Swifts

New Romney - warm, dry and sunny, SW 4 - The past couple of nights have yielded good numbers of moths coming to light in the garden trap, particularly Monday morning when my first 50 species haul was recorded. Wormwood Pug and Canary-shouldered Thorn were both new for the site, while Privet and Elephant Hawk-moths hit double figures. The overnight temperature between the two exceptionally hot days did not fall below 20C with a peak of 33C on Tuesday afternoon, and last night`s thunder and lightening show, while spectacular, failed to deliver any worthwhile rain.

                                  Wormwood Pug

                                  Canary-shouldered Thorn

Whilst clearing the trap around 0600hrs this morning a steady passage of Swifts was of note trickling over the town heading south in the fresher, breezier and overcast weather conditions. A little later on the local sparrows alerted me to a Hobby racing overhead, the first from the garden. A midday walk along Littlestone sea front at low tide produced 10 Mediterranean Gulls within a large mixed gull flock, hundreds of Oystercatchers and Curlews on the sands and several Swifts zooming around the old water tower.

                                 Mediterranean Gulls, Littlestone