Nightjars, Quail and Barn Owls

An early start listening for Quail, A lay-by in wiltshire and I could here 2 Quail calling only a short stop but well worth the early start to hear these birds.

This evening a trip to hopefully see and hear Nightjars. We arrived early and was surprised by the total lack of any type of birds. As the sky became darker we started to hear the faint churning of a Nightjar but very distant. We decided to sit under a tree and wait and see if the birds would come to us, we where not disappointed. First a Barn Owl hunted close by then 3 Nightjars performed right in front of us and to cap it off a bird landed in the tree above us and started churning, what a wonderful end to the day in the company of these wonderful birds.

In search of the Large Blue Butterfly

Today a visit to a Gloucestershire hillside in search of butterflies.

On the road leading up to the reserve a pair of Redstarts where seen darting around the tree tops.

Out in the meadows a large number of butterflies were out on the wing which included Marbled Whites, Large Skippers, Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Small White, Red Admiral and around 15 Large Blues the butterfly we were looking for. 

I spent a few hours watching these wonderful butterflies some offer very close views.

A very enjoyable time spent watching these tiny but magical insects.

Local wildlife sightings

 Over the last few days I have been staying local to home observing some of the local wildlife on offer,

Some nice views of the local Water voles along with Otter and a Stoat are all great to see, my first Swift and hobby of the year seen today along with the local Red kites and Buzzards.

A quick trip out to a local wood produce several Pearl boarded Fritillary Butterflies such a stunning orange coloured butterfly. Other Butterflies seen included Marsh Fritillary, Duke of Burgundy, Dingy Skipper, Grizzled Skipper, Green Hairstreak, Small Blue, Common Blue, Painted Lady, Red Admiral along with several large Whites.