Lade - warm, dry, sunny, w 2 - It was good to get out and about around the local patch this morning in glorious summer sunshine. The Vipers Bugloss along the old conveyor belt line looked absolutely stunning following Monday`s down pour, as did many of the desert flowering plants. On south lake over 200 non-breeding Coots and Mute Swans covered one end, while large flocks of Starlings descended on the margins to feed on masses of flying insects coming off rotting water weed.
Moths on offer from the 23 species of macros in the garden trap included Elephant Hawk, NFY, and the pyralid, Small Magpie. A Mullein moth was munching its way through a plant on the garden border.
Mullein moth caterpillar
Plovers climbing rose in full bloom
Small Magpie moth
A sea of blue Vipers looking south towards Dungeness
ARC - A quick scan from Hanson hide yielded the expected Mute Swans, Coots, grebes and eclipse ducks, plus Cuckoo and Marsh Harrier. The good news for wader aficionados is that the water level is falling fast and islands are starting to appear, just in time for the return passage next month.
I had a Clouded Yellow butterfly on The Swale NNR this morning, so perhaps stuff is starting to come across the Channel
ReplyDeleteThat`s good to hear, there have been one or two others reported elsewhere recently, Thanet and Rye way, and still plenty of Painted Ladies about too, with plenty more to come I`ll be bound.
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