Return of the south-westerly

Lade - 0530hrs - cool, sunny, showers mid-morning, sw 4 - With the weather once more coming off the Atlantic there was a noticeable cooling of temperatures which led to a drop off in numbers in the trap last night. However, Copper Underwing was new for the year, while a second generation Toadflax Brocade was new for the summer.

                                          Copper Underwing

                                          Toadflax Brocade

Lydd - 1200hrs - Whilst slaving away at the allotment the House Martin colony on the adjacent housing estate went into meltdown when an adult Kestrel perched close to a cluster of nests. The male Kes sat there for half and hour and seemed to be trying to work out how he could snatch a quick snack. After a couple of feeble attempts at swooping down and trying to grab a martin on the wing he gave up while his pride was still intact and flew off to search for easier prey.
ARC -1500hrs - In company with the Joker checked out the waders from Hanson where a single Blackwit was the highlight amongst 50 Lapwings, 10 Common Sands and several LRPs. The Garganey count reached 5 dabblers.
Dungeness - 1545hr - A 45 minute seawatch from the concrete road produced little more than handfuls of Common and Sandwich Terns feeding offshore, a couple of parties of Common Scoters, a few Gannets, a Kittiwake and several porpoises. Earlier on PB had a Balearic Shearwater west.