Blog Archive

Sunday 29 May 2016

How many species using one plant!

During my recent trip to Northward Hill, I noticed a small spider on the underside of a leaf which I think is an orb spider, possibly Metellina segmentata.
Metellina segmentata (?)


Then I realised that there were several reservoirs of rainwater gathered around the petiole/stem on the same plant and that there were various other creatures either using this water or had unfortunately met their end there!
Beetles
Lacewing, Chrysopa perla and unknown water beetles


Saturday 28 May 2016

Northward Hill Part II

Second trip to Northward Hill, this time visiting the Heronry and (with permission) a walk in the sanctuary area.   Lots to hear with birdsong all around us, but there were also plenty of smaller things to see.   Here's a selection:
Azure Damselfly

Hairy Dragonfly
At last some odonata to see - spring must finally be on its way, although it doesn't feel like it.

May blossom

Part of a fairy ring

Cinnabar Moth

Brown Tail Moth caterpillar
This hairy caterpillar has come in for lots of bad press as some people have a severe reaction to the hairs.   Rather harshly (apparently) my advice would be to leave it alone and not touch it, but I do have sympathy if you inadvertently come into contact.   I got admonished by one of the group for not advocating their extinction!
Weevil
I have no real knowledge of Weevils, but I absolutely love them as a species.   Usually so distinctive I can tell they actually are Weevils (which helps) and from there its down to "this is a Weevil!"   This individual was resting on the car when I returned from our morning walk, along with several flies which were not as obliging and quickly moved off as the camera appeared.
Two spot ladybird

Friday 27 May 2016

Rye Harbour


Great day at Rye Harbour on Sunday, some photographs to bring my memories back!

Salsify
Dog Rose

Sedum Acre

Sea Kale

Pair of Cuckoo
Common Tern
Hounds Tongue


What ARE they looking at?


Mistle Thrush (or if you are on predictive text missile thrush!)








Thursday 26 May 2016

Slugs!

Some slugs seen at Sevenoaks last week:
Brown

Black

Cream

Wednesday 25 May 2016

Bough Beech & Sevenoaks

Cold and damp, but there was plenty to enjoy at BB & Sevenoaks last week.
Weather vane at Bough Beech

The Reservoir is quite full at present, which means many of the waterbirds are forced away from the causeway and therefore harder to see, but there were plenty of Cormorant, Mute Swan, Mallard, and Coot.

Pied Wagtail and Common Sandpiper made short appearances and a trio of Common Tern took turns in feeding, and resting.
Common Tern

An early highlight was a lovely cup of tea at BB Visitor Centre, and although the feeders were relatively quiet, it was great to watch birds feeding up before the next wave of rain rolled in.

Time to move to Sevenoaks for lunch and another case of "hide hopping".   Common Kingfisher flew past a couple of times, Ringed Plover chased around from one island to another, Egyptian Geese had young, but the highlight for me was seeing a Great Crested Grebe carrying a juvenile on its back.   The youngster mirrored its parent's pose perfectly.
Great Crested Grebe and young

After the rain there were slugs out in force on the paths, which needed to be avoided, black ones, brown ones and even a yellow/white one!



But you'll have to wait for the next post for those!

Tuesday 24 May 2016

Northward Hill Part I

I had an hour to spare so went off to one of my favourite local sites, Northward Hill RSPB Reserve.

