Mega Patch (Raven, Wheatear and Clouded Yellow!!!)

This week has definitely been my best ever week on patch. 2 days ago me and my brother as usual had a walk around our local patch in Kings Langley. Well nothing out of the ordinary was seen until we came out of Scatterdell's Woods. We had decided to look around a different part of the patch and after a short look around my brother spotted a Buzzard like bird. He didn't mention it until it was almost flying over our heads and he had made sure of his ID. It glided over use only taking a few wing beats and we could tell the diamond shaped tail, the thick large shaggy neck and its giant beak which told s instantly it was a RAVEN. A patch first. Today after starting to make some new bird boxs for next years breeding season we took a break and went indoors but our break was cut short when my brother alerted me that there were 5+ Clouded Yellow butterflies down Barnes Lane, obviously we got our equipment ready as quickly as possible and ran out the door in the direction of the butterfly. On the way we stopped and had a look over the field not expecting much but in hope of a Yellow Wagtail. We looked over the Pied Wagtail flock and there right infront of us was my first self found patch female WHEATEAR. Anywhere else this bird would be over looked but on our patch it is very rare. But we were still interested in the butterfly so we headed on at a fast jogging speed. Soon we had arrived but the clouds had taken over the skies and if the were there they obviously didn't want to fly. We quickly gave up on that promising to come back tomorrow when it was sunny. On the way back we saw a spectacle of nature in the form of a Sparrowhawk catching a Juv. Green Woodpecker a very dramatic scene but we were still very interested in the butterflies and when the sun came out we headed straight over. When I entered the field I saw a orangy yellow butterfly flying around and sure enough it was another patch first but this time a CLOUDED YELLOW.

Clouded Yellow

Find the butterfly

when the sun was covered by the clouds it rested down on a piece of grass and stayed there till we left. I'm going to head back there tomorrow to see if I can get some better photos in the sun.

Last birding day in Germany

Germany is packed with birds which do not occur in Britain which is perfect for something new. We had researched into birds and the best one seemed to be Rock Bunting. We checked the best places for them and headed there the next day. We searched around the place but unfortunately we saw no Rock Bunting. But we did see lots of Black Redstarts and 2 HONEY BUZZARDS.

Honey Buzzard

But we also saw a few Wall Browns, 2 Brown Hairstreaks and a lot of Jersey Tigers.

Wall Brown

Photographic failure

Abroad many of the birds which are endangered in Britain are quite common especially Red-backed Shrikes. This is why me and my brother are lucky enough to have a local Red-backed Shrike colony in Germany. It took this opportunity to take some pictures of Red-backed Shrikes which I wouldn't be able to in England. Well I couldn't have had a worse idea. I headed to the sight and after a 3 minute cycle ride I was setting up my camera equipment and getting to a well hidden spot good for photographing the Shrikes. I didn't have to wait long before a Juv. Red-backed Shrike popped up on the top of the hedge and I took a few pictures.

Juv. Red-backed Shrike

Then when I was reviewing my pictures I felt a small bite on my hand I looked at it and it was some kind of ant. I immediately stood up and saw hundreds of them walking all over me. I had completely forgotten about the Shrikes and began to try and get them off but the ants began to bite me all over and it was starting to hurt so I packed my stuff away quickly and ran back to my bike. Even on the cycle ride home I was being bitten by ants the photo was definitely not worth the bites.

To Buchholz and back again

The next day we were more lucky with birds. Again my brother had got up earlier and already explored the woodland. I then tagged along on his second part of the walk which was to Buchholz. The road on which you get to Buchholz is surrounded by woodland so woodland species are not uncommon. On the way on that day we bumped into some Firecrests. We decided to stay in the place in hope of some more interesting species, and our wait payed off we saw a small group of Crested Tits which flitted around above our heads. We were proving to be quite lucky in this spot so we stayed there for a little longer and after a short wait we heard a Willow Tit call in the woods, we tried to track it down but only saw it for a few seconds before it flew off. Whilst we waited for the Willow Tit to show again we saw another two which was enough for us so we moved on. On the farmland we managed to almost instantly find the resident pair of Red-backed Shrikes. No male was to be seen but two females which was odd but they showed no sign of vermiculation which a Juvenile bird would. Whilst I was taking a look at the Shrikes my brother spotted some kind of dove on the telephone wires and asked me to have a look at it. I almost instantly recognised it as a Turtle Dove with its red eye, its white,blue and black collar and its reddy brown back. Unfortunately whilst my brother and I were celebrating and writing the sighting down in our books it it flew off and we didn't know where it had gone. But all in all a successful days birding.

to read my last post on going to the altenburghutte click here.

Off to the Hütte

Unlike my brother, I decided to have a nice lay in, but it wasn't long before I too was having to role out of bed after being woken by his alarm. When he had got back from his first walk about the place I was ready to go so Samuel was kind enough to go out again. Bird wise it was dull with only a possible Spotted Flycatcher and a possible Black Kite which had a very shallow forked tail but other wise to me was unrecognizable due to it only being a silhouette. But on the Butterfly side of things we had a great day. We started off with a Map Butterfly which was very shy when it came to photos.

Map Butterfly

We also had some Clouded Yellow Butterflies which were very reluctant to land anywhere so I gave up on trying to photograph one. We also had Painted Lady which showed nicely. But it was when we got to the edge of the woods when we began to see the real good Butterflies. It started with a Silver-washed Fritillary which kept on growing in number until we had a total of 3. I then spotted a butterfly which was flying away from us at first in flight it looked like a gatekeeper but when it landed and we were able to inspect it turned out to be a Fritillary. We first took our ID photos and then when we had IDed it as a QUEEN OF SPAIN FRITILLARY one that I had never before seen we went into proper photography mode.

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Next on the list was a Mallow Skipper a butterfly which does not occur in the UK. I was more interested in the Fritillaries so I left my brother to photograph the skipper whilst I ran around after the other butterflies.

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Later on when we eventually got to the Altenburghütte we saw a few Purple hairstreaks due to the hütte being so high we were at the top of the oak trees so a perfect opportunity to photograph the Hairstreak.

Purple Hairstreak

To read my last post about my trip through France click here.