Various Wanderings

Have not posted anything for a while so I thought it was catch up time.
Have not been doing that much birding over the past few weekends although I still have tried to get out and about.
On the 28th May I popped along again to try and see the elusive Turtle Doves that show on and off at Aqualate Mere but I have still to see them but there is always next time as they say, was a rather windy and dull day so I would rather be huddled down than calling from some tree top. I did hear a Cuckoo though, birds that were seen were White Throat, Willow Warbler with young near the hide, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Reed Warbler various ducks and I think what was a young Pheasant.

Great Spotted Woodpecker Aqualate Mere

Juv Pied Wagtail Aqualate Mere

Moorhen Family

Young Pheasant

The following day was spent trying some where new, settled on Copmere on the map it looked like a promising place a public foot path and road running round a large pool with smaller pools and fields surrounding it.
Well I can safely say don't bother trying here, its not worth the petrol.
The only things worth pointing the camera or binoculars at were a few Damselflies and a old water mill.

Old water mill at Copmere

Common Blue Damselfly

The weekend of the 04/05 Jun were a cultured weekend going around Natural Trust properties, have to try and get our monies worth out of the membership.
Did manage a quite divert on the Saturday on the way to Cannons Ashby to DRIFT to get a shot of my name sake aka a gronk in the form of 08913 in a unique Malcolm Logistics colours.
At the property I did see this really nice wasp, well nice to me not the spiders it was hunting.

Class 08 shunter aka gronk number 08913 at DRIFT, Daventry

Ruby Tailed Wasp

The following day was spent at Dunham Massey, a really nice place and well worth a visit if just for the park land. With plenty of Fallow Deer and bird life there . We managed to see a family of Nuthatch feeding on the ground which was a first, a couple of Tree Creeper plus others, made me want my bigger lens.

Fallow Deer Dunham Massey