Cuckoos were calling - there was some territorial shenanigans going on with several joining in at one stage.  The nearest one was most obliging . . . .
Common Cuckoo
The flooded woodland is looking good, and there was a beautiful air of spring about the place, with Nightingale, Blackcap, Common and Lesser Whitethroat starring, and Song Thrush, Dunnock, Wren, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, and House Sparrow in vocal support.
Young Rabbits

There were five Grey Heron standing in the field by the Ernie Hemsley Hide and Green Woodpecker 'yaffled' in the background - later I disturbed one twice as it fed on the anthills by the side of the track.
Spring at Northward Hill

The scrape by Gordon's hide was busy with Mallard, Coot, Little Grebe, Moorhen and a pair of Gadwall.   Lapwing were displaying on the marshes behind until a Marsh Harrier appeared and they then turned their attention to mobbing instead.   In the reed-bed a Sedge Warbler sang.   There was a Little Egret hunting for food in the shallows,  its plumes showing well in the breeze,

Young Rabbits munched on the fresh grass as I left the hide, and the noise from the rookery was distracting with many birds in the air busily collecting food.   At one stage a Buzzard flew over the wood and Rooks moved from every direction to remove the intruder.

Monday 23 May 2016

Rainham

Trip to Rainham Marshes with Peter and Sid a week or so back.

Can't remember what you said this was Peter, sorry

Green Hairstreak
Thoughts Peter?

Sunday 22 May 2016

The final full day

Our last day was spent in the Davit Gareji area, with its mediterranean landscape and steppe-like vegetation it was yet another revelation of the huge diversity of this wonderful country.

Levan's Lunch
It is a long journey from Tbilisi so we stopped at some lakes along the way, adding water birds to our trip list, Great Reed Warbler sang from the reed bed as we drew to a halt.   There were also a wide collection of birds to see including Garganey, Black-crowned Night-heron, Little Egret, Great Egret, Ferruginous Duck, Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper, Ruff, Common Plover, Curlew Sandpiper,  and we heard Greenshank in the distance.

A pair of Black-headed Yellow Wagtail were spotted in the reeds, the male showed off a beautiful black head which contrasted wonderfully with the yellow body.   A Savi's Warbler was seen; but it was a while before we could track it down as it shot between the the base of stands of reeds.

As we moved towards the Davit Gareji Monastery Egyptian Vulture circled over the valley and White Stork were also seen.   We picnicked under a tree in the garden of a small building which looked like it could be a hostel for weary travellers.   Levan had provided an excellent lunch for us which he had sourced overnight from his local shops.   It was certainly the best lunch we had in the whole trip.
Wonderful Landscape

The building of the Monastery site was started in the 6th Century, the buildings are hewn from the rock.   The monks that remain (around 12) live in caves carved from the hillside.    An amazing place to visit, and with some great wildlife too, including Blue Rock Thrush and Common Rock Sparrow.   It also had a great mobile tea and coffee bar in a vehicle in the car park.

After enjoying the area for a few hours we were off back to Tbilisi, but this time on a route which took us along the inside of the Georgian/Azerbaijan/Armenia borders, via some more wetland areas and here added even more birds to the trip list: Pygmy Cormorant, Squacco Heron, Cattle Egret, Shelduck, Red-crested Pochard, Pintail, Wigeon, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Black-headed Gull, Whiskered and White-winged Tern, Common Skylark and Rook.

Entering the complex
Eventually we had to give in and return to the hotel for our last evening.   After making a rather half-hearted attempt at packing, we were off for a meal in a more traditional Georgian restaurant, this time in what appeared to be a cellar.

The food Levan chose for us on the final night was once again, excellent.   With a different style of food which was more from the Tbilisi area.

After dinner, some went back to the hotel, whilst Nico, Alan and I decided to venture up the cable car to view the city from the nearby hilltop.   This was a great experience, especially as I found out I had saddled myself with two gentlemen who were less keen than me on heights.   However, we had a smooth journey to the top of the ridge, and great view from the top, and eventually (with only fie minutes to go before the cable car closed) a smooth journey back down.
Caves in the Monastery

An excellent end to a fantastic trip.   176 bird species seen, 15 butterflies positively identified, 15 non-avian species identified, but more to come as we wade through the photographs.

Thanks to Nicola Scatassi from Skua Nature, Levan Ninua from Ecotours Georgia, Ornitholidays and by no means least my fellow travellers.

