That time of year ....

I'm experiencing the expected "slump" that July often brings at the moment, although in truth the Spring wasn't great shakes personally.
I suppose the two Common Crossbills that headed SSE quite low over the reed bed walk at Martin Mere WWT were the weekend's highlights; 4th and 5th reserve record apparently (MMWWT website). There were a few Black-tailed Skimmers along the path in the mid-morning sunshine, a couple of Four-spotted Chasers and numerous Common Blue Damselflies.
We popped into Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB on the way home. A juvenile Yellow Wagtail may well have been of local produce after my sightings involving a male repeatedly dropping into a nearby crop during surveys there this Spring. Little else there apart from a few Avocets and a pair of Arctic Terns.
I checked Marshside for Wood Sandpiper yesterday morning; given the influx of this graceful wader over the weekend I was a little surprised in the lack of local reports. Very wet, grassy and quiet there. Plenty of water in contrast to the previous two summers, in fact the warden told me they can't get enough OFF the reserve at the moment!
Otherwise it's been a few wandering young birds in the hills of Dumfries and Galloway for me: Redstarts, Whinchats and Stonechats. Red Kites everywhere in the east of the county of the moment and easy to see hanging over the A75 from the car (if you dare take your eyes off the road for a split second that is).


I recorded this Goshawk at distance in Scotland recently ........



Always a privilege to watch this "Phantom of the forest" on the rare occasion the opportunity arises.


The weather's been in the news a lot of late with flash-flooding and the lifting of hosepipe bans. It can change pretty quickly in the uplands too ........

Bog Asphodel (I think!)

Heath Spotted Orchid (thanks to Craig Shaw and Gus  McNab for ID).

I'm always nervous about identifying orchids (or just flowers in general!), but there were quite a few of these in the damper areas of the moorland I walked near Wigtown the other day.


While I'm out of my ID comfort zone (a place I often reside in); many thanks to Dave McGrath and Pete Marsh for correcting some of my moth identifications. Please carry on!