Canonteign Falls, a family day out.

Wednesday 10th August 2023.

The Falls which was surrounded by so much greenery and wildlife. Photo by Sinead Townsend.

It was Day 5 of our trip down Dawlish Warren and today I took the family to Canonteign Falls, which is situated in Dartmoor National Park, near Exeter. It was roughly half an hour away from where we were situated and though I took a few wrong turns, we eventually got there around 11am. It is the highest man made waterfall in England standing at 220 feet tall and although Becky and I never reached the top of the waterfall (Becky has a very bad hip and could not walk too far), both Sinead and Isabelle did manage to get to the top and took some awesome photos. Though overcast at first, the sun did break through the clouds and at times, it was quite warm indeed.

Several of these Toadstools, Charcoal Burners, were seen along the footpath.

At base camp where there were a few lakes, there were plenty of dragonflies on the wing, including at least two Emperor’s, Common Darters and a few distant Damselflies and there were also a good number of butterflies on the wing. Red Admiral, Peacock, Holly Blue, Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper were all seen in good numbers, but as we took the footpath up to the first part of the waterfall, I could see a few Silver-washed Fritillaries fluttering about in the woodland as well as a few Speckled Woods.

Film footage of the Falls.

Becky managed to get to the main area where we could sit down on a bench and admire the waterfall in all its glory. I always keep an eye out for anything of note as I pointed out an inquisitive Migrant Hawker dragonfly that flew just above our heads, down the footpath and back again. As both Sinead and Isabelle carried on to the summit, Becky and I turned back through the woodland path and to the eating area below. On the way down, some Toadstools were noted and I believe they were called Charcoal Burner (Russula cyanoxantha). Even Sinead noticed some on her way up to the summit and took a photo for me.

Away from Devon, back in nearby Dorset, the long-staying Forsters Tern was off Shipstal Point, Arne RSPB Reserve again. Photo by Andy Tew.

There were very few birds seen apart from the Mallards on one of the lakes and a few Moorhens. On the way back to Dawlish Warren, we drove along the B3193 and adjacent to this road was the River Teign. I saw a parking area on the left hand side and fortunately, a bridge going over the river looked good for picking off a Dipper on the river itself. However, I spent a good ten minutes to a quarter of an hour checking both sides of the River, but all I found was a Grey Wagtail feeding alongside the river. Sometimes you get lucky, but quite often you don’t. Never mind.

Manx Shearwater added to year list.

Wednesday 9th August 2023.

Another dawn start for a good 'seawatch' over Lyme Bay.

It was back to Dawlish Warren again this morning for another dawn ‘sea-watch’ and this time, I met up with fellow ‘Lazee’ John Manley, who was staying in nearby Chudleigh. Though the weather forecast was for a light west south-west wind with overcast conditions, the sea was flat calm and in all honesty, not the ideal conditions for a reasonable ‘seawatch’. How wrong we were.

I met up with fellow 'Lazee', 'Northern John' aka John Manley.

A lovely sunrise gave way to overcast conditions as expected and it didn't take long for us to take note of plenty of Gannets out over Lyme Bay. Both adults and the brown & white juveniles graced the skies over the sea, occasionally diving down to catch their breakfast within the calm water. Common Scoter flocks were all too visible over the sea and with several flocks close in too (I’m starting to really miss my camera now!) of which I estimated we must have seen at least 30+ birds all told this morning.

The Oak Bush Cricket in our Lodge last night.

John picked up two interesting distant seabirds heading west low over the sea and through the scope, I was very pleased to announce that they were my first Manx Shearwaters of the year, though the only ones we saw this morning. John had seen this species earlier in the year at Portland Bill. Those birds puts me on 195 species for the year, slowly creeping up to the magic 200. After yesterday's sightings of the Storm Petrels, I kept my eyes vigilant for this species and eventually I spotted one, though it was very distant and not easy to get John onto the bird. Thankfully, we came across two more much closer in and through the scope, we watched one individual fly back and forth over the sea and then hover and patter the sea close to a resting Gull on the water. Arguably, that's the longest I have viewed this species in many a year. Great stuff.

