I tried twitching some Dotterel yesterday as it is peak time for their migration and various groups have been turning up in Wallonia, with this one particular area on the border between the provinces of Hainaut and Namur having one to five birds for the past ten days or so. Unfortunately, the weather made it virtually impossible to locate them, although it did provide some nice views as you can see above. At one point, I thought I heard their calls, but they are virtually impossible to find amongst the stubble unless they happen to fly and I'd underestimated just how much suitable habitat there was for them to hide in. I did get a nice, second-year male Hen Harrier hunting as a consolation prize, though, and there were lots of Whinchats and Yellow Wagtails around, with a few Yellow-legged Gulls amongst a large flock of Lesser Black-backs.
As there wasn't much other than rainbows to take pictures of, here's another insect from my last day out butterflying near Liège. The Dutch call this the 'pyjama bug', which is so much better than the English name of Striped Shield Bug.
