Uplifting

Rich dropped me off on the way back from taking the van in for a service. We both saw the barn owl as we pulled up in the car park. I was then off on my own. 

I found a lovely rock chair to sit on for a while in the sunshine. It was there that I heard and located a drumming snipe (a first for me on this side of the moors) and spotted a buzzard and red kite. The lapwings were active along with the meadow pipits and willow warblers. 

On the way down, a bird caught my eye - dark with a white chest flying out of the beck. Now, that could have been a dipper but I wouldn't put it in the right kind of stream for that and it seemed to fly off too high - or maybe a ring ouzel which is coming up for the time they should be passing through here.

The mining bees are all exploding out of the ground and whilst I was watching them, a dark and small butterfly flitted by and came to rest, now glowing emerald - my first green hairstreak of the year.

All in all, a very uplifting outing.