Thursday 15 July 2010

Cowpen Bewley

On my way back from Crimdon Dene and having limited time i called into this woodland park. I have only been once before, much earlier in the year so was expecting much in the way of Dragons', Damsels',and Butters'. Unfortunately the weather has continued to be changeable with a blustery wind at times. I will be back in the next couple of weeks as the landscape looks to be brilliant for all three. A lack of water is very noticeable as quite a few of the smaller outlying "waterholes" were barren with large cracks running through them. A bit more rain, sunshine and a bit less wind and BINGO, i reckon.
In the limited time i had along with Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies, i came across some stunning Emerald tucked away in a wooded area which looked at if usually held an amount of water. I walked part of the nature trail and scanning the meadow insects of all sorts where hovering about with various Butterflies also but with limited time i was not able to pursue any to make out what species they were. Just the one Dragonfly was found, a Four-spotted Chaser, which i sat down to, to try to capture some images of. The sun was behind some menacing clouds for the rest of my visit so i had a walk to the main lake to see what birds were on the water. Nothing too exciting and no sign not surprisingly of the possible nesting Kingfishers but i did find the Sparrowhawks nest and in the two minutes i had to spend there saw two chicks. Got to go back soon.



      Four-spot Chaser

      Speckled Wood, female

      DOUBLE CLICK any image for more detail.

N.B. 2 good sightings at RISING SUN  COUNTRY  PARK, 10.00a.m. Little Egret, 12.50p.m. Greenshank THURS 15 JULY    per Birdguides

5 comments:

  1. Nice dragonflies and a butterfly, Johnny.

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  2. Thank you Bob, any praise is much appreciated.
    John

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  3. John, how do you manage to capture images of insects? Whenever I try to photograph something, they're always moving!

    What does a Sparrowhawk's nest look like?

    When I was tidying up in the potting shed, I found the tiniest of nests on the floor, in the corner amongst the pots. It's about 3 inches in diameter. I can't imagine who the nest belongs to.... whether it's a mouse's or maybe an en suite from the robin's nest! :O)

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  4. Lesley, please accept my apologies as i have just seen your posting.
    I try to study any species if i can before i try to photograph them. Some butterflies for example are very flighty and some take ages to come to rest once disturbed while others don't seem too bothered how close you get.
    Sparrowhawks nests are built with sticks and twigs in a fork in a tree quite often as they are woodland birds.
    I couldn't hazard a guess at your nest in the potting shed. Are there any droppings? Have you seen any comings or goings since your posting.
    Cheers
    John

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  5. That's alright John. :)

    The Sparrowhawk's nest sounds a bit like the Woodpigeon's nest in our Willow tree.... it's a pile of sticks, just like a little platform. It hasn't been used since the first time and now the baby blackbirds use it as a resting place while mum goes to and fro with food for them. :O)

    As for the tiny nest.... it's still a puzzle. I've taken a photo of it, so will post it sometime. I never thought to look for droppings.... I'll do that later today. The only comings and goings I've seen is a fat lime-green frog.... doubt if it's his! :D

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