Thursday 2 July 2015

White-pinion Spotted

Lade - 0700hrs - warm, dry and cloudy, w 2 - Thirty species of moths in the garden trap this morning with Figure of Eighty new for the year, plus a massive water beetle. The highlight though was a White-pinion Spotted, which was new for the trap site; I always like to get a `new` moth confirmed (thanks to DB and SC), and apparently there have been fewer than 20 records locally.
Over the pits pretty much the same set of moulting wildfowl on south lake, plus a few Sand Martins; could these be the first migrants...
The rapidly growing Great Lettuce is one of the most spectacular plants on the shingle ridges, and certainly the tallest, as testified by the picture below, which was taller than my 6` 2" frame by a good few inches.

                              White-pinion Spotted - new for the Plovers garden trap

                                Figure of Eighty

                                            Great Lettuce, Lade

                                Lapwing, Burrowes

St Mary-in-the-Marsh - This afternoon we attempted to photograph a pair of White Wagtails that have successfully bred on a nearby sewer sluice, but only had brief view of an adult which was out of range of the camera. Whilst there Tree Sparrows were coming and going taking insects from amongst the reed stems to feed second broods, while two Buzzards drifted overhead.
Burrowes - Lots of low islands have now appeared across this huge pit and already small flocks of  Lapwings were resting amongst the eclipse ducks and gulls, plus Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers, Dunlin and Redshank.
ARC - Many more ducks, swans, Coots and gulls from Screen hide and plenty more potential wader habitat here too. Also, watched a Grass Snake take a Marsh Frog amongst the water weed.

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