Covenham Res And Superb NNR.

Today's sojourn saw me heading to the Lincolnshire coast...a rare event these days,primarily to record Odonata and also to see what else the superb NNR at Saltfleetby/Theddlethorpe Dunes would reveal.
 On the journey to the coast i decided to drop in at Covenham res just in the off chance there might be a super tame wader or something similar.
 The best i could muster here were 9 Common Sandpiper and a single Ruff feeding around the perimeter and overhead 2 Whimbrel,3 Blackwit,Ringed Plover and 4 adult Dunlin which did a couple of circuits before heading for the coast.
 Other interest here was provided by 2 very vocal Juv. Common Buzzard and 11 Mistle Thrush.
 After making the short journey over to the coast and parking at Rimac car park i bumped into Chris and Josh and we all headed out towards the tide edge.
 The usual suspects were seen on the walk out,a hand full of Whimbrel,Sandwich and Common Terns out on the tide edge and a few flocks of mixed waders,but nothing to write home about apart from an unexpected encounter with a Bank Vole as it swam past us on the flooded saltmarsh.
 At sea some decent numbers of Common Scoter were moving up and down the coast and a single Guillemot and a few Grey Seals provided some interest.
 After spending some time scanning the beach area,i said my goodbyes to the boys and headed for the developing foreshore to start searching for insects,on route,a single Green Sand flew from the fresh marsh and juv Cuckoo flew down the dunes towards Saltfleet haven.
 As i walked this area,several goodies were seen which included several migrant hoverflies,the best of which was a new one for me,Scaeva selenetica.
 Other species of hover recorded included Scaeva pyrastri,Eupeodes corollae and masses of the common Episyrphus balteatus.
 Another notable species of diptera seen along the developing shore was the Dune Robberfly,with several individuals being seen.
 After making it back to the car and a quick change of footwear,i decided to explore the dune system and found several of the specialist species which are found here.These included Short-winged Conehead,Lesser-marsh Grasshopper,Dune Chafer and Essex Skipper,the Chafer being quite a scarce species nationally.
 As well as the profusion of insects on show,the wildflowers here are impressive also and included such niceties as Restharrow,Carline Thistle,Vipers Bugloss and Pyramidal Orchid.
 So after a good 8 hours in the field i decided to make my way home after a very enjoyable day at this superb reserve.

Juvenile Yellow Wagtail,Covenham Res.

Adult Common Sandpiper,Covenham Res.

Canada Geese,Covenham Res.

Dune Robberfly with prey,Rimac.

Dune Chafer,Rimac.

Male Lesser-marsh Grasshopper,Rimac.

Male Short-winged Conehead,Rimac.

Essex Skipper,Rimac.

Carline Thistle,Rimac.

Restharrow,Rimac.