Birding and other distractions

Spells of sunshine this afternoon though quite windy. At this late date I wasn't very hopeful of finding any reptiles, however managed to see two Adders, a male and a female lying together in TF. I thought the female was especially attractive. No sign of any Slow-worms though. Butterfly activity was generally quiet, the commonest species being Clouded Yellow! Three individuals were present, one of which I just about managed to capture in flight.There was also two Small Copper. Male and female Adder Clouded Yellow 

There have been regular reports of Queen of Spain Fritillary along the coastal path at East Tilbury, up to 20 individuals in the last 1-2 weeks. I had not seen the species since the population at Walmer in September 2022, so went to Essex this morning. I parked at Colne then walked about a mile to the seawall passing an abandoned cereal field on the way, very reminiscent of the habitat of the butterflies at Walmer four years ago. On reaching the seawall we walked south along the coastal path seeing good numbers of Clouded Yellow and very numerous Common Blue. However, no QoS so we turned back and instead walked north, finding the first fritillary within half an hour. Then over a distance of about a quarter of a mile there were four more, all on the path occasionally lifting their wings to display the distinctive underwing, and often flying short distances. They were not fresh specimens, with some damage to the wings or somewhat worn colouration being noted. The tally of Clouded Yellows...

A Grey Phalarope had been reported on a small pool near Holborough Marshes, so having not seen one for a few years I couldn't resist a visit there. The bird was viewed from the raised bank of the river, and was about 100 metres away. It was a first winter individual with mostly grey upperparts though with dark juvenile plumage on the nape. The Collins Guide mentions a light apricot/buff wash on the neck and breast, and this was just about discernable though the light was poor throughout the visit. Grey Phalarope 

When I arrived at Dungeness this morning it was raining hard so my plan to start with a seawatch wasn't going to happen. Instead I went to the RSPB reserve making use of the hides/lookout there. The terns that had been present on recent visits were now absent, and waders were limited to Dunlin and Ringed Plover. F ortunately, the rain stopped whilst there. I then drove round to park near the old lighthouse and was surprised to see a couple of what seemed semi-tame foxes close to the cars. Someone put down a plate of food for them and the foxes were joined by two more individuals. They all seemed to be young animals, probably born this year and very approachable, no doubt accustomed to being fed in view of their behaviour! On the Point I was the only person at the seawatch hide, though I think others were viewing from the fishing boats. There was a big movement of terns flying west after the rain, numbers difficult to estimate though certainly many hundreds. They were accompanied by...

A short visit to coincide with the rising tide at Bloors. It was a sunny morning with little wind. There were plenty of ducks on the river including good numbers of Wigeon and approx 20 Pintail. As expected Redshank was the most numerous wader amongst which was a single Spotted Redshank, probably a juvenile. Two Knot and several Bar-tailed Godwit were also present together with more numerous Black-tailed Godwit. A Kingfisher flew in and landed on the vertical wall of the wharf, just visible if I craned my head over the railings. Two Grey Wagtail flew over. Spotted Redshank  Black-tailed Godwit