Orchids, Butterflies and Close Encounter with a Fox.

 Aware that I wasn't alone, I looked up to see a fox only yards away watching me inquisitively but with caution.  It had found a sunny spot in a sea buckthorn clearing and was indulging in a spot of sunbathing.  It was quite happy to watch me and didn't seem to see me as a threat until I moved slightly to try and get a better view when it retreated into the undergrowth and continued to study me from the security of the thorns.  It was an absolute joy to experience this close encounter.

I had decided to have a walk through the dunes at Cleethorpes to check out the orchids and to do a butterfly and bird count.  I had been full of doom and gloom when I was last here earlier in the year when the scene was one of devastation.  Scrub clearance, as part of Lincolnshire's Dynamic Dunscape Project, had been undertaken leaving the area not looking its best.  However my despondency had been totally misplaced as the dunes were looking stunning and the orchids perhpaps better than ever.  There are two main types of orchid here: common spotted and southern marsh and also their hybrids.  As if the identification of some of our orchids was not difficult enough, some species have a habit of cross-pollinating with each other to produce hybrids.  These hybrids are often fertile and can continue to cross not only with each other, but also back cross with either of the parents.  The result is a 'hybrid swarm', where a population at a single site can show more or less a full spectrum of intermediates from one original parent to the other.  Marsh and spotted orchids seem most prone to this behaviour and their hybrids are usually a tall and stately plant with a large number of flowers in the spike.  This happens here in Cleethorpes Dunes but also at Saltfleetby/Theddlethorpe NNR.  A challenge to identify they may be, but in Cleethorpes Dunes they make a tremendous display.

As well as my encounter with the fox and the enjoyment of the orchids I found 25 bird species and 8 butterfly species so, an excellent afternoon.

To view large, Please click on an image

Cleethorpes Dunes

Cleethorpes Dunes

Common Spotted orchid/Southern Marsh hybrid

Common Spotted orchid/Southern Marsh hybrid

Common Spotted orchid/Southern Marsh hybrid

Common Spotted orchid/Southern Marsh hybrid

Common Spotted orchid/Southern Marsh hybrid

Common Spotted orchid/Southern Marsh hybrid

Common Spotted orchid/Southern Marsh hybrid

Common Spotted orchid/Southern Marsh hybrid

Fox

Fox

Fox

Meadow Brown

Small Tortoiseshell

Small Tortoiseshell

A Suprise in the Woodland Burial Ground.

 Again the sun came out after lunch following a gloomy morning, however today it very quickly clouded over and later turned to rain.  This meant very few butterflies:

• Whites 4
• Speckled Wood 3
• Peacock 1
• Meadow Brown 1

The highlight of the walk, however was the fox.  As I turned in through the gate a fox was lying in a very relaxed way on the grass and wasn't fazed by me at all.  It sat up as soon as it saw me and allowed me to take some shots and then lay down again.  As I moved forward, though, it stood up and moved into the sanctuary of the trees.  A very pleasant encounter.

To view large, please click on an image.

Displaying Grebes at the Country Park

I decided on another visit to the country par this afternoon, as the weather had brightened up somewhat and the sea fret burnt off.  I still wanted photographs of the water vole on the water cress so set off full of anticipation.  On my way there I was bowled over with the mix of colours provided by the bright greens of the hawthorn, brilliant yellows of the amazing displays of daffodils and pinks of the cherry blossom. Again, I didn't succeed with the voles but as I arrived I spotted one of the foxes that are resident on the island at the park.  It stood as bold as brass eyeing me confidently before turning and wandering off into the undergrowth.  Next up was a sparrowhawk sitting in a tree above the car park.  A bit far away for my 100-400 but I managed shots nonetheless.  Not only were the chiffchaffs singing again today, but I was successfully captured on on 'film'!  On the lake the grebes were in evidence and displayed well, although somewhat distant, and a coot was busily carrying nesting material.  As I returned to the car I came across a couple of unusually  confiding oystercatchers which allowed several minutes of excellent photography.  A wonderful couple of hours.

To view large, click on an image.

Chiffchaff

Fox

Fox

Great crested Grebe

Displaying Grebes

Displaying Grebes

Oystercatcher

Oystercatcher

Peacock.

Pussy Willow.

Sparrowhawk