Farewell Georgia . . .  until the next time

Saturday 21 May 2016

Back to the City

Another morning and still the Nightingales and Cuckoos are calling.  

Early morning sunlight on the dam
After an early morning saunter I met the rest of the group and we started off by watching from the dam.   White-tailed eagle, spotted by yours truly, was my contribution, but there were several new species added to our trip list including Grey Heron, Black-winged Stilt and Little Ringed Plover.

Black francolin were calling but too distant to make it worth the chase, so we decided to look for migrants instead.    Pied Wheatear showed off, whilst Eastern Orphean Warbler was a little more skulking.  This was also a great opportunity to look for insects before they warmed up - and there were several moths, iridescent beetles and Green Hairstreak Butterfly, to name but three.
Green Hairstreak

Breakfast over, farewells said and we were off back to Tblisi, via short stop at a local bridge where a Wolf had been reportedly strung up by locals (farmer protecting sheep or hunter - who knows?).   It was one of the most sickening and sad sights I have ever seen.   However, although it was an unpleasant sight, it is one of the realities of life in this area.   Wolves are known to follow the herds of sheep as they are being moved from one grazing area to another.   They are constantly on the move, as overgrazed areas were quite evident on our travels.   Stories are told of one farmer who did not stay with his sheep overnight, although dogs are left with the sheep (they have collars with long spikes on them to try to stop Wolves from attacking the dogs) he lost 30 of his 43 sheep in one go, so it is hard to tell them not to kill wolves with that sort of impact into their income.

Rocky landscape
Lunch was taken at what we had already decided was the the best restaurant of the trip so far.   At a nearby village, Levan spotted a 'legless lizard' crossing the lane in front of the bus.   He jumped out and grabbed it, this wonderful yellow creature writhed to try to escape but soon calmed and lay in his hands as he stroked it gently.    Some locals came out of their homes, the ladies quite concerned, laughing nervously and asking Levan not to let it go near the houses.  Completely harmless, this 'Sheltopusik' caused quite a stir.   After a short while, we took it further down to the road to the edge of the village and let it go, wishing it well and hoping it did not move back to the village again!
Pseudopus apodous - Sheltopusik

Our next stop was at Eagle Gorge, where the birds did us proud with two Egyptian Vultures giving a great show as they swooped and soared on the thermals created by the deep gorge.

There were different plants here too, and several interesting insects.   All too soon however, we had to continue the long haul back to the capital and into their rush hour.

We had dinner in town at a restaurant we had used previously, and as the night was still quite mild three of us decided to walk back to the hotel and take in some of the delights of this interesting city.  

Friday 20 May 2016

Chachuna in all its glory

Today I was woken up by Common Nightingale, Common Cuckoo and Barn Swallow calling.  What a way to start the day!
Riverine habitat

Our only full day in Chachuna started at 6 am with a Black Francolin search, although we could hear them all around us it took some time before some of the group caught movement and a head popping above a ridge - later we had a female feeding in front of the vehicle which gave us all great views.

The old buildings along the dam were originally built by the Russians who planned an atomic power station here - luckily it did not go through and the Lesser Kestrels and House Martins have taken it over - eerie echoes of their calls can be heard!

We spent most of our pre-breakfast time wandering through lovely riverine forest and with birdsong all around us it was a great way to start the day.    Amongst others Common Nightingale sang constantly, such a wonderful experience.   House Martin and Barn Swallow had their first feed of the day taking food back to hungry youngsters.   Some were still building nests.   Great Crested Grebe were feeding in the reservoir.   A Common Kingfisher was surprised by our presence as it flew along the small river, so we moved away to allow it to carry on its day.
Nine-spotted Moth

After breakfast we were off towards a gorge where Nico found Western Rock Nuthatch, more Larks shot up in front of us.   Saker Falcon shot through at one point, causing a stir.

