Quail tale

To be honest, there's not too much of a tale to tell; I spent the morning on a section of disused railway line that runs south from Kilvington to the county boundary with Chris from Notts Biodiversity Action Group and Bill from the Est Midlands branch of Butterfly Conservation, scoping some work for the winter as part of the Grizzled Skipper project. We were lucky to see one Grizzled Skipper (I reckon this really will be my last of the year!), as well as finding a single egg, and a caterpillar - the latter was the first I've ever found (and seen, in fact). 

Grizzled Skipper resting on hogweed

Grizzled Skipper egg

We were discussing the works back at our cars, when I heard a Quail singing from the wheat field to the south of Longhedge Lane (Alverton), at SK 791408. It continued to sing intermittently until we departed. I've only actually seen Quail once before; this was a bird a few years ago on Grassthorpe Holme (on the opposite side of the Trent to Girton). It sounded like it was quite close, so I mimicked its song, and to my delight, it jumped up out of the grass (from somewhat further back than it sounded), and flew straight over my head, disappearing over the hedge behind me. Fantastic!

An early finish then allowed a visit to Collingham. There wasn't a huge amount going on on the bird front, but I found a Southern Marsh Orchid growing in the damp area along the footpath on the east side of the Silt Lagoon - the first I've seen here, or anywhere on the site.

Southern Marsh Orchid