7th May 2011

Dingy Skipper feeding on Birdsfoot trefoil - Stewartby Lake

A couple of hours spent around the visitors centre and the nearest part of Stewartby Lake was (eventually..) rewarded with a decent picture of a Dingy Skipper. They were being rather difficult to approach.

6th May 2011

Little Ringed Plover - Stewartby Lake Sailing Club bank.

Hairy Dragonfly - Sensory Garden

Highlights:

A morning walk along the Sailing Club bank of Stewartby Lake produced the hoped for Little Ringed Plover. The bird was very obliging, I stopped about 15 yards away from it at the top of the main slipway and it walked straight passed me along the waters edge... :-) This was the 156th species of bird I have photographed in the MVCP / Stewartby Lake area.

5th May 2011

Highlights:
Red Kite - Near Visitors Centre and later over Stewartby Tip
Good views of a Garden Warbler near the gullwatch
Cetti's Warbler seen in Marston Corner of Stewartby Lake
c30 Swifts and c6 Common Terns - Stewartby Lake (6.40am)

4th May 2011

Black Tern -Stewartby Lake

Little Egret -Access Track

Green Hairstreak

Highlights:

Black Tern -Stewartby Lake - found by Dave Ball

Red Kite - Over Stewartby Tip

c8 Hobbies - Over Rookery

Cuckoo

Again plenty of Green Hairstreaks and Dingy Skippers

3rd May 2011

White Stork!!!

Wetland 9

Green Hairstreak

Four-spotted Chaser

Red-and-Black Froghopper - a rather smart bug which Bob found near the railway line, the first one either of us had seen...

The White Stork flew over Bob Hook and myself when we were near the Marston Corner of Stewartby Lake. I was in the middle of photographing the Green Hairstreak butterfly shown above when the stork appeared, so I'm very glad that Bob was looking up! ... :-) The bird flew past us fairly low and then headed off East gaining height most of the time. We watched it for 5-6 minutes in total before it went out of sight, during which time we took turns to phone the news out. What was probably the same bird was seen twice near Oxford and then near Bicester the previous day. About 10 minutes after we lost it is was then seen over Priory Marina near Bedford and the following day it was seen twice in Cambridgeshire before ending up in Suffolk on the 5th May. A fabulous bird to see on the park, the first one seen here and only about the 10th county record.

Bob and I did a day-list and we saw around 66 birds on the park between us... I'll add more details when I get the list from Bob.

2nd May 2011

A Four-spotted Chaser -on the stream behind the Sensory Garden

A Common Buzzard being mobbed by a Carrion Crow

A Grizzled Skipper

A quiet day on the park...

Highlights:

Turtle Dove on wires above my parents garden - this bird was present virtually the whole week.

Green Hairstreak, Four-spotted Chasers and Hairy Dragonfly - Sensory Garden near the visitors centre.Hobby and c8 Common Terns on the Pillinge

A good selection of butterflies around Stewartby Lake - Small Heath, Common Blue, Dingy and Grizzled Skippers, Green Hairstreak and a few more Hairy Dragonflies.

1st May 2011

A Pair of Gadwall on the rapidly drying out pool in front of the Jubilee Cottages overview.

A lazy day today with just an afternoon visit to the Jubilee Cottages overview and a brief check of Stewartby Lake.
Jubilee Cottages overview:
2 Yellow Wagtails (MVCP Year Tick)
2+ Gadwall
Stock Dove
60+ Starlings
3 Linnets
Male Kestrel
2 Cuckoos
Sparrowhawk
MVCP Year list now: 99 (Yellow Wagtail added today) Plus Water Rail, Grasshopper Warbler and Cetti's warbler heard only)