Monday 4th July 2011 - Shenstone

I arrived at the patch late morning today and decided to walk the fields along Stanklyn Lane.  On arrival there were 7 Mistle Thrush in the paddocks opposite.  Walking the Gallops field there were large numbers of Ringlet,  Meadow Brown and Small White butterflies, with few Small Skippers and a single Large White also present.

I then checked out the set-aside strip in the adjacent field.  The Ox-eye Daisy's were starting to go over but the Knapweed was looking stunning. In addition to the previously mentioned butterfly species there were a couple of Small Tortoiseshell here.  The Knapweed was attracting good numbers of both Six-spot Burnett and Narrow-bordered Five-Spot Burnett Moths.

The final area I checked out was the beet field (although its full of cereals this year).  Here there were 2 second-generation Holly Blue butterflies on the wing as well as a Red Admiral. The highlight came with the discovery of a small colony of Purple Hairstreaks that were flitting around the tops of a couple of mature Oaks and an Ash along Stanklyn Lane.  This is a patch first and a welcome addition to the species list.  I will endeavour to get some photographs during the course of the week (weather permitting).

As if that wasn't enough I was treated to the site of 2 recently fledged juvenile Corn Buntings that perched up for a while at the top of a nearby tree.  They seemed quite young birds as part of the gape flange was still showing at the base of the bill.  There was a slightly scruffy look to some the birds crown feathers and the tail feathers did not quite fully developed either.  Yet the still seemed to be flying fine and decided to take off and fly over the lane to the opposite cereal field.  Heartening indeed!  what a great day on the patch.

Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnett Moth on Knapweed