#ROYGBIV VIOLET

Today was the final day of our ROYGBIV challenge. See the link for more details. Yes. I know its not Violet, but you'll understand if you read on..
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I went to RSPB Old Moor today- I had a brilliant time.

First we (that is, about 10 of the volunteer Reseerve Guides) met up at the Farmhouse. Steve (one of the staff at OM) took us to see the small mammal traps he'd put out first. First we caught several Wood Mice! They were great to see and we learnt how to identify and sex them.

We had also caught two Bank Voles (see the pic, which i'll come back to in a mo...) Steve was just showing us how Voles dont bite or run up your arm like the Mice when he put his hand in the bag and he ran up his arm, over his shoulder, flew at me before bouncing off and fleeing into a nearby hole!

Ok, back to the pic. Voles urine glows in Ultra Violet light. Kestrels, unlike Owls, rely more on sight to feed rather than hearing. When you see one living up to their old name Windhover, the bird is not looking immediately for small mammals themselves. First it scours the area for Vole "roads". The voles scent mark paths which the Kestrels can pick up because they show in UV. Then the bird would wait for a Vole to scurry along. Thats why I used a Vole for todays Violet blip. Its not strictly Violet, but I like it anyway...!

Throughout the day we also enjoyed Pond dipping (damselfly larvae, Caddis Fly larvae, pond snails and a Water Spider were among some of the species we found), and looked at two species of Moths that Steve had caught in the Moth trap. Quaker and Hebrew Character. Whats I like about STeve is that hes nnot just about birds. When you're with him he shows you all the plants, trees, and insects around the reserve. I learn loads when I go on walks with him.

I also spent an hour or so in the hides too- Green Woodpecker, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Pochard and Linnet were among the species seen.

When I get time I'll also post all the pictures taken both on Twitter, Flickr, and on the Old Moor GalleryGallery. You can see the recent sighting at Old Moor here.

ROYGBIV- I've really, really enjoyed taking part in this challenge. Its been great fun both taking and viewing all the Blips. We will definitely have to try doing something similar again. Thanks to Ant for thinking it up!