimstones and Common Blues on the wing.
A slightly battered Peacock Butterfly
Common Blue Butterfly
Other findings on my bug hunt included...
Cardinal Beetle (Pyrochroa Serraticornis)
Green Tortoise beetle (Cassida Rubiginosa)
2 Spot Ladybird
and a Yellow-Tail Moth Caterpillar.
I was even graced with Royalty as this Queen Wasp landed nearby to give herself a clean.
It's amazing what you can find if you look down instead of up :) If you cannot get to a reserve just spend 10 minutes in your garden or a nearby meadow or field and do your own Bug Hunt.It's great fun and you may encounter something you have never seen before:)
Apologies for the long blog but many thanks for reading.
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