Other birds noted included around a handful of Kittiwakes flying west (John's first of the year) , a single Fulmar flying low east and plenty of Sandwich Terns again flying much closer in over the sea. Both a Shelduck and a Mute Swan were seen flying east over the sea and waders included at least two Sanderling flying west and a Dunlin east. The (probable) Risso’s Dolphins were seen in various pods and locations throughout the two hours we were there, but all were very distant and at least a mile or mile and a half out to sea. Still, a great couple of hours in good company and with another species added to my year list, happy days.

Farlington Marshes, yesterday, not only hosted 2 Little Stint, a Curlew Sandpiper and a Golden Plover, but also this juvenile Black Redstart. Photo by Andy Tew.

Yesterday, a juvenile Green Woodpecker was ‘anting’ on one of the greens by a nearby Lodge where we were staying and showed very well as we slowly drove by. I noticed a large number of Swifts late in the afternoon / early evening flying over the Holiday camp and a Willow Warbler, lacking tail feathers, called and flew over our Lodge into nearby trees. The guys here told me that a ‘green bug’ was in the Lodge and on closer inspection, it was an Oak Bush Cricket, which I eventually potted and released back outside.  

Stop press: while writing this update to my blog, a Whimbrel has just flown high over our Lodge (I heard it calling)!

This afternoon, we took a boat ride into Lyme Bay from the jetty near the train station in Dawlish. Though I didn't expect to see that much, as we got a guided tour of the Coves, there were still a lot of Gannets offshore and on the nearby rocks, that held good numbers of both Cormorants and Shags as we got reasonably close to them. 

The Common Dolphins were filmed by the side of the boat. 

The sea state was calm and as we got around the main bay heading west, the ‘Captain’ of the boat took us a little further into the next bay and there we encountered a pair of Common Dolphins swimming some 30 yards away from us. All of us got some great views of the Dolphins and they powered their way slowly westbound, of which I managed to get some film footage of these magnificent animals. I believe that was money well spent as we made our way back into Dawlish for a spot of afternoon tea and cake (a milkshake and a toasty in my case)!

The Jersey Tiger Moth on our neighbours Lodge.

While relaxing in the hot tub by our Lodge late this afternoon, I saw my second Jersey Tiger moth of the holiday fly in and perch up on our neighbours window. I did manage to grab a photo of it later on for the record. Other sightings this afternoon included the juvenile Green Woodpecker again, searching for ants on the lawns below the Lodges.

Storm Petrels in Lyme Bay.

Tuesday 8th August 2023.

The beach to my left from where I was 'sea-watching'. Even the Metal Detectorists were out early this morning! Exmouth is in the background.

This morning, I made the effort to get up at first light and make my way down to the Dawlish Warren car park near the nature reserve. I already had the ‘gen’ in not having to pay in the car park till 8am which left me with a good couple of hours to do a spot of ‘sea-watching’. Though overcast, there was a moderate southerly wind blowing and as recommended by the local birders, I watched from the Lifeguard Station. I then spent the next hour and a half enjoying a really good sea-watch where I notched up another ‘year-tick’, which puts me on 194 species for the year. Though I had no coat, it was not too bad warmth-wise, though I did have my fleece on.

The Boathouse Pub behind me had erected ‘bird scarers’ in the audio sound of calling raptors, which made me laugh, especially with all the Gulls sitting on the roof totally ignoring it. This was the background noise I had for the next 90 minutes and arriving at the site around 5.45am, I virtually had the whole place to myself. Or so I thought, when I noticed a couple of Metal Detectorists on the beach and a group of ladies off for their morning ‘float’ in the sea!

Langstone Rock to my right. I could see several Cormorants and a few Great Black-backed Gulls resting on this outcrop of rocks.

Now for the birds. I have to say, I thought it was going to be a bit quiet after the strong winds had abated, but how wrong I was going to be. There was virtually a stream of Gannets going through, with plenty more fishing offshore in Lyme Bay and mostly adults from what I could see through the scope. On the sea, a Great Crested Grebe swam and then a small group of Common Scoter flew in and also landed on the sea; two males and a female. Two more flocks of Common Scoter were also seen a while later; a group of four then a group of 5 flying low distantly over the sea.

