My hide building skills have really improved and consequently my sightings have dramatically increased as well over the last few days. It is just really special at this time of my life, when the weather is nice I have the freedom to go where I want. At the moment that is usually Dartmoor National Park. There are places only minutes from the road where you can sit amongst the gorgeous landscape for literally the whole day and never see another soul.  It seems odd to me, but I accept that I must be the unusual one,that people drive on to the moor, stop the car and peer around for a few minutes, get back in and the drive on…….. Dartmoor done!  Others stop the car, get their chairs out and sit and read the paper, never once moving more than a few yards from the vehicle.  Then when you do see someone actually walking they are in loud noisy groups dressed as though they were out to a fashion show with pink or white tops that you can see from a mile away!  Just a bit of thought and a more quiet subtle approach can give you so much more.

So, rant over. Yesterday as I sat concealed by the little fresh pool, the air was clean and crisp and birds were coming and going all around. At one point a couple of Yellowhammers landed by the pool and drank, then they flew to a stand of Bracken to me left.  The sky was bright and the sun reflected almost from their exotic yellow plumage. Why would nature colour a bird bright yellow? A Whinchat arrived, this was a surprise because I hadn't heard or seen any in this particular location before. They are lovely with their almost subtle pink colour and white eye stripe.  I took pictures even though it didn't come in as close as I would have liked but the effect shows how pretty the surroundings are.

There was a male Stonechat fussing around and he came in to drink as well but unfortunately I was looking at his youngster perched closer to me so missed the chance to photograph him. I have difficulty with male Stonechat, I just can't seem to get close to one, or close enough. They are spankingly smart in my humble opinion. Anyway, here is his youngster.

Another bird that can be a bit elusive are Linnets. They are noticeable in flight with their twitterings as they come and go but always keep a distance from you, or me to be ore exact. Therefore when a female came really close to me I was really pleased to get the opportunity to watch and photograph. It was perched on a gorse bush to my left before it flew down to drink from the pool. The first portrait is nice and I am thrilled with it. Female Linnets are quite an drab looking bird but they have some crisp markings on the back, and as you can see a flecked breast and forked tail.

Any trip out to the moor would be incomplete without a Meadow Pipit photograph and this is yesterday's offering. I was interested because a Pipit landed on the rock carrying a faecal sack from it's nest which it then dropped. This is a defensive procedure to ensure that the nest area remains clean and the presence of bird lime and droppings does not give away the nest to predators. 

You can see the little white package just beneath the Pipit on the rock. Pipits are variable in their markings and this is a well marked little bird, but a little bit on the "scrawny" side. 

As I walked back to my car after having a really great 3 hours I almost trod on a caterpillar that was crossing the track in the grass. I changed camera lenses for the macro and took a few photos of this Emperor Moth larva. The moth is a large one with very noticeable cats eye markings. I haven't seen one but will keep my eyes open in the future, it must be quite a spectacle. Large moth caterpillars are always very impressive.