A Grey Day Down Weymouth Way (04/06/24) Pt.1

Working peculiar days this week, so had Monday and Tuesday off. Forecast was pretty bleughhh for both days, and I'd booked my car in for its' service for Monday so decided to make a day of it Tuesday. Mike had tempted me with his Great Crested Grebes plus Humbugs from Conwy, and others had made me jealous of Demoiselles... and also I knew the Little Terns had returned. Radipole to start, arrived just after 7:30, greeted by a Dunnock...probably hiding from the blasting Cettis!

And, alas, this was the closest to the GCG I got .... but a hint of brightness

This little one kept skipping ahead of me along the path, and it wasn't until I got home and looked at pics I realised it was a Reed Bunting

There were a fair few insects about, even that early, and in that gloom (the brightness was at best intermittent!)

A young Robin took over from the Bunting, scampering along in front of me

It wasn't until Springwatch that evening I realised it was  Sparrowhawk I saw (probably the one that predated a Sand Martin, before being chased off by a Magpie if you saw it).... And it may have been one of these Maggies.... "So I said to 'im, naff orf, this is my buffet, go an' find your own"

What do you get if you cross 2 Cormorants and a Coot? .... My next pic

The poor old Coots seemed to be in everyone's line of fire...

The perceptive among you may have noticed this is part 1.... It's not because I saw loads of stuff (I saw plenty, but not two posts worth), it's because of sequences, little bits of behaviour that I managed to capture in a series of pics, first off a majestic Heron... Here he is, taken off, done a bit of a loop, met up with a friend, and then come back to practically the same place

Coming in

Easy now

Gently apply the brakes

Gooooood

Hold steady

A little reverse thrust

Keep that line

Almost there... bloody camera man's cut me wings off again!!

Final adjustments

Easy does it.... OMG after all that he didn't even get the touchdown either 

Male Reed Bunting

There were loads of damsel flies about, predominantly Blue Tailed

There was a sign up saying about rare orchids... dunno if this is rare but I think its a something Marsh Orchid... I just thought it looked nice against the yellow lol

Time for our resident Cat (erpillar) Lady to do her stuff (that reminds me CL... Mrs PB is saying about doing the NC 500, so I'll want to pick your brains at sometime in the future .... and you Linda coz you're up that way somewhere )

Finally spotted my first Demoiselle

As I carried on along the path, I felt I was being told off..

Another female Banded Demoiselle.... good job she doesn't suffer from hayfever!

And at last a male... beggars can't be choosers when it comes to which way they face!!

It was so grim I only spotted 2 butterflies, a Speckled Wood, and this Red Admiral

Next up, possibly a Non-Swollen Thigh Beetle.... a False Oil Beetle.... or a Swollen Thigh Beetle  who knows?!

"I'm ready for my close up, Mr Packham"

"What do you mean too close?"

A massively distant, hugely cropped Marsh Harrier

At first this was a wader flying across, unusual for Radipole..... it transpires it isn't.... 

Time for the next sequence, a male Banded Demoiselle, in a much more conducive pose

Some birds flew over, and I looked up to see what, and when I looked back....

And all that was left within a couple of minutes.....

More Caterpillar action... I wonder if it ate the snail, just a smidge of garlic butter and a crisp sauvignon blanc

Some sort of Caddis Fly possible... or a demoiselle snackette maybe?

And finally for part one, maggie with a nesting stick!

So concluded the first part, and I was only slightly wishing I hadn't only got the big lens!