Today, T S and I went for a walk along the River Severn at Ribbesford, Bewdley. Whilst on the walk we saw a Kingfisher on the river which, believe it or not, is the first one I have seen this year. Numbers of Kingfisher in general do seem to have been affected by the cold winter. Also of interest was a Garden Warbler fledgling seen in a tree with an adult in close proximity contact calling. There was vast amounts of Comfrey in flower along this stretch which was attracting good numbers of bees. In one area there were 4 Scarlet Tiger Moths fluttering about and in many places Banded Demoiselle damselflies were seen.Scarlet Tiger Moth, Ribbesford 15th June 2010:
A juvenile Green Woodpecker was feeding in the paddocks along Stanklyn Lane this afternoon. A ♀ Great-Spotted Woodpecker flew over Back Lane and landed in trees by Stone Manor. 4 juvenile Wood Pigeons were with a number of adult birds in Heath Lane paddock and good numbers of House Martin were also present. There were also many Skylarks up singing. A ♂ Great Spotted Woodpecker with a juvenile in tow was seen feeding at Captain's Pool for the second day running (TS). Also, the 4 Mute Swan cygnets are still alive and well at the pool (TS).
After visiting Shenstone I popped to Bluntington and walked the public footpath to Woodrow. Whilst walking down the path I flushed a ♂ Grey Partridge that flew across and landed in the adjacent cereal field. There were good numbers of Linnets and Yellowhammers (including juveniles of both species) along this walk and as with Shenstone, the Skylarks were very much in good voice. Along the footpath there were 2 Speckled Wood and 2 Small White Butterflies. A Silver Y Moth and a Hawthorn Shield Bug was also seen.
Late Morning I did a butterfly walk around the Button Oak side of the Wyre again. Today I saw 3 Pearl-bordered Fritillary, 1 Meadow Brown, 1 Green-veined White and 6 Speckled Wood butterflies. I also saw a Silver Y and a Mother Shipton Moth. Warblers were again in good voice on the circuit round and a Robin was seen flycatching with a beak full of insects, more than likely to feed its young.Green-viened White, Wyre Forest 11th June 2010:
Today there were more signs of successful breeding around the 'patch', and I saw my first 2 juvenile Swallows were perched on a fence wire along Butts Lane. 2 adult and 3 juvenile Linnets were in Heath Lane paddock and a juvenile Wren was seen on a hedgerow. Also along Heath Lane were 20+ House Martins and 60+ Swifts were flying low over fields and paddocks along Stanklyn Lane.
Today, TS and I did a couple of walks in the Wyre Forest. The first walk we did was in the Shropshire part of the Forest near the rocket testing site (believe it or not there is a not so secret test facility hidden in the forest!). During the walk around there were good numbers of warblers singing including Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Garden Warblers and Willow Warblers. A juvenile Nuthatch was also seen. The main reason for undertaking the walk was for the butterflies and we were not disappointed. A single Wood White was seen, 2 Pearl-bordered Fritillaries, a Large Skipper and a ♀ Common Blue. Good numbers of Speckled Yellow moths were seen as were 4 Silver Y moths.Afterwards we were in the Worcestershire side of the Wyre and did a walk along the disused railway line. Here we saw 5 Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries and a Dingy Skipper. Large numbers of Chimney Sweeper moth were seen in the meadow at Lodge Hill Farm.Wood White, Wyre Forest 9th June 2010:
Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Wyre Forest 9th June 2010:
