Nuthatch nest activity on Church patch.

Just before i post about the Nuthatches, I would like to clear up any confusion I may have caused by my "choice of wording" in my previous post. What i meant was- It was the Purple Hairstreak that i had found in my garden. Both the Hummingbird hawk moth and the SWF, were found/spotted on my "Mereworth Patch".
Sorry for any confusion there guys, i blame my Australian education, for "my way" of wording things sometimes!!!.

So onto the Nuthatch nest site then. Back at the end of March this year, I posted/blogged about the Nuthatches that i noticed using a hole in the church wall for a stash of food/nuts/seeds. I photographed them coming and going from this hole in the wall, and with each visit they would emerge with a nut/seed of sorts.
Well it seems that these clever little birds also use the very same "hole" for their nesting site too.

I spent a good hour observing the nest site on the 5th of July, and whilst the adults were cautious, I still managed to capture some nice shots. I have to say, i missed a fair few shots too. With a better camera/lens and the use of a tripod(I'll get one one day!) i would have captured some great images for sure!

The Nuthatches worked the same pattern, both male and female were involved, they would catch various insects, then land either on the edge of the church roof , or the stone arch above the window, give a quick look around to see if all is safe, then fly to the hole, enter and feed those hungry chicks, and exit the hole, sometimes carrying a waste/poo sac.

Some photos then. The pictures tell the story, cheers.

There were a few out of focus shots of the Nuthatches in flight, this was one of the better ones, it would have been nice to capture an "in focus" flight shot, but I cant complain, it was a great way to spend an hour(early lunch break from work!).

Hummingbird Hawk Moth, SWF, and a Purple Hairstreak in my garden.

Silver-washed Fritillary up first then. On the 29th of June i spotted my 1st SWF, but i couldnt capture any really clear shots, so the following day i tried again, and this time I managed to get better shots, even though the light/sun is back lit. This butterfly is on a mission, and it was very difficult to keep up with it, let alone capture a photo, but i chased that sucker down in the end!

After seeing some of  "The Butterfly Man"(AKA) Greenies photos, Im pretty sure this is a male SWF?

Here you see the same butterfly "getting close" to a Comma!

One last shot.

The 1st of July, and another first for me, coming in the shape of a Hummingbird Hawk Moth.

Im pretty sure i saw 3 of these on the day, they were all found some distance from each other, but who knows, the speed of these guys in flight, and it could of been the same one?! I wasnt really looking for them, i just stumbled on the 1st one, but after that, I then kept my eye out for em! I took several poor shots of them in flight(my camera is not a DSLR) so it struggles with fast movements. But then the Moth landed a few times, so I crept up close to it, for some easier shots!

Then its just about to land on the woodland floor here.

Landed.

The same moth, landing/at rest, on two other occasions.

This last image(2nd) was shot some time later in the day, and my 3rd sighting of the day, was just that! because I had no chance to capture a shot at the speed it was going!

On the 3rd of July I spent some time in my back garden. To be honest though, i was constantly looking at the top of the Elm tree in the hope that i might see a return of those White-letter Hairstreaks? No such luck, but next to the Elm is an Oak tree, and what should land in there? Well it was poor light, and some distance away, but it looks like a Purple Hairstreak to me?

One last thing to add, well two actually! Ive found a Nuthatch nest site on my Church patch today, so i will try to capture some shots of the nesting activities.

And Ive also thrown together a makeshift "Moth Trap", made out of a plastic bottle and sticky back plastic!!! Not quite, but it was made out of stuff that was just lying about the place. 1st night was last night, and i did pretty well for a complete beginner, i must have got 10 different types of moth, ive just gotta figure out how to ID all these moths now!!! Cheers.

Heath Fritillaries and White Admirals of June.

Way back on the 4th of June, I was traveling within 10 miles of Blean Woods, and since i had never been there, i thought it would be rude not to! especially since my fellow bloggers had reported on having a great time seeing/photographing the Heath Fritillary. I had both my wife and son with me, so i knew i couldnt stay there that long(the wife gets bored, and wonders why i have to take more than one photo!!!) We arrived at 3.00pm and left at approx. 3.30pm, the sun was shining, so the light was perfect for photos. After a short walk, and without searching too hard, we soon found some fantastic looking butterflies.

