Bodmin Moor annual trek. 4th June 2021.

 

Our Cornish "mountains", Roughtor left and Brown Willy right.

We usually go up to the moors this time of the year to check if there are any Whinchats. Every year they seem to get scarcer and we only spotted one female although she did appear to be feeding young so that was promising.

Team Whinchat consisted of myself, Dave Conway, Derek Spooner & Dave Thomas.... a motley crew!

L to R: Dave Conway, myself, Derek Spooner & Dave Thomas.

The weather was superb although it did cloud over a bit in the late afternoon but it was very hard going especially in the Moor grass tussock areas. Aching all over this morning!

I had great views of a songthrush singing its heart out at the very top of a conifer when we first left the cars but surprisingly we didn't see or hear any mistle thrushes.

 

Songthrush

 

 Dave Thomas & I had ventured up here last year after a break in the pandemic lockdown and we'd seen lots of freshly emerged Green hairstreak butterflies....this time only 2 individuals. 

Many of the insects were missing with one distant dragonfly, a handful of large red damselflies and a few small heath butterflies. No fritilaries!

Green Hairstreak butterfly

We had great views of a Roe deer as it broke cover in the vally bottoms and bounded along through the wetland.

Roe deer

Just before lunch we spotted a single female Whinchat but that was our only one.

Not long after we spotted a Hobby circling over us as we ate. Always high in the sky it was nonetheless fantastic to watch.

 

Hobby

Hobby

 

 

Lunch was taken at a little tumbled down cottage in a beautiful part of the moor.

After another hours hiking we turned back to start the long stroll home.

Cuckoos had been calling all day but none came close enough to photograph & a kestrel made laps around us as we walked. 

The best pic I managed on the way back was this newly fledged Meadow Pipit which was still being fed by its parents on the wing.

Newly fledged Meadow Pipit