Carpets and Waves

Lade  - warm, dry and sunny, light airs - With the overnight temperature not falling much below 13C and a high humidity it was no surprise that the garden moth trap was at its best so far this season with 28 species of macros, of which seven were new for the year. Geometrids seemed to be the order of the day with plenty of carpets and waves, including Small Dusty and Riband Wave, Least and Galium Carpets, plus a couple of `spectaculars` in the shape of Peppered Moth (scarce here) and Swallow-tailed Moth.

                                Galium Carpet

                                   Light Arches

                                Peppered Moth

                                Least Carpet

                               Swallow-tailed Moth


  On the local patch there are already hints of post-breeding dispersal with loose flocks of Lapwings moving over the farmland behind the `mirrors` and increasing numbers of Pochards and Gadwalls on south lake. The Cuckoo was still calling frantically, after I thought it had departed least week, and two Marsh Harriers worked the far reedbed.
  This morning the lakeside margins were covered in the corpses of myriads of tiny flying insects that emerged yesterday in their millions (and that is no exaggeration), but nature is rarely wasteful, so a bonanza awaited Coot, Moorhen, Dabchick, Starling, House Sparrow and Pied Wagtail.
  More Sandwich Terns and Mediterranean Gulls have also continued to appear over the peninsula, some settling on the sands at low tide where this afternoon 75 Oystercatchers, 20 Curlews and two Bar-tailed Godwits were present.

                                Cruise liner crossing the bay


  An evening visit to the bird reserve in fine still weather conditions delivered the usual Marsh Harriers, Hobbies, Cuckoo, Great White Egret, Barn Owl, `booming` Bittern and much more besides.

                                Barn Owl with vole

                                Hobby surveying the scene