On the Sunday I decided to take the camera down to Dartmoor in the hope of finding Marsh Fritillaries as well as some of the bird specialities.
First up was a morning visit to Yarner Wood, in SE Dartmoor. The weather was pretty grey but I persevered. From the hide by the car park, the resident Mandarins showed brilliantly, a nice start to the day. the light however was making photography a little more tricky.
I then set off on the nature trail, soon discovering a roosting Tawny Owl. After enjoying great views, it was soon dive bombed by a tetchy local Blackbird and soon departed...poor thing!
Carrying on the trail, a Roe Deer made a brief appearance and it wasn't long before I was hearing the amazing trills of a male Wood Warbler. He went on to show really well for the next half hour or so, affording amazingly close views and not taking breath once, bursting out a constant stream of song.
I pressed on along the trail, hearing a single singing male Restart and getting views of a couple of Spotted Flycatcher. I soon found my first pair of Pied Flycatcher coming to a nest box, however the light was shocking here and failed to get any decent shots. However it was great watching them for a while.
A little later a found another area holding several more Pied Flys which I enjoyed for quite a while. Here again, the light wasn't ideal, however did manage to get a few half decent shots.
My second destination was Emsworthy Mire, near to Saddle Tor, a little further west. Marsh Fritillaries were the target, however the weather was poor for butterflies.
No luck for the frits, however it was slightly eased by the simply stunning bluebells and scenery and despite the rather dreary, cloudy weather, there was a fair bit of wildlife on offer.
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Close to an old disused farmhouse there were at least 3 Redstart in song, however despite plenty of efforts to get views, they were very illusive. There were also at least 2 Cuckoo in song down towards the 'mire' itself along with a Snipe and several showy Stonechat.
The sun did make a the odd guest appearance bringing out a small handful of butterflies but before long the cloud soon drifted in once again.
In finished the day climbing Saddle Tor where the views were awesome, being able to see the sea looking to the south! I then headed back north to Barnstaple.
