Heathland flowers

We had our first away trip in the campervan and met friends near Bovey Tracey in Devon. A very early morning visit for me to Chudleigh Knighton Heath to see what I could find. the local flora was much in evidence with lots oh Heath Spotted Orchids flowering and the Heather looking splendid, especially adorned with early morning dew .

The Emperor

We have had good numbers of the beautiful Emperor Dragonflies emerging from the pond this year,I donned my waders and got into the water to enjoy some time watching and photographing them at differant stages of the process. Fascinating creatures.

European Roller

25th May 2022. Only the second I've seen in the U.K, after a gap of 33 years!. The last one being in East Devon way back in 1989. This stunning adult male was found at the Clowance estate at Praze an beeble in Cornwall, and delighted a steady stream of admirers. It spent a lot of the time hunting in a weedy field looking splendid among the yellow flowers, and although a little far for great photos, just watching it was good enough, but I did manage to get quite a few record shots.Lovely bird.

Ravens mobbing Goshawk.

Its good to know that Goshawks are in my area in W. Devon, I occasionally see one over our place and on this day two Ravens ( which nest very close by) were mobbing a female right above our field.I grabbed my camera and managed to get some record photos .

Garganey.

It has been the best spring I can remember for Garganey, this small duck has been turning up in quite a few differant locations fairley close to home. Garganey are unique among British Ducks, being a summer visitor, but still a scarce breeder in the U.K.with just over a hundred pairs.These photos are from Walmsley (Cornwall) and Tamar Lakes on the Cornwall/Devon border. Still unable to get close enough to one though.

A Cornish nature reserve.

I spent most of a day at Walmsley CBWPS reserve and nearby areas, and a great day it turned out to be, the sun was shining and the wildlife kept on giving, always something to see here. The morning started off with the male Ring Necked Duck alongside the usual Tufties ( albieit a little distant to photograph) ,this North American Duck seems to be getting more of an occurance each winter. All of a sudden out of the corner of my eye an Otter just appeared in front of the hide and continued to hunt for food for some time, it was successfully catching Sticklebacks and other prey from below the surface ( snails?),the best views I've had of an Otter for some years and easily the most prolonged view, and all to myself for a lot of the time as well. I would have been happy with this but then eleven Glossy Ibis flew over , circled and landed not far awy, another species that seems to be visiting in increasing numbers each year ( I remember driving miles to see one a few years ago). and finally later on in the day I had the pleasure of watching the beautiful Barn Owl hunting over the marshes, what a fantastic bird and a real privalage to watch. I didn't see the Bittern thats been around for a while but hey thats a good excuse to return ( if I really needed one). Days like these make it all worthwhile.