Sussex Emerald

Lade - warm, dry, sunny, nw 2 - 0630hrs -  A pretty decent night in the garden moth trap with 23 species of macros, five of which were new for the year including Pale Grass Eggar the `pale` form of Grass Eggar found only at Dungeness. It didn't look very `pale` to me, but apparently its a range distribution thing according to the local moth lords.

                                The two elephants

                                Pale Grass Eggar - a Dungeness speciality

                                Scarce (left) and Common Footmen

Over the lakes it was the third morning without any Cuckoo action, so I guess the adults are en-route to Africa after barely two months with us. Daft as it may sound I always wish them a fond farewell and trust they avoid the perils ahead, both natural and man-made - I just hope they return next spring, as it wouldn't be same without them, while we wait to see if any juvs emerge from the Reed Warbler nests around the willow swamp to keep the bloodline alive.
Dungeness - A stroll along the beach opposite Jarman`s confirmed that the breeding Wheatears have failed and dispersed, although on the positive side Skylark, Mipit, Linnet and Pied Wagtail were all feeding fledged young.

                                Skylark - an adult with juvs close by

  Another moth session at the Kerton Road Café yielded our first Sussex Emerald of the summer, a pristine male. The SSSI was in superb nick too with loads of grassland butterflies on the wing and plenty of Stinking Hawksbeard within the sward.

                                Sussex Emerald - a fine male specimen

                                A blizzard of Stinking Hawksbeard, Kerton Road Café

                                Aircraft pollution over the Dungeness NNR