Kittiwakes were in good numbers too, with possibly up to 30+ birds going through over the sea, although distantly. Without doubt the best sighting of all were the two Storm Petrels. Though both quite distant, I could clearly identify what they were with their distinctive flight and small size. I think the last Storm Petrel I saw was off Hayling Island many years ago about the same time of the year. So, this really whetted my appetite as I picked up a second bird pattering across the sea, but it was soon lost to view. I was then hoping for a Shearwater or a Skua to add to my already impressive list of sightings, but it wasn't to be and I had to depart once the rain started coming in.

A map of the Dawlish Warren Nature Reserve near the beach.

Other sightings included a reasonably close Fulmar heading west and a Guillemot also heading in the same direction. Both Little Egret and Grey Heron were seen flying west, which was a little unexpected and a small flock of three Shags went low west over the sea. Sandwich Terns were passing through constantly throughout my stay, including quite a few juvenile birds. Shortly after the second Storm Petrel sighting, a pod of Dolphins, which were most likely Risso’s judging by the size and shape of them, swam distantly heading east (my first of the year). 

That was 90 minutes very well spent and I am very tempted to do it all again tomorrow. I am hoping to go back to Dawlish Warren Nature Reserve later today if the weather improves to check out if any migrants are in and also the Estuary for the waders.        

A superb trip to Powderham Castle.

Monday 7th August 2023.

My family making its way up to the Castle courtyard.

On Day 3, I took the family to Powderham Castle, near the village of Kenton and as being a member of English Heritage, we did get a bit of a discount on our entrance fee and with the five of us getting in for £70, I have to say, it was worth every penny. That might sound a little steep but the grounds are amazing and the guided tour by a chap called Peter was simply excellent. The owners of the Castle and grounds are the Courtney family and we got to listen on how they came to be from the 17th century onwards. Of course, it also had its typical Castle ghost! Ha ha!

You can just make out the House Martins settling in on the eaves of the Castle and also a few flying birds.

We were lucky with the weather too with some high clouds and then plenty of sunshine where it came out quite warm at times. However, the weather closed in later in the afternoon and rain arrived for a short time. The warm weather brought out the Wasps too, which was a bit of a pain in the Courtyard while my wife was trying to eat her Scone and Jam! 

A Grey Heron by the large pond near the Castle grounds. Photo by Russ Smith.

As expected, the grounds had plenty of wildlife to keep me entertained and probably the most notable sighting was the large gathering of House Martins on the roof of the front entrance to the Castle. There were at least a 100+ birds resting on the walls and roof of the Castle and occasionally, they all took off at once over the grounds, but always returned to the same roof top. Several Swallows also flew over the main courtyard as well as a couple of Swifts.

Some of the Fallow Deer within the grounds. Again, all these photos were taken only using my mobile phone.

Before our guided tour through the Castle, we had a quick drink from the cafe and then took a walk around the Castle garden, admiring not only the gorgeous Roses and other plants, but the Deer park opposite that held several large herds of Fallow Deer. In the distance was the northern end of the Exe Estuary and a large lake nearer the Castle held a large herd of Canada Geese and both Grey Heron and Little Egret on the lakes edge. Before we checked out the Castle Chapel, the beautiful gardens held a Hummingbird Hawk-moth of which I managed to grab some film footage from my mobile. A Silver Y moth was seen later in the day in the gardens of the Farm Shop.

I found this Queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee near the Farmshop.

There was a variety of butterflies on the wing around the gardens that included a female Common Blue, Meadow Brown, Large & Small White, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood and best of all, my first Green-veined White of the year. After the guided tour, we took a walk to the Animal Park where I saw several Migrant Hawker dragonflies on the wing, with one individual somehow just missing my head. Just glad I ducked in time. Finally, I got to see my first Buzzards of the trip down here with at least two seen soaring low overhead. We passed some nice bit of woodland and meadows within the grounds and the potential for wildlife here is immense. I would love to work in a place like this, but I would be too busy looking at the wildlife. 

Above, film footage of the Hummingbird Hawk-moth in the Castle gardens. Below, one of two Little Stints on Farlington Marshes, Hampshire, today. Photo by Chris Geary.

 

 

 

A family day out to Dawlish.

Sunday 6th August 2023.

