Bee-Eaters in Trimingham. Sunday 5th June 2022

Sunday 5th June 2022

When Andrew Chamberlin found 4 Bee-Eaters not far from my doorstep I couldn't resist to get up there quick and hope to connect. This was only the second time I had seen Bee-eaters in the UK, the first was a fly past not long after moving to Trimingham and now once again in Trimingham my second encounter consisted of 4 birds !

They were very vocal and showed on a few occasions as they actively fed, the weather was awful and so images needed brightening against a dull grey sky. Fantastic sight to see and a big thanks to Andrew.

 

The Lodge.Bedfordshire.Oct 21st 2011.

I arrived mid-morning at the Lodge to look for the 6 Woodlark frequenting there. On arrival at the hill fort I was shown the birds by some birders already in place. They were to show reasonably well although most of the time along the distant ridge, they would at times stop and sun themselves before giving their position up again as they moved. They then flew to the new heath and were unviewable unless seen in flight. Whilst waiting for the return of the Woodlarks the nearby pines held Siskins and Lesser Redpoll. News on the pager of a Osprey at Brogborough had me stating to another birder how nice it would be to have that fly over! Unbelievably a short time later as I was scanning for the Woodlarks on my own, I turned around and surprisingly stared at a Osprey circling complete with fish in talons, it circled just the once they moved away. I only saw the Woodlarks once more in flight landing on the new heath but the Osprey certainly made my day.

Mini Dragons Up Close.

Whilst at Fowlmere in Cambridgeshire, I came across a large group of Common Lizards basking in the sun. They were quite mobile especially on approach, but I counted 15 on one occasion. Eventually with careful stalking I was able to get a lot closer and they became more reluctant to move away.

They were virtually all young except for two larger adults seen sunning. The colours were a mixture of browns but some had a deeper blue/grey from the back legs down to the tail. The size was no more than a couple of inches and when a Ladybird came into view it really put their size into perspective.

With careful movements and patience I was able to get just inches away whilst they dozed on and off, before moving to shade, only to return minutes later and resume basking. These will continue through to the end of autumn sunning themselves before getting ready to hibernate till the spring.

I had never had the chance to see Common Lizards so well before let alone photograph them, I had seen the odd sighting of lizards at Sandy before but never so intimate as this, I was chuffed to say the least.

Look how small they are against a Ladybird.