GuyF

A bit of a catch-up as I haven't posted anything for a while. However, I haven't been up to that much, the only outings I've had over the last few weeks have been a couple of heathland trips, both to the same place. I didn't see anything on the first visit that I didn't see on th second apart from a beautiful Grass Snake sheltering under some corrugated iron.
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On the second visit, it was a lot warmer...

Had a really nice walk at Durlston Country Park today, although it was cloudy for a lot of the time it was still very nice and warm.
I started off by heading to the meadows to look for any early Early Spider Orchids, there seemed to be some patches of orchid leaves around, but I couldn't find any flowers.
Down by the sea cliffs there were lots of Herring Gulls and Greater Black-backed Gulls, with a few Fulmars around. On the water there were some small rafts of Guillemots, although...

Finally got out and about today, I went to Wareham Forest in the afternoon, it was surprisingly warm, a nice change from the recent weather.
The heath was surprisingly quiet, a few Meadow Pipits and Stonechats but no Dartford Warblers. There were a couple of noisy male Pheasants calling and doing their wing flapping display.
There were some large groups of Wood Ants around, swarming over their nest sites, I was also very pleased to find a Minotaur Beetle walking across one of the paths,...

Hopefully I'll finally get out and about tomorrow, but for the moment I've still been stuck in and around the house!
Still, can't complain about the sightings though, today when the sun finally came out and there was some warmth in the air I saw my first Peacock of the year, although it was slightly tatty!
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Also a few Bumblebees around, including some which seem to be starting up a nest next to the...

Still haven't got out anywhere recently, the weather's been terrible.
However, over the last couple of weeks the pair of Ravens have become a regular sight in the area, breeding is starting to look like a real possibility! Unfortunately one of the pair seems to have a damaged wing, the bird can still fly ok but when it's landed the bad wing hangs down. The pair have been landing in local fields quite a lot, and seem to be collecting nesting material.
Here's a recent Raven shot, this...