Black Swans on the Dawlish Water stretch of river. 

Day 2 of our trip here down at Dawlish Warren was more of a family day, as we took a trip into Dawlish town, which is situated by the coast. Yesterday’s wind had dropped considerably and though there was a northerly-westerly wind blowing, it was a bright sunny day and occasionally very warm when the sun came out behind the large clouds.

The Jersey Tiger moth I found on the Toilet Block in Dawlish.

Yes, I am still angry about my camera not working and so I had to take it on the chin and rely on some mobile phone photos and also my ‘chums’ on various media sites for their superb photos. Yesterday, I sent an email to the Dawlish Warren Latest Sightings website and they kindly gave me the exact area in where they seawatch from (I wasn't too far away on Saturday) and also where to watch the waders and Terns from the reserve overlooking the Estuary. Most helpful.

A pair of Moorhens were feeding their brood of 9 youngsters right between the river and the main road, which was attracting many admirers including Sinead who took this film footage from her mobile phone. 

This holiday camp is huge and as we are staying in one of the more luxurious Lodges, I did some exploring yesterday and couldn't believe how many tents, caravans and other accommodation is actually on the site. Huge is an understatement; but with that comes a price as there are so many people here and going for a ‘quiet’ walk was not going to be easy. The site is full of Herring Gulls and their persistant calling young birds; Carrion Crows, Magpies and the occasional Swallow buzzing over and Robin by the Lodge!

Another one of the Black Swans on the Dawlish Water.

However, from base camp (our Lodge), I have already noticed a few things that have kept me entertained. So, the trip into Dawlish was pleasant enough once we had parked the car and then taking a stroll into the main shopping area aligned with many gift shops and restaurants, it was nice to take a walk along the river (called Dawlish Water) where we encountered a variety of ornamental wildfowl including at least 8 Black Swans, which was a sighting ‘first’ for our Sinead (Isabelle’s mum). After a visit to the shops and nice coffee in one of the cafe’s, we took a stroll past the Railway Station and then overlooked Lyme Bay from the harbour wall. They run boat trips from here and so we might take them up on that later next week if the weather's good.

Sadly, not in Dawlish (yet!), but the Fishlake Meadows near resident Osprey is still entertaining the birders. Photo by Andy Tew.

On the way back to the car park, on the wall of the local Toilet Block, I found a Jersey Tiger moth and quickly took a few photos, while a lady waited patiently for me to take the photos before she entered. Oops! Back at Base Camp (our Lodge), as the sun set in the west leaving behind a very calm still evening, out came the Bats; in fact at least half a dozen of them with some even flying just above my head, which was most entertaining. I also saw a very late Swift heading low over the Lodges and heading west. I am not sure what time I woke up during the night, but I could definitely hear a male Tawny Owl calling!

Emma and Matt Parkes took a trip to Shipton Bellinger in Hampshire to get some nice photos of this male Brown Hairstreak butterfly.

Last night, I got a text from both Geoff and Andy about their sightings today as they both went down to Farlington Marshes. Andy got three more ‘year-ticks’ to add to his excellent Hampshire total, which included a Whinchat, Knot and the summer plumaged Little Stint, which was on the Deeps area. Andy is now on 190 species for the year in Hampshire. Geoff went on to say that he also saw a moulting adult Curlew Sandpiper, 3 Common Sandpiper, 33 Greenshank, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine and a Ruddy Darter dragonfly. The guys here at Dawlish also had a few good birds too, according the their website,  including 4 Arctic Skua, 2 Storm Petrel, 2 Manx Shearwater and a juvenile Pied Flycatcher, which was a first here since April 2019 and their 45th site record. What will Day 3 bring?       

Emma Parkes also found this Roesel's Bush-cricket at the same location.

Dawlish Warren for the week.

Saturday 5th August 2023.

Our accommodation for the next week. Could be worse?

Today, with my family, we made the way to Ladies Mile Holiday Park at Dawlish Warren on the south coast of Devon. I have only ever been to Dawlish Warren once before, in 1997 to ‘twitch’ the Semipalmated Plover that summered there, but, to be honest, I can hardly remember anything about it apart from the fact there was hardly anybody there at the time. I did see the bird well, eventually and then took the 3 hour drive back home.

