It was a bright clear and warm sunny morning when Roger came to pick me up to go to Donna Nook on the Lincolnshire Coast. As we pulled into the car park Mark was there waiting for us and we were soon organised and heading into the dunes hoping to photograph green hairstreak butterflies, one of our earliest species to emerge. Roger and I had photographed this fabulous little butterfly before, so it wasn't long before we found the first. They are tiny insects, no larger than a thumb nail and they only occur in a small area of the dunes at this location. Once we found one, others soon appeared, though only half a dozen or so as it is still early for them. We had an excellent couple of hours trying for the perfect shot. They are very territorial and usually come back to the same spot so it is worth waiting rather than chasing after them.
Donna Nook is a site where the sea defences are to be breached as a flood defence measure. A new sea wall has been constructed inland of the original one and flood waters will be allowed in to the new lagoon. Already there are gravelly scrapes and at least six avocets were busily feeding here. This is excellent news and hopefully, in time, they will breed. We also saw redshank and shelduck here and in the dunes my first cuckoo and whitethroat of the year.
An excellent day.
To view large, click on an image.
No comments:
Post a Comment