Night of the Tigers

Lade - warm, dry, sunny, light airs - A Jersey Tiger on the summer house wall by the trap was this mornings moth highlight, along with four Garden Tigers in the egg boxes. Also of note a Toadflax Brocade and a Small Wainscot.

                                Jersey and Garden Tigers

                                Small Wainscot

                                Toadflax Brocade

There was plenty of early morning insect action on the Desert in the warm sunshine and light airs with masses of invertebrates around a clump of brambles, including browns, skippers, Common Blues, Small Coppers and Peacocks, blue damselflies, Migrant and Common Hawkers, bees and bugs. Was also good to see a number of juvenile Common Whitethroats and Stonechats atop the gorse, warily keeping an eye open for Hobby and Kestrel hunting over the shingle ridges.

                                Grassland butterflies

ARC - Dungeness - 1500hrs - A wander down to Screen hide produced a surprise in the shape of a juvenile Cuckoo flying out from Tower pits and over the lake towards the railway line. About 200 Sand Martins battled into a brisk and increasing sou`westerly wind, while Common Terns came and went. Seven Little Egrets were already at the roost site on the far corner of the pit and a Marsh Harrier drifted over. All the usual eclipse wildfowl hugged the margins to avoid the wind.