Summer insects

Lade - 0700hrs - mild, dry, sunny, nw 2 - The brisk westerly airflow that has plagued this weeks weather abated overnight and early morning to deliver ideal conditions for a spot of butterfly hunting out back. The second batch of Common Blues were much in evidence along with Small Coppers, Gatekeepers, Meadow Browns and Peacocks, and I even managed to find a couple of Brown Argus. However, Marbled Whites were on last knockings and what on earth has happened to the second hatch of Small Tortoiseshells?
  In the moth trap last night there was only a pitiful 12 species present, the best being a Shaded Broad-bar. While species diversity has just about held up this year, so far, numbers have been woefully down.

                               Male and female Common Blues

 

                                Green Shield-bug

                               Shaded Broad-bar

  Working around the garden this afternoon I was distracted by a number of Migrant Hawkers sheltering from the increasing westerly wind in the lee of the fir trees and at least one Brown Hawker. The Herring Gulls went crazy at around 1400hrs as they detected a high flying raptor up in the cloud base, which with the naked eye looked like a buzzard heading south...
Burrowes - 1200hrs - Pretty quiet wader wise around the islands with six each of Dunlin and Common Sandpiper, plus a Blackwit present, although a Wood Sandpiper dropped in earlier in front of Firth hide. Nothing much happening on ARC either, apart from the usual wildfowl and Sand Martins.