Iberian Chiffchaff

 A nice sunny day on Dungeness with the feel of spring in the air. The morning had started with an influx of Black Redstarts dotted around the area which we spent time looking at.

A radio call alerted us to the presence of an Iberian Chiffchaff in DB’s garden. We drove round and parked up, walked round the back of the house and there was a small group who showed us where to look. The bird was very active and spent most of it’s time flitting in and out off the trees and especially the euphorbia gleaning insects and giving some really good views.

Large Tortoiseshell and other ButterfIies

 With a few warmer days and some sunshine there were a few butterflies on the wing. In the garden there have been Comma, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock while news came of Large Tortoiseshells emerging in Burchet Wood, near Hamstreet. An afternoon trip up from Dungeness had us parking on the roadside and walking along the ride into the wood. A king man pointed us in the right direction and we were soon watching a lovely Large Tortoishell sunning on a tree trunk. It flew around and settled a few times before flying off through the trees. There were more sightings further down the ride and we met up with Jonathan and friends from Sandwich. 

A couple of buzzards flew over and there was a shallow flooded area that was alive with frogs before we walked back to the car. Driving back we took a back road past an old orchard and managed views of two Little Owls.

March 14th

 Having put the actinic out for the first time on 16th Feb which brought 14 moths of 3 species, including 9 common Quaker and 4 small Quaker, I put it out a couple of times more but gave up when there was nothing in the trap. I started again on 11th March and have had it out most nights since. Last night I had the highest number of moths with 10 moths, of 4 species, the highest number of species so far was on the 12th with 6 moths of 6 species.

A decent day yesterday brought my first wheatears with two feeding on the turn area near the new lighthouse. There were a few Gannets and a Red-breasted Merganser flew up channel. A large flock of about 100 Brent, followed by a small group of 7 also went purposefully north. The sun brought out a small group of firebugs and a Red Admiral.

More Emeralds

Checking out the trap at Kiln Field found 

 Following the discovery of Scarce Emerald yesterday, we returned the damsels to their pools, finding a new male in one of the pools. Jacques and Beth arrived and we spent some time checking the details of the damsels. 

Scarce Emerald Damselfly

 As we walked in we put a Lunar Hornet lure out so after we’d released the damsels we went and checked the lure. There were 8 males in and around the pot. 

Lunar Hornet Clearwing

As we walked through the trapping area, we set the pots up in different places. There was a total of 24 attracted to the lures from 5 different spots. We also tried the Red-tipped and Dusky lures but no takers.

We walked out to the wigwam pools, although they were drying out quite a lot. We were looking for the water **** but all we managed to find was Water Forget-me -not, Marsh Bedstraw and one, possibly two more Scarce Emerald males.

On the walk back we tried the 6 Belted lure but 5ere were probably not enough plants. We did find a Heath Shieldbug on the bedstraw. 

The pleasure of orchids

 Kent is one of the best counties for orchids and each year I try to see as many as I can. The Early PurPle orchids at Dungeness were attacked by badgers but a good number (60+) survived, helped by cages. A short visit to the graveyard of High Halden Church had some really nice examples of Early purple orchids as well as many early spring flowers. On the marsh is a field that used to be covered in Green-winged orchids but the numbers have declined over the years until they were down to 2/3 with none visible over the last two years so it was a nice surprise to count 17 this year. A very pleasant afternoon visit to Yocklett’s Bank found near.y over Early Purple, Lady, Fly, including the green one, White Helleborine and Butterfly nearly out.

 

We also found a new shield bug, ****, which was a nice surprise.

Week of 29th April

Saturday was very pleasant, although not much bird activity. We decided to go out to Hawthorn Corner to see if there were any green-winged Orchids out. We scanned the field but couldn’t see any flowers. A Yellow Hammer was in the top of a bush singing. We drove up to Wheelgate Farm but no sign of the Little Owls.

The Hooded Crow was reported on the Dengemarsh road, so we went round there and found it feeding with a group of crows at a bit of a distance. 

We then visited the RSPB to see if there were any bees on the bank. Not much of interest but there was a Peacock Butterfly and several Green Tiger Beetles. 

 At home, checking the nest box, the Blue Tit now has 6 eggs and seems to be sitting. The male bird has been in a few times feeding her, once with a St Mark’s fly. During sunny spells there have been several Mason bees around the bee hotels but not the numbers of last year. 

We did the first Breeding Bird Survey, with very few tits, no Whitethroats but quite a few Song Thrush. The footpath on the second transect had been churned to brown mud in places, which made it difficult to walk and there were some new pigs in one of the fields.

27th April - A Gamble on a Sparrow

 A Gambel’s White-crowned Sparrow had been lurking around Seaford Head for a few days and on the first reasonable free day we decided to go for it. It was about an hour and a half journey through the back of Hastings and Pevensey, round Beachy Head to a car park on the edge of the coast. A short walk downhill and we were in place. The weather, unfortunately, decided to rain as we got there, not too hard at first but it did get progressively wetter, with a few breaks. The bird showed as we got there, but not for long. Sheltering under a tree we waited for a break and then it did come out, hopping about on the ground among the grass and bramble shoots. Again it didn’t stay long but it did perch up on a dead branch before retreating into the bushes. We did get a few couple more good views before we gave up and made our way back to the car. 

It was great to see David Campbell there with his lovely dog. The trip back was a bit more unusual as the Sat Nav took us a different way back ending up at Hurst Green and Merriments Lane. A slight diversion towards Bodium and then we were home.