Summer butterflies

Lade - warm, dry and sunny, e3 - A fine weekend of weather encouraged a few butterflies onto the wing, particularly on Saturday, with our first Marbled White of summer on the local patch along the old railway line track. Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Common Blue, Small Heath, Small and Large Skippers, Meadow and Hedge Browns and Small Copper were also noted in the grassland section, plus Holly Blue and Speckled Wood around the ponds.

                                Hedge Brown, Marbled White and Painted Lady

  Birdwise two male Cuckoos were still calling around the willow swamp where a female was also active. A male Marsh Harrier was seen grappling with a large Grass Snake that it eventually killed and flew off towards a local nest site.
  Called in at ARC yesterday where from Hanson hide a 1st summer Little Gull and a Garganey were the highlights amongst hundreds of common wildfowl, Lapwings, Coots and gulls. Also, Wigeon, Cuckoo, Hobby and at least six Common Tern chicks on the new raft. The Serin was still present on Saturday at Littlestone.
  Today, a circuit of the local patch produced a Great White Egret and the first wave of migrant Sand Martins of the return passage over south lake, along with a few House Martins. The Cuckoos were very easy to see this morning flying over the willow swamp calling. An afternoon seawatch from the boardwalk at high tide with a brisk onshore wind delivered a few distant Gannets and Sandwich Terns, plus scores of kite-surfers.

Warblers, stilts and a `new` site

Pas-de-Calais - mild, cloudy/sunny, nw 3/4 - A day out in France with Chris, Martin and Tony saw us on an early shuttle from Folkestone with Guines Marshes our first port of call. Despite being a little late in the breeding season we eventually managed a singing Icterine Warbler near the site entrance and at least two Marsh Warblers in song further around the boardwalk with more probables seen alongside Reed and Sedge Warblers all of which had young to feed so were fairly quiet, while Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Whitethroat and Cetti`s Warbler were still in fine voice. Also noted around the circuit: several Turtle Doves, Marsh Harriers and Buzzards, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Cuckoo, Jay, Garden Warbler, Long-tailed Tit and Kingfisher, but best of all a Short-toed Treecreeper that posed nicely on a lichen clad willow trunk as it enjoyed the morning sunshine, all puffed out to get the maximum rays; it showed typically dusky flanks with pale wing tips and even gradations along the wing-bar edge.
  With the sun out plenty of Red Admirals were on the bramble flowers along with a few Painted Ladies, Speckled Woods and Meadow Browns. We then moved up to the forest to scan for raptors where a few Buzzards and Marsh Harriers were noted.

                                Short-toed Treecreeper

                                Close up of the wing-bar and wing tips

  A short drive to the coast brought us to Oye-Plage and the hide overlooking the wet meadows and lagoon. The Black-headed Gull colony was in full swing and busy with juveniles, some already on the wing, where also nesting Avocet and Lapwing. A loose flock of 32 Spoonbills harboured a few Little and a Cattle Egret, plus Common Terns, Gadwall, Wigeon and Shelduck, two Turtle Doves, House Martins and Swallows. At the eastern end of the reserve at least 500 Sandwich Terns were split into two colonies, both with plenty of well-grown chicks. Also, another Spoonbill, several Mediterranean Gulls, Shelducks with a creche of ducklings, Shoveler, Egyptian Goose, Stonechat and Meadow Pipit.

                                White Wagtail

                                Fort Philippe

  We then moved further along the coast to Fort Phillipe where a Common Rosefinch had been reported recently. As it was mid-afternoon we drew a blank on the finch, but `discovered` a wetland area nearby, complete with screen blinds overlooking a reed-fringed lake and an extensive series of shallow lagoons, islands and broad grassy borders full of wild flowers - and plenty of birds! The highlights were two pairs of Black-necked Grebes and six Black-winged Stilts with young, plus Great Crested Grebe, four Avocets, Lapwings, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, six Little Egrets, Buzzard, Willow Warbler, Sand and House Martins and hundreds of dabbling ducks, Jackdaws and gulls. How we`d missed this site in the past is a mystery, but we`ll certainly be back during migration as the habitat is suitable for luring down passage waders.
  Another superb day out in northern France in fine company with plenty of laughs along the way and many thanks to Chris for driving.

                                Black-winged Stilts

Oystercatchers

Dungeness RSPB - humid, sunny, nw 2 - Following a hectic night of crash, bang and flash from thunder and lightening rolling in from the continent, this morning the weather thankfully settled down a bit; although it looked grim inland with heavy rain clouds skirting the Low Weald. A guided walk for RSPB centred on Burrowes where there was plenty of interest on and around the old gravel pit.
  Several pairs of Oystercatchers kept us entertained as they went about their business and it was good to see two well-grown juveniles on an island in front of Makepeace hide. Other waders included six Redshanks, five Curlews, four Ringed Plovers and 100 Lapwings coming and going. There was much Common Tern activity as the adults delivered fish to one week old chicks on the raft, while a solitary Sandwich Tern paid a brief visit in front of Firth hide. Hundreds of Pochard, Tufted Duck and Gadwall comprised the bulk of the duck numbers along with a few Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler and Shelduck. Also noted, Hobby, Little Egret, Marsh Harrier, Raven and Cuckoo.
  There was plenty of other natural history interest on show for the guests from a wide variety of plants, through pond life to insects such as damselflies and bees that emerged into the bright sunshine.

