Marsh rares

Two years ago, I saw my first Marsh Fritillary at their one and only colony in Flanders.  Last year's focus on a birding big year didn't leave much time for anything else so I was keen to return there this month to see if the Marsh Fritillaries were still there and try to get some better pictures.  The first one I saw was similarly ragged but I eventually counted at least five different individuals and even saw a couple mating.

I'd picked what was probably the hottest day of the year, though, so apart from dragonflies and a few flowers, there was very little else to see.

Ragged Robin

Heathland highlights

Tree Pipit by Theo Hortensius

I made two separate trips to Kalmthout Heath over the weekend.  Saturday was very hot and it was rather quiet as a result, although there were Stonechats everywhere, with the usual heathland specialties of Tree Pipit and Woodlark also singing.  Despite checking lots of trees, I was unable to find a day-roosting Nightjar, so I returned there on Sunday evening to hear them singing.  The first one started churring at 21:43 and I even got to see the silhouette of one in flight with what little light remained at 22:00.  Whilst waiting for the Nightjars to get going, I managed to locate a singing Pied Flycatcher and enjoyed watching two Hobbies hunting low over the heather for what seemed to be moths, although the first dragonflies were already on the wing.

Berlin breeders

Last weekend, I returned to the wonderful Moorlinse Buch in Berlin, which I discovered only last October. The only geese around were Greylags but the winter visitors had been replaced by plenty of breeding Red-necked Grebes.  Some of the nests were ridiculously close to the shore, and the above picture was taken with my mobile phone!  There were lots of singing Nightingales too, with a hunting Marsh Harrier, displaying Goldeneyes, migrating Swallows and a single, male Garganey.  In some scrubby woodland nearby, I got great looks at a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and found both Common Redstart and Spotted Flycatcher, whilst a marshy area surrounded by reeds was full of calling Blue-headed Wagtails and at least six Wood Sandpipers.  This is fast becoming one of my favourite city birding sites and is well worth a full morning if you are ever in Berlin.