I made my way to Chambers Wall today. It was a sunny with building cloud and a north westerly breeze. As I walked up the road a Sparrowhawk shot through causing alarm amongst the Skylarks and Swallows. Lots of Gatekeepers, and good numbers of Meadow Brown, Large and Small White butterflies were on the wing and a couple of worn Painted Ladies soaked up the sunshine as they settled on the road. Overall it seemed very quiet. A Whitethroat gave a brief burst of song as did a Reed Bunting and a couple of Reed Warblers were moving through the reeds carrying food. As I approached the hedge a Chaffinch was singing away and a couple of Linnet and a Yellow Wagtail called as they flew over. The car park area was very quiet for birds. I could see a Brown Hawker and an Emperor Dragonfly hunting over the river. At the waters edge small fish were in the shallows but I do not know which they are. Good numbers of Small Red-eyed Damselflies were resting on the pond weed or chasing each other. A Black-tailed Skimmer zoomed past but did not stop.
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| Small Red-eyed Damselfly |
A male Common Darter flew up from the vegetation but then disappeared from view. A little further along I came across another Common Darter who was more obliging and allowed some photos. The yellow line on the black legs showed well. Several more Small Red-eyed Damselflies were resting up nearby.
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| Common Darter |
I wandered along for a little way to see if I could catch up with the Brown Hawker. A Willow Emerald flew up from the vegetation and settled briefly before moving off.
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| Willow Emerald |
Bush Crickets were plentiful today and I came across several striking Roesel's Bush Crickets. They tended to be fairly camera shy, disappearing into cover at the first sign of movement but a male was a little more obliging, pausing briefly before it moved off.
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| male Roesel's Bush Cricket |
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| Gatekeeper Butterfly |
The clouds had built a lot by now and with the sun covered for a while I hoped I might be lucky enough to catch up with a Brown Hawker settled but I did not have any luck. The sun soon came out again and I could see 4 Brown Hawkers in flight at the same time, 2 up river and 2 down river. I tried again for some flight shots but though the one I was trying for regularly flew along the far bank of vegetation it was so fast that I found it difficult to keep in the view finder. I didn't end up with any decent photos but enjoyed trying for them and was pleased to get these as at least they make good memory shots even if somewhat blurry.
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| Brown Hawker |
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| Brown Hawker |
I saw a couple of female Emperor Dragonflies ovipositing and a smart male flew down the river.
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| female Emperor Dragonfly ovipositing |
It was still very quiet for birds. A Blue and a Great Tit family were busy feeding and Reed Warblers were kept busy carrying food. A Whitethroat was back and fore with food and as it reappeared multiple begging calls could be heard from within the bush. A Grey Heron fishing in the river gave the chance to try for a photo. There seemed to be plenty of fish. In any of the shallows there were large schools of little fish and in the deeper water there were some sizeable fish near the surface.
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| Grey Heron |
There were multiple pairs of mating Blue-tailed Damselflies and good numbers of females ovipositing. Small Red-eyed Damselflies were resting up. They are attractive damselflies. In the shaded areas several female Scorpion Flies were feeding well on small insects that they had caught.
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| mating Blue-tailed Damselflies |
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| Small Red-eyed Damselfly |
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| female Scorpion Fly |
As I approached the railway crossing a Peacock butterfly looked stunning as it waited for the sun to come back out and a micro moth also caught my eye, as did another Common Darter. I will need to try and identify the micro moth as I do not know which it is.
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| Peacock Butterfly |
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| Common Darter |
Originally I had planned to carry on to Shuart via the embankment but as walking wasn't playing ball today I decided to have a slow wander to Coldharbour instead. A couple of Skylark were on the path and a small group of Sand Martin were hunting for insects over one of the fields. The odd Reed and Sedge Warbler were carrying bill fulls of food but otherwise it was very quiet. I could see another 3 Emperor Dragonflies along the river. As I came up to Coldharbour a Herring Gull was just escaping having been mugged for the Starfish it was carrying. It had managed to hold on to it despite being chased for several minutes by another Herring Gull.
