As this is my first European summer in three years, I'd more or less forgotten just how quiet things get at this time of year. Once the temperature climbs above the mid-20's, seeing even the common species becomes an effort, let alone discovering any rarities. Still, I had a blue afternoon at a nature reserve south of Leuven earlier this week, starting with this female Holly Blue. This is another butterfly which is difficult to photograph as it spends much of its time up in trees and was the first one I'd seen well enough to identify since last year. The 'green team' tried their best to equalise the score by fielding two very close Green Sandpipers plus a Greenshank, with at least four Common Sandpipers and a juvenile Little Ringed Plover completing the wader contingent. The blues had one last ace up their sleeve, however, as I entered the final hide to find this splendid, male Kingfisher sitting in full view just outside. Oh, and the flower that was attracting all the butterflies in my last post turned out to be wild marjoram, also known as oregano. Many thanks to Gilbert for the identification.