Some photos then, please click on an image to enlarge, cheers.

There were of course, some potential mating activities too!

This last photo is one of my favourites, it shows the pair in mating mode, but whilst most of the photo/butterflies are in focus, the female(I would presume) must have fluttered her wings as i took the shot, which left a motion blur/effect to her wings. It could be a long time before i get a shot like that again?!

Fast forward to this last Sunday, the 26th of June. 

I went for a late evening trek to my patch in search of a White Admiral, and saw my 1st one at approx. 7.30pm, unfortunately it was once again playing hard to get, it didnt land at all, but just flew off out of sight.

The sun was getting low, so I had one last idea, and that was to go to higher ground.

A 10 minute walk and i was there, I stood up high on "Butterfly Hill"(this hill/area was named by my young son) because its where we have found a few butterflies these last few months. It was getting close to 8.00pm and despite me searching the area, i couldnt see anything at all. At the bottom of the hill, there is a very large Buddleia bush, and as I walked past that to make my way home, what should fly past me and land in the bush? A White Admiral!!!

I took some nice shots, and I saw 2 to 3 other White Admirals flying high over the rear of the bush, they were way out of range though, I didnt care, I was happy with just the one White Admiral.

Larkfield Lakes Part 2.

I returned to Larkfield lakes on the 19th of June, but still couldnt manage a Cuckoo photo! I did however catch a Jay(up very close) preening itself, after clearly having a "full on" bath. The Jay appeared soaking wet, and allowed me several shots before it took flight. Ive always admired the Jay, and this is the closest Ive managed to get to one, and been able to capture some nice shots.

As usual,  please click on an image to enlarge.

Reptiles at the lakes are not that easily seen, but with a bit of searching, I noted 9 Slow worms, 3 Common Lizards, and a very small juv. Grass snake.

Possible male Common Lizard?

Possible Female Common Lizard? which could have been showing signs of being gravid too? If you check out the 2nd pic down of her, she looks gravid to me?

1st time for me to see a Ringlet Butterfly too.

Long tailed Tits were nice to see, there were also Green, and Gold Finches, Song Thrushes, Whitethroats, and a couple of Nightingales.

Long Tails.

Another(out of focus) shot of a Nightingale!

And lastly a Whitethroat.

So, another good session was had down the Lakes, the Cuckoo still eludes me though!

Larkfield Lakes Part 1.

The 11th of June saw me take a trip to good old Larkfield lakes. Birds were a bit thin on the ground on my patch, so i fancied a change of scenery, and i also wanted to try to photograph both Cuckoo and Nightingale.

Painted Lady, Both male and female Banded Demoiselle, and Slow worms were also seen. I also bumped into that man Phil Sharp too, we both spotted the same 2 cuckoos in flight, and whilst we chatted for awhile, we also took some shots of a very vocal male Blackcap, all be it in poor light. Its always a pleasure Phil.

Some photos then, all taken on the 11th of June.

Both young and adult Nightingales were seen, although since it was the 1st time Ive seen a young/juvenile Nightingale, i wasnt too sure at first, but it appears so.

Adult Nightingale(missed the focus!)

Then 2 different young/juv. Nightingales, found a fair distance from each other.

Ist one.

And the 2nd one.

On to the Whitethroats, they seemed to be in good numbers too.

Young/Juv. Whitethroats.

Adult feeding young/juv.

Another nice Whitethroat shot.

Would this be a (long distance/heavily cropped) shot of a Reed Warbler?

Also some(poor light)shots of young Little Grebes, I saw four chicks.

All in all, a very good session was had, which prompted me to go back the following weekend. I didnt capture any Cuckoo shots, but you cant win them all. Part 2. to follow.

Stop the press. I went in search of photos of a White Admiral Butterfly this Sunday evening, and at approx. 8.00pm, my luck and patience paid off!!! I saw 3, possibly 4 of them