A Short Jolly up Hambledon Hill

Dry but a bit breezy at ground level... severely gusty up the top, hence the short visit!

First up, along the roadside, a hornet. Seen 4 or 5 this year, only ever seen one previously

I think this is a Nuthatch, but not a great angle or pic

Funny how when you've never seen something before, you then often see two in a short space of time... Redpoll

Ohh, alright, it's more than likely another juvie Goldfinch!!

My thought's were, that despite it being breezy, it may cause any butterflies to stay closer to the ground, so more easily photographable.... that butterfly theory was blown out of the water, however. it seemed to hold true for this guy... he was disturbed by a chap walking his dog....

but just flew a little further round the rampart 

He then flew on a bit further... the angle of the land is how steep it is all the way up... pretty good defences back in the day!!

I decided enough was enough, and left before the inevitable wind-blown ear-ache kicked in, and on the way back down I spotted a lady Stonechat

I'd spotted one meadow brown but autofocus managed to grab the grass in front of it, so I thought a butterfly free trip, when.... ta-daaaaa, along the track back to the car

I was surprised by how few birds there were on the berry laden shrubs/trees by where the stonechat had been, and also by how few butterflies there were (despite the breeze) but watching the swallows swooping about up the hill, and the presence of the kestrel made up for it.

And so that's probably concluded this weeks (mis)adventures, but who knows what the future holds!!

Stay safe All