Slowing it down (part 1)

After all that rushing around trying to add new species to my year and patch lists, I decided to have a relaxing couple of days taking pictures in and around Couvin, in the very south of Belgium.  At least, that was the idea but I hadn't considered that the unusually cold and wet spring might have delayed the emergence of our butterflies, and there were hardly any to be seen.  This pair of Wood Whites, seen right at the end of my first hike, were one of just seven species I managed to see, about half of what I would expect at this time of year.

Thankfully, though, there were plenty of other things to entertain me, including this rather interesting Mediterranean Spotted Chafer Beetle.

Although not the main purpose of the trip, I was also hoping being in the south would add a few new birds to my year list and it didn't take long to hear my first Wood Warbler singing in the distance.  It was way off in the forest, though, the other side of a stream, and the second, third and fourth ones I heard were equally impossible to see.  It was thus starting to get rather frustrating when I eventually found a very hyperactive individual right next to the path, and spent a wonderful half hour watching it sing and constantly changing its song perch, making it almost impossible to photograph.

In the evening, I made another walk around Mariembourg, where I was staying, finding a pair of Red-backed Shrikes, with the added excitement of watching a Peregrine successfully plunge into a flock of Starlings heading to roost!

BE #201 (Wood Warbler, Red-backed Shrike)

BRU #108