Big walk, pub lunch, huge butterfly

My last post showed some slight disappointment on the wildlife front, and ducks and swans were the only features. The moist grey morning on Saturday turned into a beautiful sunny day, and before you knew it, we were at the start of a long walk in the countryside. Well, not that long, just hilly. The damp ground soon dried out and it became suddenly quite warm. It actually felt like the end of summer rather than mid-autumn. Sad to say that it's been grey and cloudy here all day to today so make the most of the blue skies in the photos below.

As a small kid, I've always walked in the countryside with family, so Saturday was no different. As always too we saw plenty of wildlife on the way. On the way there, the first sighting was a group of Long-tailed Tits with Great Tits in the woods. I noticed their tendency to stay in large flocks. The next thing I saw was a little surprising. A Red Admiral butterfly was basking on the trunk of a tree on the edge of some woodland. I got a little bit closer and saw the sheer size of it. It was massive and very colourful, especially with the light shining on it. This also made me think; isn't it a bit late for butterflies. After all, it is now half way through October. I have to say that I was quite pleased with how the pictures of it came out.

I had a some delicious fish and chips at the pub. While I was eating, Red Kites flew overhead. I took a picture and watched them circle over my head almost as though it was eyeing up my chips. In case you didn't know, Red Kites were introduced in Bucks between 1989 and 1994. Since then, their populations have gone through the roof, and it's hard to go a day without seeing one. They are mostly a rusty red colour that is easily recognisable.

After lunch the walk seemed much harder after I was filled with food. The good weather continued throughout the afternoon and it was nice weather for walking. We took a different route back, so there was even more to be seen. In the Autumn, the countryside is full of empty fields. These are great for seed-eating birds. Unfortunately, the boring old pigeons that raid our garden bird feeders are part of this, but other interesting birds are attracted too. Pheasants are particular fans of this kind of land, as the picture of a female shows below.

The Woodpigeons on this occasion scattered when we got near them in their huge numbers. They all follow suit and they are gone quite quickly. Above we could hear and see Skylarks, and there were other unidentifiable birds feeding on the ground. Before Saturday, I had no idea how popular the seeds in fields are to birds like these. I also thought that pigeons rely on garden bird food. Obviously not! Overall, a great day out. When I got home, with a map measurer my dad worked out that we had done 8.4 miles. Not bad for a day's work!

Just to note that I might not post quite as frequently at the moment as I have GCSE's coming up and I need to focus on them. You may notice that most of my posts will be at weekends. I will definitely not rush posts though and will still have fun blogging.

All photos taken by me on a walk on 11-10-08

Cornwall holiday post 3 (other)

Welcome to the last post about our holiday in Cornwall. During the week I noted many different types of animal. The week was packed with walks and cycle rides, which gave me the opportunity to take pictures of things which I haven't seen at home. While our garden provides great undergrowth and wilderness, it doesn't have many flowers which attract bees and butterflies. Cornwall did have this, and I took some pictures of several types of Butterfly.

Top left: Speckled Wood, Top Right: Red Admiral, Bottom Left: Meadow Brown, Bottom Right: Gatekeeper

Some other interesting creatures were also seen in Cornwall that week. See below. The Dragonfly must have been injured by a swallow or something because it landed on the drive and stayed there for a bit. My uncle picked it up carefully and it sat on his finger. Eventually, after I got some pictures of it, we put it on some grass in a field. The beetle in the picture was just in the road when we saw it. The fungus was seen on an uprooted tree which I walked past. Finally, the dog belongs to the farmer who owns the cottage. They aren't very wild but they were lovely dogs. There was another one too, and they were very friendly.
Top left: Bloody Nosed Beetle, Top Right: Common Hawker Dragonfly, Bottom left: Hairy Stereum Fungus, Bottom Right: Kimmy the dog

Overall, I had a great time in Cornwall, and the wildlife made it that much better.