The bees were a cracking and totally unexpected local find whilst walking the dog. Not the buzzy, busy kind, but one of my favourite plants - bee orchids. Taking snaps with the dog isn't ideal, as plant photography is, I find, quite hard, needing much more time than you might think for something that doesn't fly or run away. The problem with bee orchids is the 'depth' of the flower which calls for a good depth of field. this, however makes it hard to establish a nice blurred background, without a substantial amount of pruning! I took quite a few shots, of which I liked these two in the evening light.
But it's the birds that remain the focus of attention project-wise. In a local wood (near the orchids and also on the dog walking route) we had got permission to put up some nest boxes. It's a young and poorly managed woodland (a future practical project we hope) so we are not talking big three woodland migrants, but we did manage at least 3 blue tit nests and two great tits. In one sense I lost a mornings photo time, but it was good to get a record of our village wildlife group's first practical successes.
Walking the dog also resulted in the finding of a natural blue tit nest in a tree stump, whilst in the garden our starlings and sparrows have fledged. Noisy garden at present!
A couple of visits to the Forest of Dean. First a trip to view my favourite tree - in past years home to pied flycatcher, spotted flycatcher and lesser spotted woodpecker nests. This year ...... a flicker of movement, anticipation builds .........
yes - another blue tit. Only interesting feature here was the entrance hole which required a vertical approach. Might be a challenge for the fledglings!
The tree along the track - again past home to pied flycatcher - caused a double take. The old hole, surprisingly large in a main branch, had shrunk to about a quarter the size. Only one answer - nuthatch nest, confirmed shortly afterwards. They were a bit shy, but the remote trigger meant I could set up the gear and walk back, taking snaps when I saw movement. A bit far away, but you can just about see the bird and the original hole.
During the first visit, apart from a brief view of golden ringed dragonfly,
the other find was a possible redstart nest. Wasn't sure, but a visit a week or so on confirmed the nest site. A prolonged and careful approach allowed some shots of the birds at the nest with natural food. Not the ideal angle but the best spot to 'hide'. I didn't linger too long, but was pleased with the outcome - just a shame I missed the flight shot which I've included just as a form of self-punishment.
Pied flycatchers and wood warblers will have to wait another year.
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