Sunday 15 June 2008

Braving the Pollen!

Saturday 14th June, Uttoxeter Quarry, 12:55 - 14:35

Well, hay fever didn't seem quite so bad by now, with the cooler weather. Walking through the field to get to the quarry made it return a bit though. Perhaps the antihistamines are helping, but they never entirely work for me.



It was about time I tried counting the number of holes in the Sand Martin colony. I counted 83 holes, but they can be quite deceptive at an angle. As I thought may happen eventually, a Hobby appeared flying over the colony. Another site tick for me, and I thought the number of hirundines here would attract one.

Sunday 15th June, Dimmingsdale, 19:20 - 20:50

As there appears to be a Crossbill invasion underway, I decided to try to find some of my own. Usually I've finished woodland birding by now, so looking for Crossbills will give another dimension to summer birding.

Not that I found any at Dimmingsdale this evening, but I did manage a nice selection, including Spotted Flycatcher and Wood Warbler. Pied Flycatchers were very conspicuous by their absence. One the young fledge they go unbelievably quiet.

There are areas of conifers in Dimmingsdale, not that you can tell from this shot. But I thought it would look good as the sun was getting lower in the sky.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I seem to have shifted my hay-fever this year by eating local honey every morning for breakfast.
Interesting blog - thanks for posting.