Hepatic Cuckoo

Lade - warm, dry, cloudy, w 2 - A circuit of the local patch this morning delivered a wide range of wildlife, particularly around the ponds which was alive with common dragonflies, butterflies and day-flying moths, amongst many other invertebrates, plus Grass Snake, Marsh Frogs and Common Lizard.
  A male Marsh Harrier was hunting over the main reedbed, a Hobby dashed through and, for the third year running a rare `hepatic`, or rufous morph female Cuckoo was noted, maybe the same returning bird?
  Back home, another good crop of moths awaited in the garden MV with five each of White Spot and Cream-spot Tiger the highlights, and six macros new for the year including Common Marbled Carpet.
Dungeness - A tour of the bird reserve had a typical early summer feel to it with a build up of Pochard, Shelduck and other ducks on Burrowes, a post breeding flock of 100 Lapwings on ARC and several Hobbies over Dengemarsh, plus a Great White Egret at Boulderwall.
  Around the peninsula over the past week the stand out bird has been an elusive Rosy Starling found in a Starling flock near Hooker`s, closely followed by a pair of Black-winged Stilts on the Midrips yesterday, although typically at this time of year neither lingered. Honey Buzzards, a couple of Bee-eaters, several Red Kites and a Black Kite have also put in brief appearances.