The Swallows nest with young at the Farmshop.

So, despite Storm Antoni raging through the UK, we made our way down there at a reasonable, comfortable speed; stopping only for refreshments and a nice break at Felicity’s Farm Shop just off the A35 west of Chideock. There, the ladies had found a Swallow nest with young on one of the buildings and despite it chucking it down with rain, I grabbed my camera and took a few photos of this delightful little scene (as briefly as I could).

They are most certainly cute.

The journey to the Holiday park was pretty straightforward (well, it is with Sat Nav! Doh!) and on our way there, I saw four species of raptor: a Hobby over the A31, a Peregrine just past the Farm Shop we were at, a male Sparrowhawk over the A35 and a male Kestrel also over the A35. Amazingly, not one Common Buzzard was seen on our journey down!

The view from the beach overlooking the sea with Exmouth in the distance.

Earlier this week, I checked out the Dawlish Warren Latest Sightings website and was pleased to see some good seabirds had been passing through offshore including Pomarine Skuas, various Shearwaters and even Storm Petrels; hence, that's why I brought along my scope to hopefully catch up with these superb birds. After packing all our holiday stuff away, the ladies went off to the local Sainsburys to stock up the fridge and cupboards, while I took a walk down to the beach. There was still a very strong wind blowing (even blew my cap off!), but the walk to the beach was a lot longer than I expected. Just to make things even worse, my camera’s zoom lens had now stopped working! Disaster!!

Just before my camera 'gave up the ghost', I managed to take a few photos of the Sandwich Terns offshore. At least 20+ were seen going through, though I read that over 300+ were seen in the Estuary this week including a few Roseate Terns. 

I made my way through all the grim looking fairground atmosphere down near the seafront (all for the tourists) and eventually got to the promenade overlooking the sea. Langstone Rock was to my right and to my left, I could see the entrance to the River Exe and the Exe Estuary, with Exmouth Beach in the distance. Where the local birders actually view from I don't know yet, but checking out the sea with just my binoculars, I could see good numbers of Sandwich Terns passing over the water and some very distant Gannets, but nothing more interesting than that, which was disappointing after walking all the way down here. I have got a good idea on where to park to do Dawlish Warren Nature Reserve, which I shall probably try tomorrow hopefully. But it is a family holiday and therefore, I have to be patient with the rest of the family and what they want to do. I am pretty pissed off with my Nikon camera not working properly, so any future photos from here will probably be from my mobile camera. Groan!   

One more photo of the Sandwich Terns offshore.

Back in Hampshire, birding pals Geoff Farwell and Andy Fisher went to the 'seawatching' building at Gilkicker to do a spot of 'seawatching'. Geoff picked up Andy in his car and before setting off, Geoff got to check Andy’s moth box (sounds rude!). Here, he found a Dusky Thorn, Tree-lichen Beauty, 5 Riband Wave, Brimstone, Willow Beauty and a Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing. While at Gilkicker, the boys found their first Arctic Skua for the year plus 8 Common Scoter and 3 Gannets going through the Solent plus a Wheatear on the beach. Fellow ‘Lazee’ Mark Francis had earlier seen an Arctic Skua off Hill Head along with some Kittiwakes and another fellow ‘Lazee’, Andy Friend, had the same species off Sandy Point, Hayling. Meanwhile, 'seawatching' sightings off Dawlish Warren today included 37 Manx Shearwater, 9 Arctic and 4 Pomarine Skua, 3 Storm Petrels and 2 Arctic Terns. Very nice.  

One new moth for the year.

Friday 4th August 2023.

Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing.

It was much cooler in the garden at 5.40am this morning, with a north-westerly wind keeping temperatures down to just 13 degrees centigrade. Again, it was dry with a patchy sky overhead and checking the white sheet behind the moth box, apart from a Brimstone Moth sticking out like a sore thumb, there were relatively few moths present. That was the story for this morning when I finally counted all the moths. However, there was one new moth for the year; the micro moth Horse-chestnut Leaf Miner.

A rather worn Horse-chestnut Leaf Miner.

This particular moth, though mine was a bit worn, is quite an attractive little thing when seen up close, however, it has a dark side to it. Take a stroll around Highland Road Cemetery and check the leaves of the Horse Chestnut trees within there and you will see the  results of the mining activity of the grubs this tiny little moth has done. Very few leaves are unaffected, but on the positive side, it does not kill the tree as it eventually sheds its leaves in Autumn and goes on to produce more fresh leaves the following year and start the process all over again. That's nature!

Above, the damage caused by the grubs of the Horse-chestnut Leaf Miner.

Marbled Beauty.

Of the other moths present this morning, one of the smaller types of Silver Y, a Marbled Beauty, my second Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing of the year were probably the pick of the small bunch of macro moths today.

The moths present this morning included the following: 

• 3 Riband Wave
• 1 Marbled Beauty
• 2 Garden Carpet
• 5 Brimstone Moth
• 1 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
• 1 Silver Y
• 1 Common Rustic
• 13 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 1 Mint Moth
• 1 Rosy Tabby
• 1 Beautiful Plume
• 7 Common Plume
• 2 Ruddy Streak
• 1 Dingy Dowd
• 1 Apple Leaf Miner
• 1 Horse-chestnut Leaf Miner (NFY)

In Hampshire yesterday, local birder Amy Robjohns had both Pomarine and two Arctic Skua off Hill Head early in the morning. Both Whinchat and Wheatear were also noted, proving that migration is on its way. Nationally, a Hudsonian Godwit is on the Mainland, Shetlands for its third day at least. Cornwall is still experiencing good numbers of the larger Shearwaters off its various headlands and also Wilson’s Petrels are still being seen too. I was lucky enough to be on one of the last ‘Pelagics’ from Penzance to go out to the infamous ‘Wilson’s Triangle’ to see the Wilson’s Petrels many years ago; an experience I shall never forget. Not only did we go through some stormy conditions (it did eventually clear, though I have never seen so many people sea-sick and ill-looking in one place, lol ), but also experienced first hand the absolutely awful smell of ‘Chum’! A mixture of all things revolting and totally gut-wrenching if you are caught downwind from it. But once the stuff is checked out onto what looks like a totally bird-less sea, they suddenly come pouring in from simply nowhere! Then the birding was simply sublime, with all the seabirds you want to see all close up, including the Wilson’s Petrels.   

Low numbers of moths again.

Thursday 3rd August 2023.

The Holly Blue butterfly this morning was nice, but occasionally, a butterfly species will be found within the moth box.

After yesterday’s washout, it was nice to get back to some form of nature and so my moth box duly obliged. However, it wasn't any moth that got the ‘star billing’. It was actually a butterfly, a Holly Blue to be exact and as I spent around 5 minutes chasing it around the moth box (where it was walking about between the top of the box and the rain guard (fume!)), it finally settled on the white sheet where it was more than happy to pose for me to take a photo!

A rather worn Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix was new for the year.

Sadly, apart from that lovely insect, there were relatively few macro moths in and around the moth box and if it wasn’t for the many Light Brown Apple Moths, it would have been a very poor showing. The weather probably plays its part, though it was quite mild this morning and a bonus of being dry after yesterday's horrible weather helped bring in a few moths. Last night’s Brimstone Moth perched on the box was nowhere to be seen before I retired to bed. 

Thankfully, I did have one new moth for the year when I carefully checked the photos of one particular odd looking Light Brown Apple Moth. On closer inspection, it turned out to be my first Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix for the year, though a little worn I might add.

Square-spot Rustic.

The moths recorded this morning included the following:

• 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart
• 1 Square-spot Rustic
• 2 Lime-speck Pug
• 2 Silver Y
• 1 Small Dusty Wave
• 6 Common Plume
• 2 Dingy Dowd
• 1 Marsh Dowd
• 18 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 3 Ruddy Streak
• 2 Four-spotted Obscure
• 1 Beautiful Plume
• 1 Bird-cherry Ermine
• 1 Apple Leaf Miner
• 1 Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix (NFY)

Update:  1 Dark Neb (NFY)

I read that some of the ‘Lazee Birders’ were doing a seawatch from the Milford Shelter yesterday morning, hoping for some good seabirds to pass their way. Sadly not. I am not sure what they saw but the weather was dire. I was even tempted to do a couple of hours from my Southsea shelter but the rain was consistent throughout the afternoon here. The place to be for seawatching must have been down on the Cornish headlands where incredible numbers and a variety of seabirds were pouring through on 50mph winds! 

