Tuesday 31 May 2011

Martin Down and Sixpenny Handley - Tue 31 May

After a good morning I headed back towards home and stopped off at Martin Down, a reserve right on the Hampshire border. A decent walk around the site failed to produce any Turtle Doves, the main reason for my visit. However, there were a few birds about such as Yellowhammer, Linnet and Lesser Whitethroat...but nothing that unusual.
The strong wind and cloudy conditions meant that there were not as many butterflies on the wing as I was hoping. Loads of Small Heaths were flitting around and were by far the commonest butterfly. A couple of Common Blues were seen and a cracking Adonis Blue was also present. After spending well over an hour at Martin Down I drove south-west to Sixpenny Handley.
Parking by the water pumping station I was hoping to hear the Quail that had been in the area for a week or so, but again I drew a blank with the wind not helping. A Red-legged Partridge was feeding on the roadside and several Skylarks were singing and a pair of Lapwings were also present. A Small Blue was the only butterfly I saw so with nothing happening I took that as a sign to get on home so started back at 4.00pm. Just as I was leaving Sixpenny Handley a Red Kite flew over the car.

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