A Week at Loddy

I've spent the whole week taking in the sights and sounds of Loddy.... Well,,, in between mum and grandkid duty. Got some of the best Common Sandpiper shots i've ever managed. One came really close to the west path.

On a couple of those days, the action has been fairly good, with plenty of 'incident' to tog. Sometimes the action was too far away, but that's Loddy,,,, you pays your money.....

A nice bit of interest on Saturday, when Danny noticed that one of the Canada geese had yellow feet, and drew our attention to it. Turned out, it was a Bar-headed Goose, a native of India, and most likely an escapee.

It stayed at pretty long range, so my shots weren't that great. Most of the usual species were on display.

The North Dorset Streaks and Loddy Visitors

Not a bad week really! OK a couple of duff days, but overall quite good.

SUNDAY
Had a walk around Lodmoor with Dennis, and as usual he became besotted with Common Tern flighty shots. It started to rub off on me after a while, as there were not too many subjects about. Just Common Sandpipers which are there in number at the moment, but not coming very close to the paths. Anyway i did manage a few distant shots, but the flighty Terns were a bit of a flop, because i had the wrong lens on:-)

TUESDAY
I returned with the right lens on and got some reasonable Common Tern in flight shots. We had quite a productive hour or so, shooting from the west path in the afternoon. Many of our shots were of youngsters honing their flying skills, being taunted with fish by the adults. Amazing to think that in June they were still eggs.

WEDNESDAY
Was a bit of a disaster! Went to Ferrybridge to try and get a few Dunlin still in breeding plumage, but failed to get close enough. We did see this Raven, and that was the highlight of a disappointing day.

THURSDAY
Decided to take a trip up to north Dorset. Arrived at Fiddleford Mill early in the hope of catching some Brown Hawkers before they warmed up. Unfortunately, there was a rapid temperature rise, and they very quickly became a bit too swift for us old codgers. I did get some White-legged Damselfly shots, and this very fetching Red Admiral showed me a beautiful underwing.

Around mid-morning we left with no Brown Hawker shots, and headed for Alner's Gorse. Struck lucky in the approach lane, when i spotted a pristine Brown Hairstreak very low down. We continued around the circuit, and the soaring temperatures soon turned the butterfly haven into a virtual oven. We got chatting to a lady, and while we were talking, she spotted another. It flew onto some low Fleabane and opened its wings for our cameras. A result!

FRIDAY
A really dull day, so photography difficult. A pity because on yet another walk around Loddy, we were treated to the sight of three distant Black-tailed Godwit. The shots below are very poor quality.

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