June...

A bit odd to be talking about June on Christmas Day, I know, but with stomachs and the dishwasher groaning under the weight of the day's gluttony, it seems like as good a time as any to chalk off another month in my review of the year. And the temperature outside is about the same too. Oh, a very merry Christmas by the way, and thanks for reading - I know it's been hard going lately with all this reminiscing.

Speaking of which, back to June and early in the month I combined a quick trip to Cornwall to see the long-staying Dalmatian Pelican of unknown origin with a return via Branscombe in Devon to search for Wood White butterflies - a rare species in these parts which were quite easy to find on the crumbling undercliff. A memorable day, not least as the car broke down, as if chiding me for twitching the Pelican.

Dalmatian Pelican, Drift Reservoir

A spectacular bird, though whether it will make Category A of the British list is another matter

Wood White at Branscombe - my photo of the month for June 2016

Some other rare butterflies featured prominently on my travels in June. A visit to Kent on business provided the opportunity to catch up with Heath Fritillaries in the Blean Woods, while Small Pearl-bordered and Marsh Fritillaries were on the wing closer to home in Dorset. A beautiful but fussy family with particular habitat requirements, all facing long-term decline, though the Marsh Fritillaries are at least doing well on the chalk in Dorset. A bit of moth-trapping in our Wareham garden also made for some family fun, a monster Privet Hawk being the highlight.

Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillary, Purbeck

Marsh Fritillary, Cerne Abbas

Heath Fritillary, Blean Woods

Mid-month  saw the whole family heading to Norfolk in a campervan for the weekend, and an opportunity to add Great Knot to my British list followed by a fry-up in the van - twitching in style! It was good to be able to combine some birding with some family time, though getting them up in the morning proved a challenge - the Great Knot was only seen thanks to an early morning lift from Dave Bradnum while they were all still in bed. Cheers Dave.

Great Knot, Titchwell Beach, Norfolk: bird of the month for June

Red-backed Shrike - a smart male snapped whilst in Kent

Privet Hawkmoth in our Wareham garden

Far and wide

Work and leisure have involved a fair bit of travelling lately - not exactly to the ends of the earth, but opposite corners of England at least, from Kent to Cumbria within the course of last week. Kent was a work engagement, speaking to the Kent Nature Partnership about some research we commissioned in Dorset to illustrate the importance of a healthy environment to a successful economy. A lovely audience, who laughed at my bad jokes and murmured appreciatively at all the right moments. It was good to be back and catch up with some old friends, including the Kent Wildlife Trust boss John Bennett.

Heath Fritillary - a fresh male

A full-bodied female

The striking underwing pattern of a roosting Heath Fritillary

Another roosting individual, bathed in sunshine

Whilst there, I found time to squeeze in a visit to one of John's reserves, East Blean Woods, which plays host to one of our rarest and most attractive butterflies, the Heath Fritillary. Reassuringly, good numbers were on the wing. The speaking engagement (at the stately University of Greenwich campus in Medway) was also just around the corner from the hedgerow chosen by a long-staying male Red-backed Shrike - not something you see every day - so I managed a peek at that too on the way home.

Heath Fritillary: an eye-catching aberration

C'mon folks, get a room...

Male Red-backed Shrike: a mobile bird which came reasonably close at one point

A male Red-backed Shrike is a very dapper bird

Last weekend saw us heading up the M6 to the other corner of our green and pleasant land for a family gathering to mark my big brother's 50th. He was down from Clackmannanshire, parents up from Devon, and sis up from Brighton so it was quite a logistical feat to get us all in the same county let alone the same room. An idyllic setting in the Lake District was a bit damp for much in the way of wildlife watching - though 48 hours with my extended family provided plenty of opportunity to study animal behaviour...

House Martin picking food items off the tarmac in the Lake District

Peregrines at Warton Crag

Ringlet at Warton Crag

Ringlet underside

A brief stopover just off the M6 on the way home in Lancashire did enable me to see my first Northern Brown Argus for over a decade on the limestone crags above Warton, as well as some newly fledged Peregrines on the wing. With just a month to go before Hen Harrier Day 2016, at least one pair of northern raptors have survived the attentions of their persecutors.

Northern Brown Argus, Warton Crag

Northern Brown Argus nectaring on bramble

Northern Brown Argus underside

A backlit Northern Brown Argus at Warton Crag to end a flying visit to the north west