Around Grantown on Spey

 Once we recovered from the dreaded Covid we booked a couple of nights away in Grantown, not quite the same as Lesvos, but there were a couple of things we wanted to do in the area. Firstly was to see the Polar Bear Cub at the Highland Wildlife Park:

Mission accomplished!

In addition to the captive wildlife, there were some birds about:

Lapwing,

Willow Warbler,

and Barnacle Geese.

a Redshank was also seen on the muddy pools near the Tiger enclosure. (rubbish photo, so not posted!)

So other photos from the park:

That'll do for this post.... another Grantown post to follow!

Secret Ospreys

 On our way home from Caithness we popped in for lunch at an Osprey site that we know hoping that the Ospreys had returned and were nesting. We weren't disappointed. We of course kept our distance and we careful not to disturb them.

Also picked up a Willow Warbler:

A Week in Somerset - Pastures New 1

Following the relaxation in rules we took the opportunity to book a weeks self-catering in Somerset just 15 minutes from RSPB Ham Wall and the Avalon Marshes. We were out and about a fair bit, visiting old haunts; RSPB Ham Wall, Shapwick Heath and Cheddar Gorge, but we also visited a couple of new places that we had never been to in the last 9 years since making Somerset one of our favourite birding places.

In this post I'll concentrate on those two, of course getting in to the second half of July the birding is a lot quieter as most of the birds are not singing so much and the adults are trying to regain some strength after looking after the young ones. So they are much more difficult to spot and find with some exceptions of course.

So I'll start with a visit to the Hawk and Owl trust reserve at Shapwick Moor, adjacent to Shapwick Heath. It's a cracking little reserve with two hides, the first is tiny overlooking the heath, the second much bigger with plenty of bird feeders and shrubbery. We saw very little from the first hide; Buzzard, Kestrel, Grey Heron, Tits, Robin and Dunnock, but it was a good spot on a hot day to have a coffee. There you go, third paragraph before I mentioned coffee! Of course at this time of year there were plenty of butterflies and dragonflies about, but not always the easiest thing to photograph.
Starting with butterflies; a Comma,

 Ringlet,

 a couple of Swallows,

a Speckled Wood,

 Meadow Brown,

 the view from the small hide, with a Buzzard perched on the tree stump and a Grey Heron to the left of the woodpile

 and a Red Admiral

 We talk the longest way around to the next hide through a flower meadow, this was quite good for Dragonflies and Poppies.

 Black-tailed Skimmer,

 Emperor,

 Gatekeeper,

 this could be a Ruddy Darter, but I'm not sure.

There was much more bird life at the second hide because of the feeder;
A female Pheasant hiding under a bush,

 Chaffinch,

 Chiffchaff,

  Wren,

 and Willow Warbler.

In addition we saw a couple of Great Spotted Woodpecker flying through, plus Blue and Great Tits. There were plenty of Brimstone butterflies and no people!

On the walk back to the car, we had a great sighting of a Grass Snake:

The highlight of the day!
Finally a few Whitethroat turned up while we had a bench stop. (No coffee!)

Back at our 'cottage' we sat outside enjoying the Sunshine, a glass of Wine for Tina and a cracking pint (or two)  of Swords & Sandals (IPA) from Spartan Brewery! (Took a 5 litre minikeg with us.

The garden was quite busy with Swift,

House Martins, Swallows, Buzzard, flying over and regular visits from Pied Wagtail,

and aircraft of all sorts!
P51D Mustang,

 Airbus A400,

 and a DHC Chipmunk!

Monday at RSPB Ham Wall

With most of our local reserves still closed and being huge fans of Ham Wall, which is open, we decided to take advantage of the last of the good weather and go for a drive down.

We had a fabulous day, we arrived about 12:30 so not the best time of day for the heat but you have to do what you have to do!

We parked in the RSPB car park and walked slowly to the first platform and were rewarded very quickly with a Bittern flying over the reeds, it was fairly distant, so I didn't bother take any snaps, just watched and enjoyed. You don't get one of those down Old Hill Canal!

There were plenty of Egrets about, both Great White and Little...

So With hides and screens closed we wandered around and made the best of what presented itself;
Willow Warbler,

 Marsh Harrier,

 Hobby,

 Mute Swan with Cygnets,

 Damselflies,

 Cygnet,

 Whitethroat,

 Dragonflies,

Very distant Cuckoo!

It was a lovely day, we had a great chat with Paul a chap from Costa Rica, but originally from Rotherham! Who is stuck here and can't get home. We chatted about Costa Rica as we were there a few years back and various other things, it all felt quite normal. With social distancing rules of course.
I have now added his blog to those we follow, on the right hand menus. But if you can't see it go to: https://birdsforbeer.com/ for some great photos of what you can see over there and more.

We saw a total of 41 species at Ham Wall and our year list crawled up to 113.