Mid July and still roasting!!

Still no sign of any break in the weather and just too hot for birding and indeed the birds. 

A trip over to Chichester saw Curlew, Med Gull and Little Egret from the car and later at least one noisy young Peregrine on the cathedral.

Later still at home a number of gulls, four species, mostly Meds were hawking overhead - maybe a flying ant day.

Yesterday, Saturday, a walk around the Stansted conservation area produced lots of Gatekeepers, Meadow Browns and Small Skippers with a few of Red Admiral, Comma, Marbled White, Holly Blue and a single Small Copper. A Small Fan-footed Wave was more unusual with just two trapped at No 8 both ten years ago!

Still one or two Downland Villa egg-laying at the bottom of the bridleway path.

A few Marsh Tits and noisy Nuthatches were all invisible as were some noisy young Buzzards. The male Stonechat was very obliging on the roadside bushes and footpath signs; hopefully his noisy presence is indicative of breeding.

Today was first day out with the new camera.

It's going to be hard to adjust to lower quality macro shots after the G9(i) with Oly 60/90mm macro lenses but portability is key here. A cheap JJC lens cover and a semi-soft case arrived soon after and I think the non-Olympus flash diffuser might be the next purchase.

It's certainly better than the camera in my phone although the similar lack of eyepiece will take some getting used to. Not sure but might be better for the occasional digiscope pictures depending on light. Time will tell.

Friday to GWH

A quick trip up the A3 to collect my membership card.

Surprised that all the outdoor seating was gone just ten minutes after opening, but luckily it was cool inside.

Not much on offer today but the pond's loosestrife held a few bees of the same name,  whilst the pond had some feather-gilled newts and a Haematopota cleg.

Volucella zonaria and Cheilosia illustrata were the only notable hoverflies.

Plenty of butterflies, albeit the usual suspects. Strangely, no Painted Ladies today.

'Bonking beetles' have now replaced Swollen-thigheds.

Eriothrix rufomaculata and Common Green Grasshopper

TH revisit; moths

Forgot to check calendar so, arriving for 9a.m. for moth trapping, found no-one present. Then it dawned on me; half an hour early so plenty of time for a coffee!!

Ed and Zoe went through the two traps for myself and seven other visitors. Plenty of moths and good variety with at least one lifer.

Awaiting moth list.

Ed's list came through yesterday (Sunday) with the contents of two traps in two pages of a spreadsheet. Roughly 160/55 with Small Marbled and Acrobasis repandana being new.

(Knot Grass, Plumed Fanfoot, Buff-tip Pebble Hooktip, Small Marbled, Privet Hawkmoth, Small Ranunculus, Poplar Hawkmoth on Ed's Finger!)

Elsewhere on east side just Great White Egret, Little Egret and Grey Heron within yards of each other but little else.

On the scrapes two Spotted Redshanks, one black, but sleepy and too distant without a scope. Also two Green and one Common Sandpipers. Avocets were approaching 100 but with predation from Lesser Black-backed Gulls and an intruding Fox there was little chance of breeding success. The Black-headed Gulls must have been badly hit with only one or two juveniles.

Large numbers of failed/non-breeding Med Gulls are now a feature of late June.

Plenty of noisy Common Terns and three or four Sandwich Terns. No sign of the earlier Roseate but I'm certain I couldn't have found it without a scope.

At Darters Dip MF pointed out a Norfolk Hawker perched up and in the scope. I couldn't find any Willow Emeralds but a brief Water Vole was the first for ages. 

A few hovers sent to FB for recording. (Dasisyrphus albiostratus, Chrysotoxum verralli).

The start of 'bonking beetle' season and the first flurry of Gatekeepers.

A Paracorymbia fulva was irecorded.

PHP etc

The first night with plenty of sleep thanks to reduced temperatures, a nice breeze and quiet foxes; two of the latter cubs were layed out on the shed and garage roofs kipping in the sun.

Dropped car off to have rear tyre replaced; pretty close to illegal!!

Whilst waiting I walked down to the PD for  a coffee and bap where, luckily, I managed to be the first person served before a queue of 'mummies' and screaming toddlers from the adjacent play area!! Always worth carrying ear-plugs.

And so a very brief walk around the top half of the pond where there were lots of Bee-wolf, some Pantaloon Bees, some Sphecodes bees and a couple of Common Darters, all of which were new for year. No time for much else before the phone call to collect the car.

A brief visit to QECP on the way home was a mistake; time would have been better spent on the heath.

Home for post; just BTO stuff and junk mail, no GWH membership card yet.

No photos.

Morning at TH; slightly cooler

 

Coffee and sausage roll after a chat with MF and an inspection of the new reserve reception building which opened today and which looks so much better than the 'container' office and must be a relief to the staff after these recent sweltering conditions.

Below Comma, Small Skipper, Cheilosia illustrata, Macrophya rufipes, Rutpela maculata, Black-tailed Skimmer, Banded Demoiselle, Brown China-mark.

The usual butterflies, Pammene aurata, some mating Donacia/Plateaumaris beetles and a few other hoverfly species, Eristalis intracaria being the most obvious.

Bird-wise, just a raptor day with four juvenile Marsh Harriers in the air together, a noisy young Kestrel chasing a parent and a food-pass along the boardwalk between Sparrowhawks - not sure if it was adult to adult or adult to juvenile.

A noisy Avocet went out across the Solent and a few Swifts and Swallows were seen but otherwise very quiet.

The coastal breeze and some light cloud cover was very welcome.

Thursday.. brief and very hot local walk

 

Another hot day saw an early morning cuppa in the conservatory partly to escape the heat and partly to chase the foxes off!!

A couple of Swift high overhead and some noisy Med Gulls preceded a brief visit from a Hummingbird Hawkmoth which quickly departed when it found no nectar source.

At the pond the library patch now has a strongly singing Reed Warbler plus a second calling bird; one of this year's young?

Several Emperor dragonflies and a Black-tailed Skimmer on the small pond and, unsurprisingly, now plenty of Essex Skippers along the butterfly path plus this feisty Small Copper. A couple of Painted Ladies also.

This Blue-bordered Carpet was a nice daylight find - a common enough moth but one which I've only caught twice before the last being almost exactly eight years ago.

Sheeesh.....

A sleepless night with the bedroom still at 29C at 06:15  and the usual cacophony of foxes but, despite forecasts into the mid 30s and beyond for later in the day,  it still seemed like getting out for an hour or two would be OK.

An attempt to get to TH for some coastal breeze was aborted after 35 minutes having got no further than the Park and Ride. So, back into town where the Eastern Road was slow and on to QECP..... until stationary traffic at J3 curtailed that plan! And then around to the road south where traffic lights were on red at the new housing development. But eventually arrived at SHP having been in the car for an hour and a quarter. Luckily the AC still works well enough to keep things bearable.

A reviving coffee was followed by the decision to avoid the conservation area footpath and just wander through the arboretum and Well Head. Silver-washed Fritillary and a couple of Painted Ladies were the best on offer although a Nowickia ferox sitting on the Yew hedge was new-for-year.

The new bench in the shaded corner by the lawns was a very pleasant place to be with  Firecrest in the tree just behind the wall, a couple of very high House Martins and a flyover Green Woodpecker.

No photos.

Tomorrow looks like a stay in day.

A couple of days ago at the same site.

Mating Azure Damselflies,  Scaeva pyrastri, Hylaetus bee spp, Eristalis arbustorum, Villa cingulata.

The Downland Villas were over 100 strong along the main footpath; I've never see more than 10 (GWHM) so I irecorded them.