Black-tailed Godwits

Dungeness - warm, dry, sunny, light airs - A humid, still morning and everywhere you looked around the point there were fledgling birds: Wheatear, Stonechat, Black Redstart, Meadow Pipit, Linnet, Pied Wagtail, Whitethroat and Skylark were all noted either feeding juvs or flying to and fro between nest sites. The amount of invertebrate prey available must be astonishing on this unspoiled headland, if only there were more places like it elsewhere.

                                Juvenile Black Redstart

  Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls had chicks on the flat roofs of Dungeness B, two Ravens flew over calling, while the male Peregrine was tucking into breakfast on its favoured pylon opposite the Obs. A Marbled White butterfly on the wing in the moat was our first of the summer.
  At home the garden moth trap hit 30 species of macros for the first time this year with Light Arches the highlight, a species I rarely record.
  An evening visit to the bird reserve in blustery, cool conditions produced a few Lapwings, Cuckoo, Sand Martins and a Marsh Harrier from Screen hide on ARC, while from Firth hide on Burrowes a group of seven Black-tailed Godwits was the best of the waders, one of which was in breeding plumage. All the usual ducks and terns here too.

                               Black-tailed Godwits from Firth hide

Elephants in the trap

Lade - warm, dry and sunny, light airs - Perfect conditions for moths last night and it was no surprise that 23 species of macros were lurking in the trap this morning, including the two Elephants, Grass Emerald and Brimstone. It was all very predictable bird wise on the local patch, although good to see the two Oystercatcher chicks growing well on the scaffold island and several Cuckoos still present.

                                Elephant and Small Elephant Hawk-moths

                                                Dark Mullein

 The Dark Mullein spikes were up in great profusion in the usual spot by north lake, while the vandalised site signs have been repaired by RSPB, but for how long they`ll stay intact remains to be seen.

   Along the beach yesterday countless thousands of Cockles were washed up on the beach over a 100 yards section, along with several large Barrel Jellyfish the size of dinner plates.

Black Redstarts

Lade - warm, dry and sunny, sw 2 - At last, summer appears to have resumed after a fair bit of rain this past week or so. The welcome sunshine following a couple of dry days has encouraged a verdant flush of plant growth across the shingle ridges. The Viper`s Bugloss looks particularly spectacular at the moment with some fine stands on the local patch attracting plenty of bees and other invertebrates, while the first Pyramidal Orchids are in flower along the old railway track.
 

                                Viper`s Bugloss and Pyramidal Orchid

  Juvenile birds are currently everywhere: Starling, House Sparrow and Jackdaw by the shed load, plus the first Common Whitethroats, Linnets and Meadow Pipits fledglings out of the nest. Cuckoos are still active around the Willow Swamp and one or two Hobbies continue to be seen hunting over the Desert.
  The garden moth trap has been fairly ordinary of late apart from a rush of the migrant micro-moth, Plutella xylostella last night. 

                                Black Redstart family on the power station wall

  It was a similar picture at Dungeness, although with the addition of two broods of Black Redstarts keeping the adults busy around the power station boundary. Still unsure what`s occurring with the Peregrine pair, but it seems as though they`re just going through the motions breeding wise without any outcome.
  A late afternoon look over the pits in cloudy, cool conditions revealed at least 100 Swifts over south lake. The Littlestone Serin was again reported this morning.

Flaming June!

Lade - cool, cloudy, showery, sw 4 - The past couple of days have been much of a muchness with cool winds and showers keeping temperatures down. As a result moth numbers have been predictably low in the garden trap with the only new for the year this morning a Cypress Carpet. However, when I went out to switch on the trap last night it was pleasing to see a couple of small bats hawking insects in the lee of the fir trees.

                                Cypress Carpet

  A stiff breeze also kept bird numbers down, although its always good to see a few Swifts close at hand. This morning a Hobby rushed over the water totally ignoring the agile Swifts and struck out at a fair old lick across the Desert, nailing a juvenile Starling for breakfast! Currently there are hundreds of Starlings and House Sparrows feeding on insects emerging from the shingle ridges, ideal prey for opportunistic raptors such as Kestrel and Sparrowhawk, both of which I`ve seen in action this week. Five Sandwich Terns over south lake was also noteworthy today.
  The bay has been quiet all week with only a few non-breeding waders present such as Curlew and Barwit. At hide tide yesterday at least four Grey Seals followed the flood in to hunt flat fish.
  Locally there has been little change to the birding scene as you would expect for mid-June. On the bird reserve several Great White Egrets and Hobbies are present around Dengemarsh, plus three  Little Gulls and a Garganey on ARC/Burrowes, while the Serin continues to perform at Littlestone.