Record shots...
I had to be up at 4am this morning to take my Mum somewhere, and having dipped on the Turtle Dove at Snowlands Fisheries, Par on two occasions I decided to drop in and have a look this morning. This is a very shy bird. Even though it was high up in dense foliage it still spooked if I got within a few hundred yards of the tree, but I did manage a couple of record shots. You need to use a tripod for this one and keep your distance!

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Hedgehogs, Badgers and Hispaniolan solenodons...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8710000/8710604.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/10199015.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/science_and_environment/10149148.stm

We had a good day today and I took a lot of photos, but I have to dedicate this post to the Marsh Fritillary. We met up with the very friendly John Nicholls. He showed me “Micro-Moths”. I have never heard of them before and if I had seen one on a Buttercup I would have thought it was some kind of bug! He showed us: Glyphipterix Simpliciella (aka Cocksfoot Moth) and Micropterix Calthella. Now, there is no way I could get a picture of these Moths, especially hand held so here’s some links to UK Moths’ website for anyone who is interested. Amazing!
http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=391 and http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=723.
John went off hunting for Moths at Ninestones after our chat, only to return a short while afterwards to show us what he had really been looking for; Marsh Fritillaries. Not one, but two and copulating! They were beautiful. What a privilege. We took some pictures and then left the loving pair to it, under a leaf! We met up with Steve and Patricia a short while afterwards and went back to the site. By the time they parted they must have been copulating for about an hour and a half that we knew of, so who knows how long they were actually together. Roger told me this evening that he knew of a record of copulation, which was 9 days (I hope that’s right). The ones we saw looked exhausted today so I cannot imagine what 9 days would do to them! My photos are below, but treat yourself to a viewing of Steve Rogers’ images and information on the rare Marsh Fritillary at: http://www.swopticsphoto.com/
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. I took this one with my camera on Steve's tripod; Steve set up the camera and I just pressed the button!

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A short visit to Treskilling Downs this afternoon produced my first opportunity to take pictures of an Osprey. It was being mobbed by Corvids when I first spotted it and was even more distant by the time I got the camera from my car. At least I got record shots. I THINK it was a ringed bird.

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Bird conservation: Alaotra grebe confirmed extinct

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8702000/8702598.stm

I couldn't resist a few more shots today...
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Squacco Heron today at Snowlands Fisheries, Par. Sorry there's so many images, but it's not every day you get a Squacco Heron up the road from where you live, and I have to THANK Ashley for letting me know it was there. I am going to get that iphone Ash! It's a beautiful bird.
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