April 2016 - part 2
16th April 2016 - (Saturday, Szombat)
Teréz's photos from her solo visit:
19th April 2016 - (Tuesday, Kedd)
My lunchtime 2-hour visit was on a sunny day, but the strong wind made insect and flower photography rather difficult. However, I seem to have captured 2 new beetle species (a weevil, and a longhorn), and also a few butterflies (Wood White, Grizzled Skipper, Dingy Skipper), and the Speckled Yellow moth. Species seen but not photographed were: Orange Tip (male), an unidentified Fritillary (probably Queen of Spain), and what appeared to be a Grass Snake that was basking under the mass of Bramble near Rock Bath 2. A large flock of Starling made a few flights over the site, and the first Nightingale was giving a concert in the usual place, next to the airfield road.
26th April 2016 - (Tuesday, Kedd)
Our first visit since last Tuesday (19th April), and as we suspected, the water level had dropped, despite some rain falling while we were away. Although there was sadness that the water was, once again, slipping away, we were able to record lots of interesting things due to the sunny conditions. There was quite a strong, icy wind blowing across the site, though, with conditions on the top rim of the SQ being quite challenging. Butterflies missed by the camera were: Scarce Swallowtail and Orange Tip (male). We observed the hunting activities of water beetle larvae, realising how traumatic there presence is for other forms of aquatic life. No sign of the Nightingale from last week, but we recorded one or two new species/things, and welcomed back many more.
Here are Teréz's photos from the same day (26th April 2016):
28th April 2016 - (Thursday, Csütörtök)
Yesterday's quite steady rain only served to water the plants. Instead of raising the water level, we found that the level had dropped even further. This can only mean that the land up above the SQ (Pipis-hegy airfield and its surrounds) is now so dry that it is just soaking up the rain water like a sponge. It will not be long before we need to start rescuing the tadpoles again. Apart from the water disappointment, many interesting things were seen and photographed today. In addition, we heard the calls off: Nightingale, Cuckoo, and a Golden Oriole.
Teréz's photos from the same day (28th April)
29th April 2016 - (Friday, Péntek)
Teréz visited the SQ for a short while with Robika, who found an empty egg shell of a: Song Thrush - Turdus philomelos - Énekes rigó. Although Robika wasn't told the real reason as to why it was empty, and not in a nest, we suspect that it fell victim to one of the many local Jays - Garrulus glandarius - Szajkó.
30th April 2016 - (Saturday, Péntek)
Here are the photos from Teréz's solo visit: