Birds, wildlife and travel
It’s been a bit quiet in the moth trap of late, but the hot weather has fixed that. Four species of Hawkmoth: two Eyed, one Privet, one Lime (not frequent here) and a herd of six Elephants.
It’s getting busy in the pond!
…but enough about me. A late evening return to Church Norton meant that we didn’t have to compete with the heat haze or the crowds. The Elegant Tern played its part by showing well, if a little distantly. It went through a full range of antics: loafing on the mud, having a bath, trying it on with the local Sandwich Terns, flying around like a mad thing and stealing fish from a much-bullied Common Tern.
Little Bittern, of course, although after seven hours of looking at a windy Somerset reedbed and seeing nothing another interpretation was understandable. Early next morning the bird finally showed after another hour of watching. Ham Wall is a remarkable place: there can’t be many other places in Britain where you can see six species of heron in a day, as well as a supporting cast including Hobby, Red-footed Falcon and Glossy Ibis. We travelled back a bit early to pick up the Elegant Tern at Church Norton, which showed eventually, but wasn’t photographable while we were there.
