Warm, dry and sunny, SW 3 - Most weekends I try to leave the car at home and engage in low-carbon outings walking out with Ted, who after all has a vast reservoir of energy to release, far more than me! However, that does mean replacing the species-rich coastal wetlands for a more mundane variety of habitats, such as arable farmland, paddocks, parks, copses, turf fields, and today, the foreshore and hinterland at Pirate Springs, Littlestone; we must`ve walked many miles this weekend. The weather having bucked up of late was fine, and apart from some light rain yesterday it was warm sunshine all the way, perfect for butterflies then, of which once again very few were noted; although this morning at the Springs we did see our first Marbled White of summer amongst a sprinkling of skippers and browns. Several Emperor dragonflies were seen patrolling the drainage sewers north of New Romney where at least two broods of recently fledged Reed Warblers were still being fed by the adults. The large acreages of turf fields hereabouts are heavily managed to ensure a uniform, weed-free sward and at first glance appear to support little wildlife. However, one such field has a marginal forage crop of phacelia complete with blue flowers that attracts bees and other flying insects, and most are bordered by hedgerows and standard trees attractive to the likes of Yellowhammer, Linnet, Whitethroat, Kestrel and the two woodpeckers. The open vista can sometimes lure down a few curious corvids and late summer gull flocks, and at this time of year Swallows skim low over the turf taking the few flying insects present with the adults occasionally settling to pick up dead grass to line their nests, while the juveniles seem to just enjoy being on terra firma, twittering away to one another. On the debit side this weekend, despite many hours in the field, there was no sign of any Cuckoo activity and Swifts were absent from the Littlestone seafront where formerly they have nested.
The natural history highlights for me this weekend have been found closer to home, in and around the garden infact, where this morning a Blackcap briefly sang from atop our birch tree; a first for the garden, but where it came from is a mystery, perhaps an early migrant on the move... Also, a pair of Goldfinches nesting in a neighbours plum tree have proved to be highly entertaining with the adults regularly coming down to drink at the bird bath and the cock bird singing loudly from various song posts around the house, including on a tv aerial. Since we moved here over two year ago we`ve cultivated a `green wall` and an `insect corner` in our back yard that has been planted out with nectar-rich plants such as lavender, foxglove, cosmos, salvias, verbena, sunflowers and honeysuckle to name but a few, and it seems to be working as this afternoon it was alive with invertebrate activity. The night shift continue to entertain with bats overhead, Hedgehogs in the borders and increasing numbers of moths coming to light including several Delicates and a Toadflax Brocade on Friday evening.
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