For example, Porthgwarra (a superb seawatching site that I have been and been successful with in the past) reeled off at least 5500+ Cory Shearwaters, 250+ Great Shearwaters, 100+ Sooty Shearwaters, Balearic Shearwaters, 3 Pomarine Skua, several Wilson’s Storm Petrels, numerous Storm Petrels, at least 2 Fea’s type Petrels, Great Skua and nearby Pendeen fared superbly with the above species too. Nearby St. Catherine’s Point on the Isle of Wight (I have done some seawatching from there in the past too!) had a Cory’s Shearwater heading west as well as a few Balearic Shearwaters. With the right strong winds and late July early August viewing, one should come up with the goods. Years ago, I remember seawatching off both Pendeen & Porthgwarra one weekend in exactly the right conditions and saw all the big Shearwaters in big numbers and a cracking supporting cast of seabirds. Simply amazing.  

The back of my fathers garden in Lovedean. The Buddleia dominates the garden, but plenty of other plants around to attract the insects.

Later this morning, I went north to visit my father up in Lovedean and during the three hours I was there, there was a good list of butterflies and a few birds seen. My father has turned his back garden into a ‘wildlife garden’ and though he grows a lot of his own vegetables and some plants, the rest of the garden is allowed to run wild; which in turn benefits the insects and invertebrates within the garden.

A huge Buddleia tree dominates the back of the garden which, during the time I was there, attracted an array of butterflies including Red Admiral, Peacock, Gatekeeper, Small and Large White, Brimstone, Meadow Brown and a Holly Blue. There were plenty of Buff-tailed Bumblebees nectaring on the flowers and even a Hornet-mimic Hoverfly came into the garden and took full advantage of the flowering Buddleia. I used to have a large tree attracting plenty of the above last year, until my ‘better half’ decided to have the tree chopped down and replaced with some ornamental Buddleia that blooms different coloured flowers. It is currently about 18 inches tall at the moment! My father was growing Mint in the garden as well as other plants and sure enough, a Mint Moth flew in and landed several times on the plants!

My father even had a Hummingbird Hawk-moth in this garden yesterday, his first of the year and he told me that he is hoping to put the moth box on tonight. He has had some decent moths in the past and so will keep me updated on his catches by taking photos and sending them to me via Whatsapp.

I checked the garden and my fathers bird feeders, noticing good numbers of House Sparrows on the feeders, but my sharp eyes picked out a female Sparrowhawk soaring high overhead and the Sparrows hadn't even noticed! I bet she had noticed them! One male Sparrowhawk flew between my fathers house and his neighbours yesterday, no doubt after the local Sparrows. My father has a big passion for wildlife (he introduced me to birding when I was very young) and at the age of 78, it's good that it keeps him occupied and not sitting in front of a telly all day. He is passionate about gardening and growing his own plants and the wildlife is a big bonus. Even the Tench and Goldfish came up to the surface in his pond to show themselves while I was there.

While chatting to him in the Conservatory, a Large White butterfly flew in and fluttered around us, totally oblivious of us as it explored the area and then eventually flew out back into the garden. Amazing. As my father said, who needs television when you can watch all this wildlife on your doorstep?   

Later in the afternoon, two small micro moths that I had potted earlier today were checked out and while one of them was new for the year, a Dark Neb (Bryotropha affinis), the other micro flew off before I could grab a photo. You can't win them all!

 

Another quiet moth morning.

Tuesday 1st August 2023.

Mother of Pearl moth.

A cool, blustery westerly wind kicked off the new month, with a few clouds overhead, but was relatively clear and dry at 5.15am and judging by the white sheet behind my moth box, I think I was in for a low turnout of moths, which turned out to be true. It really has been a ‘hit and miss’ sort of Summer this year, where we had that hot two weeks in June, where I was getting well over a hundred moths during that hot spell and now, apart from one drizzly morning last month, numbers have dropped considerably.

Dark Sword-grass.