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| Herring Gull and Starfish |
Coldharbour was very quiet and I could only see a single Black-headed Gull on it. As it was so quiet I had a short walk along the bottom path to see what I could find. I saw an insect that I have not seen before and have not, at the moment, been able to find out what it is. I will update when I do. Both Large and Small White Butterflies as well as Peacock Butterflies were enjoying the Red Clover.
A female Roesel's Bush Cricket gave some good views as it moved about amongst the vegetation. There were certainly plenty of these around today.
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| female Roesel's Bush Cricket |
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| female Roesel's Bush Cricket |
A couple of Oystercatcher flew over calling and a Sedge Warbler popped up nearby allowing some close photos. A Speckled Bush Cricket remained mainly obscured by vegetation but was nice to see. Several Marbled White Butterflies were active and I was pleased to catch up with my first ones of the year.
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| Sedge Warbler |
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| Marbled White |
A Five-spot Burnet Moth caught my eye and though I could not get a clear shot through the grass it was nice to be able to see both upper and inner wing. I saw a Robberfly that I have not seen before, a Slender-striped. A Shaded Broad Bar Moth flew up and a Lattice Heath Moth was also present.
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| Five-spot Burnet Moth |
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| Slender-striped Robberfly Leptogaster cylindrica |
I headed back up to Coldharbour and a Little Egret was giving almost perfect reflections as it looked for food but otherwise Coldharbour remained quiet.
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| Little Egret |
I sat on the sea wall for a while and could see the family of Shelduck off shore and I enjoyed watching them as they drifted by. The parents have done really well to keep all ten youngsters. 4 Whimbrel were on the shore and, unfortunately, were soon disturbed by dog walkers. They flew past me before settling back down on a patch of exposed mussel bed. 3 Mediterranean Gulls flew west as did 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull while 3 Little Egret flew east. Both Common and Sandwich Terns were out to sea and a Great Crested Grebe was on the sea.
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| Whimbrel |
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| Shelduck family |
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| Whimbrel |
I headed for home and as I walked back up to Chambers Wall a Common Tern flew down the river. A Black-tailed Skimmer was resting briefly on the ground. A Yellow Shell Moth flew up but when it settled back it was obscured by vegetation.
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| Common Tern |
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| Black-tailed Skimmer |
I came across a very hairy hoverfly which on looking it up is a Cheilosia illustrata. Mating Common Red Soldier Beetles seemed to be everywhere. I was pleased to hear the purring song of a Turtle Dove. As I walked back up the approach road I could hear a couple of Corn Bunting and a male Marsh Harrier flew over. A Yellow Wagtail was catching insects from the road and I ended the visit with Skylarks, Reed Bunting and Reed Warbler singing away.
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| Cheilosia illustrata |
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| mating Common Red Soldier Beetles |
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| Yellow Wagtail |
Birds seen this visit included: 1 Sparrowhawk, 8 House Sparrow, 11 Whitethroat, Wood Pigeons, 21 Swallow, Skylarks, 12 Reed Warblers, 7 Reed Bunting, 4 Yellow Wagtail, 6 Chaffinch, 33 Linnet, 1 Wren, 2 Blackbird, Carrion Crow, 4 Grey Heron, Cormorant, 4 Magpie, Goldfinches, Great Tits, Blue Tits, 9 Sedge Warbler, 8 Sand Martin, 10 Meadow Pipit, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, 5 Oystercatcher, 1 Pied Wagtail, 7 Little Egret, 12 Shelduck, 4 Whimbrel, 3 Mediterranean Gull, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 3 Great Black-backed Gull, 1 Greenshank, 1 Curlew, 5 Turnstone, 3 Ringed Plover, 7 Sandwich Tern, 5 Common Tern, 2 Pheasant, Starlings, 1 Moorhen, 3 Wren, 1 Turtle Dove, 1 Marsh Harrier, 2 Corn Bunting, 2 Dunnock
