Wednesday 15 July 2015

It was a day of fresh north-easterly winds, mild temperatures and clear, sunny skies. A very pleasant combination that contributed to a pleasant day's birding.

There was a good selection of sightings to report: a juvenile  Cuckoo was seen around the withies; a 1st winter Little Gull flew past the North End in the morning, along with 22 Common Scoters, 21 Black-headed Gulls and one Common Gull; a single Black Guillemot was back in Nant Valley, where it spent some of the day paddling around in the smooth water; and then a small selection of passerines included three Swifts, a Whitethroat, a Lesser Redpoll and a Hooded Crow. A productive day all-in-all.

Rush Veneers were the dominant feature in terms of noteworthy lepidoptera, with large numbers present all over the island, probably numbering in the hundreds. Five Silver Ys, a Painted Lady and two Emperor Dragonflies flying over land were also noted during the day. Six-spot Burnets have emerged in the last few weeks, and there were plenty on wing.

one of the Purple Sandpipers from yesterday

plenty of Swallow broods have fledged now, but many have only just embarked on their second broods. Usually at this time of year, many pairs would be on their third broods by now

Juvenile Cuckoo

a trio of Clays: Purple Clay, Triple-spotted Clay and Double Square-spot (left to right)
What appears to be an unusual form of Crescent Dart


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