Time for some to catch up on Black-headed Bunting, and also a great opportunity to sort out the Larks with Crested showing really well on the dam, Calandra displaying and Lesser Short-toed finally calling and giving us a searching challenge, but we got there eventually!

Ménétries' Warbler gave us problems all day, singing from bushes in front of us but giving no hint of whereabouts.   I was lucky enough to be next to Nico when he found one, but it had moved by the time the rest of the group arrived and it took until our journey back to the cottages at the end of the day before another was seen, this time a male flying from a low bush in display and repeating. 

Sheep being moved to fresh grazing
After a lovely rabbit stew for lunch we went back to the furthest area we had reached this morning to carry on our quest for Ménétries' warbler.   I found a spider hole and with a little gentle teasing we got the inhabitant to the edge of the hole but no further.    Short-toed Eagle put in an appearance, Common Whitethroat and Garden Warbler were seen before we returned to base.
Dramatic scenery

With only a couple of hours of electricity produced by a generator each evening, we were keen to sort things out for the morning before the light dimmed, and also to get an evening walk in after dinner. 

Thursday 19 May 2016

Hello Chachuna!

Exciting times as we are to move to the Chachuna area today.

A Laughing Dove called from a telegraph pole outside our hotel - what a great alarm clock.   After a quick breakfast we were on our way.

Leaving Tblisi, we headed east and south, away from the magnificent scenery I had come to love, and to lower Savannah-like habitats with riverine forests.

Turtle Dove
The journey was great, giving us an insight into the driving mentality of the nation and thrills you would pay for at Alton towers, but all safely dealt with by Levan who is obviously well versed in his fellow countrymens' erratic decision making.

To enhance our enjoyment of traditional Georgia, Levan stopped to buy us some Churchkhela - an interesting snack that is sold from small stalls along the road.   It is basically a string of nuts covered in flour, sugar and Badagi (concentrated fresh grape juice).   Very nice, and not as sweet as you would expect, it helped to keep us going until lunch.
Evan negotiating at a roadside Churchkhela stall

We stopped at yet another delightful local restaurant for a lovely meal (which we decided was the best of the trip so far) before leaving the metalled road behind and continuing on dirt tracks.   With farmers moving their sheep and cattle along, dogs and horses in tow, the vast grassy landscape was in sharp contrast with that of the previous few days, but no less stunning.   


There were many stops for birds as we continued along, with Turtle Dove, Common Stonechat, Black-headed Bunting, European Roller and European Bee-eater, there was plenty to keep our interest.   

Close up of Churchkhela
At one stage a Red Fox was spotted running across the field at the side of the road, as Levan hooted the bus horn, it turned giving some the opportunity for a photo.   Little Owl was spotted on a derelict building, well camouflaged initially, but when it moved we all had great views.

We stopped to view a distant Eastern Imperial Eagle nest on an electricity pylon which whetted the appetite for more, and as ordered, Levan knew just where to take us for closer views.   Spanish Sparrows were nesting in the base of the Eagle's nest, such is communal living in the bird world.   When the adult left the nest to take to the skies it was a mesmerising sight, such a huge bird soaring effortlessly in the thermals was one more special Georgian moment.

Spur-thighed Tortoise Testudo graeca
A small lake appeared and I noticed a Crane - Demoiselle - which turned out to be a lifer for three of the group - we would have seen it anyway, but I accepted my initial plaudits!   Ruddy Shelduck, Mallard, Black-necked Grebe and Common Sandpiper were also present - it felt like a re-run of Doñana for a while!

Another stop for Isabelline Wheatear and then Black-eared Wheatear appeared, we got off the bus to get closer views, which were brilliant.

Demoiselle Crane
Our arrival at the accommodation was welcome after such a long day, but as the light held until well after dinner, most of us wandered off to enjoy the call of the birds as they settled for the night.

As I went to sleep Common Nightingale were calling in all directions, a Scops-owl called nearby and Golden Jackals could be heard in the distance.