First Whimbrel of `autumn`

Lade - cool, cloudy, ne 5 - A muggy night delivered a decent showing of moths in the garden trap this morning including a spectacular Privet Hawk-moth and an irregularly occurring Small Blood-vein amongst 32 species of macros.

                                Privet Hawk-moth and Small Blood-vein

  As the day wore on the wind picked up off the sea and the humidity dropped away making a circuit of the local patch a quiet affair. However, a few Swifts paused to feed in the drizzle over south lake and a Cuckoo continued to belt it out from the willow swamp. Walking back along the beach the first Whimbrel of autumn flew south towards Dungeness, uttering its distinctive seven-note whistle.