Only 27 moths of 17 species were present this morning, which was disappointing, though among them, immigrant moths included a Dark Sword-grass, Rusty-dot Pearl and a Silver Y. Ten of those moths present this morning were Light Brown Apple Moths and in all probability, there were more around though hiding out of sight. A Mother of Pearl was a smart moth, sitting on one of the outside egg trays; though I will bring the egg trays back into the house today as more rain is forecast in what is going to be a very showery, windy week ahead.

Rusty-dot Pearl.

Moths recorded this morning included the following:

• 2 Vine’s Rustic
• 1 Silver Y
• 1 Brimstone Moth
• 1 Dark Sword-grass
• 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart
• 1 Bright-line Brown-eye
• 1 Beautiful Plume
• 1 Bud Moth
• 10 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 1 Dingy Dowd
• 1 Marsh Dowd
• 1 Mother of Pearl
• 1 Rusty-dot Pearl
• 1 Mint Moth
• 1 Small Grey
• 1 Ruddy Streak
• 1 Bird-cherry Ermine

A montage of great photos.

Monday 31st July 2023

The Fishlake Meadows Osprey. Photo by Pete Appleton. 

Though I am not birding today, I have noticed how many superb photos there have been on various social media sites by some of my birding pals. I am really lucky to have such good birding friends who are more than happy to put their superb photos on my blog and so, enjoy this montage of brilliant photos.

Another superb shot of the Fishlake Meadows Osprey. Photo by Pete Appleton.

The Osprey was still on Fishlake Meadows this morning and I have learnt since that this individual, which is sporting a blue ring on one of its legs, was actually ringed at Kielder Forest, in Northumberland and now spending late summer at this superb reserve. It certainly has its steady stream of admirers, judging by the excellent photos on Facebook. The returning Pink-footed Goose has returned to the northern end of Hampshire, Tundry Pond, where it is associating with the Grey Lag Geese again. Whether this is a genuine wild individual, we will never know, but again, it is getting a steady stream of admirers who want to ‘tick it’ off for their respective year lists. Will I go? Possibly, as I have never seen a Pink-foot in Hampshire. If you can ‘tick off’ the Ruddy Shelducks, then why not?

Above, a Swallow in the rain and below, a Privet Hawk Moth. Both photos by Emma Parkes.

Birding pal, Geoff Farwell, went birding down Farlington Marshes yesterday and notched up the following sightings: Marsh Harrier, 2 Ravens, 40 Gadwall, 5 Avocets and 2 Little Ringed Plovers.  

Above, this juvenile Reed Warbler was at Titchfield Haven from the Meonshore Hide. Photo by Christine Whiffen. Below, a Great White Egret stands proud. Photo by Andy Dickety.

Fewer moths reported today.

Sunday 30th July 2023.

My second Langmaid's Yellow Underwing of the year.

It was much quieter in my moth box this morning, back in my garden where on a cool, breezy early morning, there were a total of 47 moths of 19 species. The best moth would have to be the Langmaids Yellow Underwing, which was my second of the year. I confirmed it when it was flying about in the pot I had put it in and then released it. The most numerous moth was easily the Light Brown Apple Moths with at least 17 recorded today.   

Above, an underside view of the Langmaid's Yellow Underwing and below, one of the two Lackey moths.

Moths present this morning included the following:

• 1 Langmaids Yellow Underwing
• 2 Lackey
• 1 Silver Y
• 4 Common Rustic
• 1 Garden Carpet
• 1 Riband Wave
• 2 Bright-line Brown-eye
• 2 Brimstone Moth
• 1 Pale Mottled Willow
• 1 Marbled Beauty
• 2 Dingy Dowd
• 3 Marsh Dowd
• 1 Rosy Tabby
• 3 Box Tree Moth
• 1 Brown House Moth
• 17 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 1 Bird-cherry Ermine
• 1 Common Plume
• 2 Privet Tortrix

Fellow ‘Lazee Birder’ Andy Tew reported the Osprey still present again at Fishlake Meadows this morning and even went one better when he saw a Night Heron flying over the reserve! Yesterday, another fellow ‘Lazee’, Mark Francis and another birder saw a Storm Petrel go past Hill Head. Some nice birds around it seems. Roll on Autumn.