The Run-around....

....a dragonfly, and a couple of chasers....isn't that a whiskey with a pint of beer?

Scarce Chaser. Marc Heath.

Well this isn't a whiskey with a pint of beer, but a brilliant image of the Scarce Chaser....nice one Marc.

As for the 'run-around' well....no disrespect to BT for taking JB and I on what turned out to be a run-around in Bowland yesterday with not many goals achieved and it wasn't BT's fault that the drive to go over the Cross of Greet road ended at the Road Closed sign in Slaidburn, but all the locations we called at on the day seemed to be brief ones achieving little in the way of sightings.....but this is just beginning to sound like PW having a big whinge I suppose.

From Christ Church at Abbeystead 4 Buzzard were seen. The news from the church is that not a single House Martin appears to be going to repair and use any of the nests from previous colonies here this year, a rather sad thing to have to report. In the Tower Lodge area, a pair of Pied Flycatcher seen again, a Garden Warbler seen briefly was playing its characteristic 'hide and seek' with me, 6 Grey Wagtail, a Nuthatch, Dipper, Mistle Thrush, and a Cuckoo heard. At Sykes Farm at least 12 House Martin around, and at Langden a brief and short walk produced 2 Common Sandpiper, a singing male Blackcap, and a solitary Siskin on the telephone wires.

Unfortunately the day ended here at Langden although as we drove to Slaidburn to find the aforementioned Road Closed sign to decide to visit Champion Moor where the only bird to   find its way into my black book was a male Reed Bunting. As always JB's records HERE will be far more comprehensive than mine.

Not the best days birding I ever experienced, but it was good to be Friday and good to be out and about with JB/BT.

Four-spotted Chaser. Marc Heath.

And another brilliant close up, this one of the Four-spotted Chaser....

Hairy Dragonfly. Marc Heath.

The Hairy Dragonfly is the first of the 'hawkers' to emerge and is found mainly in the south and west of England. The zig-zag flight of the male is to be seen patrolling their territories, unlike other 'hawkers' it has a downy thorax which is clearly seen in this picture.

Many thanks for this excellent trio of images to MH who never fails to achieve some excellent photographs which can always be found HERE