Saturday 19th June 2010 - Shenstone & Bluntington

There were 40+ Housemartins feeding low over Heath Lane today. A ♀ Kestrel was perched on fence at Heath Lane paddock and 2 Gatekeeper butterflies were also seen there. Near Stone Church, I saw a Hobby fly-over heading toward Harvington.

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Afterwards, I went to Bluntington to see if I could hear the Quail that had been found there the previous day by TMH. Bluntington is also in Worcestershire and only about 3 miles from Shenstone as the crow flies. A Couple of times, I was lucky enough to catch the bird singing it's unmistakable 'wet my lips' song. Also whilst along the footpath I saw a number of Skylarks up singing and quite a few Linnets and Yellowhammers perched on the hedgerows.

It is also a very good place for butterflies with lots of varied flora along the footpath. Whilst walking down the path I counted 9 Small Tortoiseshells, 5 Speckled Woods, 4 Small Whites and 2 Silver Y moths.

Small Tortoiseshells, Bluntington 19th June 2010: