April 2007

A trip up to Edinburgh at the beginning of the month fortuitously coincided with the arrival of Lothian's first ever Lesser Scaup.

1st summer male Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)

It was a very confiding individual and spent its time with the Tufted Ducks on St. Margarets Loch, just opposite Holyrood Palace in the centre of Edinburgh.

1st summer male Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)

Another rare invertebrate I photographed on the same weekend was the Southern Damselfly. There are a couple of thriving colonies on the Gower peninsula.

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

Back in Cheshire, I continued visiting Marbury Country Park throughout the month in the hope of getting photos of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, but with no luck. This was partly due to the woodlands being shrouded in thick fog on several of the mornings. Although I enjoyed the ethereal, almost monochrome, beauty of the woods on these occasions, the light conditions were totally useless for bird photography.

Marbury Country Park on a misty morning

Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)

Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)

Insect activity started to pick up on the warm days towards the end of the month...

Bombus pratorum drinking nectar from a Green Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens) flower

Peacock (Inachis io)

March 2007 2007 Diary Index May 2007