Raving About the Blues!

After finishing work tonight I received a call from Matt Hindle alerting me that 2 Ravens were in the Reculver area, a very scarce bird here and a species I have only seen once here. After a few quick jobs I made my way over to the area where I met Matt and Anne Hindle along with Julian Perry. Matt put me on to the Raven which was distant, the other Raven flew inland before I arrived. It was in a newly ploughed field with some Carrion Crows and despite its distance, the size stood out easily. As the sun was shining I was going to try for a photo but with the farmers active in the area I decided to move on for challenge two, to see some more Long tailed Blues. I walked east along the embankment at Chambers Wall towards Shuart checking all the Everlasting Pea plants as I walked. Despite the sun shining and the temperature still quite warm I struggled to see anything except lots of Migrant Hawker and Common Darter. I met up with another watcher who was also having trouble finding them and had only seen a couple in flight. We walked back to the area he had seen them in and luckily a female Long tailed Blue took to the wing and landed nearby on some Everlasting Pea. I was soon in a position and managed a few shots before she moved off never to be seen again. I was hoping for some better images but these are the best so far I have achieved from the Reculver colony. I made my way back noting 1 Kestrel, 1 Peregrine c10 Golden Plover, c20 Wigeon, 3 Curlew, 1 Common Buzzard and c10 Chiffchaff. A very nice start to the week but it looks like the weather has other ideas in the next few days!

Female Long tailed Blue