Woodchat, Iberian & other goodies

On Saturday 2nd May, I was waiting for news on the Tawny Pipit at Landguard but as usual it had done a weekend bunk, so another one I have missed out on (that and Lesser Yellowlegs also didn't stay for the weenend either). However, news on a Woodchat at Dunwich, as soon as the location was pinned down (200 yards east of the toilet blocks) and it said was showing well I thought I better take the big lens, I decided to park at Dunwich Heath car park, as I can't carry the lens very far these days. I looked on the website where the charge was £4.90 and it would take cash or card so I parked up and got a shock when it said £6 and cash only, I only had £5 in coins only. So I had to change some notes and the walk west of the toliet block where I saw Matthew D. walking back he siad it was still there but distant. I reached a small group of people looking south and easily picked the bird, the fine adult Woodchat Shrike, perched on a gorse bush just left of an obvious Pine. It was a textbook example being a 1st summer male bird with chestnut crown and black and white plumage. It spent its entite time perched in this gorse bush and occasionally dropping down and successfully catching insects. As we looked 2 Hobbys flew over from the left, too. Nearby, I then had a look at a fine Stone Curlew sat down behind an electric fence, whilst the male bird was walking around just this side of the fence. I also saw 3 Orange Tips flying around here too. I then drove over to Westleton Heath car park and I could hear the loud but very mellifluous song of Wood Lark and was delighted to see 3 birds, fly close and very low over the car park flying south- east. I then walked over to the IBCC site, as I walked up I saw 5 Small Copper butterflies mainly on the path up. the fine Iberian Chiff-Chaff could be heard singing constantly mainly from the wood at the end, it was incredibly difficult to see, I managed a few glimpses mainly at the very top of trees by the edge of the wood and I couldn't pick it out at all when it flew to the trees near the path so I didn't managed to get any pics with my big lens on a tripod. I have found this bird often quite elusive unlike other observers experiences. Just by the path to the wood I sadly found a dead but still beautiful female Emperor Moth, a species I still want to see the adult form alive. I saw 3 Painted Ladies, mainly on the walk up and back, 1 briefly settled on the ground near the IBCC trees but typically flew off when I got my 180mm macro lens camera out. As I walked back, a Dartford Warbler flew around 100 metres away over heather and a male Stonechat perched on a gorse bush.