Birding and other distractions

Starting at Stodmarsh we called in first at the Reedbed hide where birds included three Green Sandpiper and one Common Sandpiper. Then from the Lampen Wall I managed to get a brief view of juvenile Purple Heron which dropped into the marsh midway between the Tower and Marsh hides. We then watched the area from the Tower hide whereupon the heron flew out after about 20 minutes and headed towards the river, landing out of view. No further sign after that unfortunately. Walking back several Bullfinch were heard and a family of Garden Warbler were fairly vocal with a couple seen quite well. Back at the far park a smart Painted Lady was feeding on burdock.   We arrived at Oare in time for high tide, with 2-3000 Black-tailed Godwit on the east flood. There was no sign of yesterday's Gull-billed Tern though the moulting Bonaparte's Gull was present for its 11th year at Oare. A Hobby was sitting on a mud spit at the back of the flood and has reportedly taken Dunlin in recent...

A very warm day, though also windy. No sign of Purple Emperor today though my main objective was to try and find White-letter Hairstreak.  I checked the elms at the far end of PV though nothing seen there and I was beginning to think it was now too late for the butterfly.  However, on walking back along the footpath something caught my eye near the first pylon, and to my pleasant surprise it was a White-letter Hairstreak feeding on bramble flowers.  I watched it on and off for about 15 minutes and at one point the butterfly came very close, no more than a metre away.  Quite a worn individual as might be expected near the tail-end of the season for adults, and there may have been a second one. Several Silver-washed Fritillary were also present in PV, though only one landed close enough to be photographed.  Comma were fairly numerous, and the new generation of Brimstone is now on the wing. I was surprised to find a Chalkhill Blue in this area rather than the downl...

Chalkhill Blue were fairly numerous at the far side of SB.  However, the ground is exceptionally dry, so limiting growth of the foodplant Horseshoe Vetch. This may have serious implications for survival of larvae, and hence the appearance of adults next year.  A fresh Small Copper was found on SB. Gatekeeper were very numerous in PV, and probably the most abundant butterfly wherever I have been this month. However, many are starting to look a little worn.  At the far end of PV, near the gate, I was very surprised to find a Purple Emperor probing on a low Burdock. It was a female and so had no purple sheen, nonetheless was my first sighting of the species in these woods. Typically the Purple Emperor was very confiding, and I watched it for about 20 minutes. At one point it even landed on my shoulder. After that TF was a bit of an anticlimax, with the odd Common Blue, a Marbled White, a Peacock and plenty more Gatekeepers. There were four Slow-worms in TF. Chalkhill Blue Sm...

A cloudy day though with a fair amount of sunshine. The Stone Curlew, present for several days on Flamingo Pool, could not be found when viewing from the sluice. Only when we went onto the seawall, to gain more height, could the bird be seen. It was distant, though views were reasonable through the 'scope. The tide was falling at the time of the visit so wader numbers were relatively low, with the exception of Avocet, approx. 200 still being present, and to a lesser extent Oystercatcher.  Stone Curlew Small Tortoiseshell

The weather forecast today said mostly cloudy though it proved very sunny in the afternoon and rather hot. The timing of this visit was near the tail-end of the Purple Emperor season though four were seen in the tree tops and one came lower in an oak. A few Purple Hairstreak were also seen, one fortunately at head height on lower branches. Whilst watching this individual what was possibly a Large Tortoiseshell flew into view though unfortunately did not land.  It disappeared behind the hedgerow and so therefore not possible to be sure about the identification. However, the sighting was in the same spot where Large Tortoiseshell had been seen the day before. White Storks have bred on one of the farm buildings and two juveniles were present in the nest. Three adult storks were seen in flight plus two Red Kite. A purring Turtle Dove capped a great visit. Purple Emperor Purple Hairstreak Purple Hairstreak Juvenile White Storks Beautiful Demoiselle  Black-tailed Skimmer

Another very warm day though unfortunately the sun disappeared whilst carrying out a butterfly survey at Boxley today. There were lots of whites of three species along the top path: Large White, Small White and Green-veined White. Identifying them is difficult when they don't land, hence it was necessary to net a percentage to determine the approximate split between the species. The two most numerous were Small White and Green-veined White. Similarly there were a couple of skippers that had to be netted, and they proved to be Essex rather than Small Skippers. No sign on this occasion of White-letter Hairstreak in elms on the lower path though the lack of sunshine didn't help. A fine female Adder was great to see, plus one Slow-worm. Essex Skipper, showing characteristic black antennal tips. Essex Skipper  Female Adder

My last full day in N Devon and since it was bright and sunny from an early hour another visit to Heddon Valley was made. I revisited the same meadows as yesterday and concentrated on the second field which had been most productive then.  This paid off with fritillaries visiting two clumps of flowering thistle or landing on nearby bracken. The majority again seemed to be Dark Green Fritillary though there were definitely three High Brown.  These proved more cooperative than yesterday in that they were inclined to lift the wings to reveal the distinctive underwing pattern, perhaps because of the high temperature this morning.  Two of the High Brown were relatively unmarked in terms of wing damage though the individual from yesterday was also found with missing sections on the lower wings. On the walk back to the car two Silver-washed Fritillary were flying along the lane. High Brown Fritillary.  The third spot on the upper forewing is virtually absent on this individu...

The best day of the week in terms of weather so another try for High Brown Fritillary at Heddon Valley. The meadows on the west side of the river were revisited. Unlike the previous day when few fritillaries were seen there seemed to be about 15 on the wing today. They were very active in the sunshine, though landing on vegetation infrequently. On occasions that one did land the wings were mostly held flat so that the crucial underwing pattern was difficult to see.  However, at the far end of the second meadow there were at least four butterflies patrolling a relatively small area so I positioned myself opposite a large clump of flowering blackberry. Most seemed to be Dark Green Fritillaries but there was one somewhat tatty individual that looked more promising and it eventually landed on a nearby flower. Photographs taken showed characteristic circular rusty-red patches on the underwing except that there were big chunks missing on each wing so that the line of spots was incom...