Been travelling around the Midlands a lot this past week, and almost everywhere I've been able to enjoy watching waders... and if not waders, then some butterflies. Many waders are on their return migration from breeding areas to the north, heading for their wintering sites and sometimes stopping off en-route in our area.
Last Wednesday, the opening on the new RSPB centre in Sandwell Valley co-incided with the arrival of a very smart breeding plumaged dunlin, which my photo does little justice to!
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| dunlin |
On Thursday evening, a quick march around Middleton Lakes before the annual volunteer's BBQ enabled me to snap a few pics of a couple of gorgeous black-tailed godwits on the Jubilee Wetland's east scrape.
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| black-tailed godwit |
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| black-tailed godwit |
On Saturday morning, Ryton Wood SSSI, a Warwickshire Wildlife Trust ancient woodland nature reserve was full of butterflies, with good sightings of white admiral and numerous silver-washed fritilleries. And a rather unusual buttercup.
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| silver-washed fritillary |
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| buttercup with "double" flower |
This morning a quick walk around Grimsbury Reservoir was not rewarded with any waders, but nice views of the pair of common terms that have been present for a few days.
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| common tern |
The River Cherwell flowing alongside the reservoir is a lot lower than normal, I will talk about this another time, but it has left many yellow water-lilies high and dry!
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| yellow water-lily |
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| water-lilies high and dry (ish) |
Then a fairly quick visit to Bicester Wetland Reserve (which I had all to myself) was very enjoyable too, with nine green sandpipers and a dozen lapwings. Canada geese always seem to get in on your photos here!
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| green sandpipers |
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| lapwings and Canada geese |
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