Its been a long hot ten days mostly at home and mostly too hot for wildlife.
QECP is now open and with plenty of flowering plants (some above) - Yellow-wort, Common Centaury, Hypericum, Viper's Bugloss, Pyramidal and Common Spotted Orchids, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Mullein etc etc but little attracting any bees, wasps, hovers nor other diptera. The lower path, still walkable but with shoulder high grass, held lots of Meadow Browns and Ringlets all intent on finding shade whilst the Marbled Whites were happy to blunder about, feed on Knapweed or fly out over the crop field. No blue butterfly species and just Small Coppers on the butterfly slope. Also Red Admiral, Comma, White spp and Small Skipper.
Many Azure Damsels were on and around the pond with new tenerals 'helicoptering' up into the sky. Just this Emperor resting on reeds and a flushed Broad-bodied Chaser elsewhere. Bird life was restricted to a juvenile Buzzard perched on a conifer calling to its circling parent, two Bullfinches drinking by the bridge and a couple of distantly calling Firecrests.
Sadly, as with many places, no sight of any Swallows presumably a result of a catastrophic migration event in Europe earlier in the spring.
A planned flog through the grassy area adjacent to the Oxenbourne style was defeated by lunchtime temperatures.
That evening a flurry of calling Med Gulls over the house heading west.
A second, coffee-only visit to QECP a few days later produced just one flyover Siskin the first since January at Titchfield.
Earlier in the week a catch up with PW at Arundel was pleasant but devoid of birds. With the local authority ordering the WWT to close their hides and not allowing them to serve food and drink it was a backwards step after last week's visit with just a few Sand Martins, Buzzards and a single Sparrowhawk.
TH have just announced a controlled reopening in ten days for permit holders only which will be something to look forward to - hopefully the online booking system won't be flooded!!
PS above also Eristalis tenax and Silver Y
