The Lees

Sunshine, 26°, light S.

The Lees: Yellow Wagtail, Skylark, Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Corn Bunting and Jay.

Dragonflies: Beautiful Demoiselle, Banded Demoiselle, Common Blue Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, Emperor, Brown Hawker, Black-tailed Skimmer and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Large White, Small White, Holly Blue, Comma, Red Admiral, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Ringlet and Speckled Wood.

Yellow Wagtail

Common Blue Damsel egg laying

Comma

Large Skipper

River

Sunny periods, 22°, light S.

Alan along the river and 2 new for the year*: Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Kingfisher, Sedge Warbler, Nuthatch, Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Swallow, House Martin and Swift.

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle, Beautiful Demoiselle, *Small Red eyed Damselfly, Red-eyed Damselfly, White-legged Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Emperor, Brown Hawker, Black-tailed Skimmer, Emerald Damselfly, Ruddy Darter and Common Darter.

Butterflies: *Essex Skipper, Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Brimstone, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Comma, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Gatekeeper and Small Heath.

All pics courtesy Alan

Yellow Wagtail

Gatekeeper

Emerald Damselfly

Ruddy Darter

Small Red-eyed Damselfly

Brimstone

Essex Skipper

5

Cloudy with heavy rain later, 12°, breezy SW.

Portland

Roughly the same as yesterday except for a pod of c30 Common Dolphin.

Portland Bird Observatory

Quiet day

Sunny spells, 18°, windy WSW.

A day spent loafing around the Obs and on and off sea watch.

A light passage throughout the day of Manx Shearwater, Balearic Shearwater, Gannet and several Common Scoter along with a couple of Fulmar and Mediterranean Gull, several Guillemot, a few Razorbill, Shag and Cormorant.

A flock of c30 Kittiwake passed by late evening

Not too many insects around either in the blustery winds.

A Common Darter, a ‘Blue’, a few Small Skipper, Red Admiral, Large White, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown, Hummingbird Hawkmoth and Hornet Mimic Hoverfly.

Abbotsbury

Mainly sunny, 18°, breezy WNW.

As Portland was rather quiet, except for an early passage of a few Manx and Balearic Shearwater we decided on a trip to the Swannery at Abbotsbury.

Apart from the many Mute Swan (c800) and Canada Geese (c500) there were a few other birds to see.

Shelduck, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Little Egret, Black Swan, Great-crested Grebe, Mediterranean Gull, Common Tern, Swift, Swallow, Sand Martin, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Reed Bunting to name but a few.

Common Tern

Redshank

Oystercatcher

Little Egret

Common Tern

Black Swan

Some of the Swans and Geese courtesy Loren

Day 2

Cloudy at first the sunny, 20°, breezy WNW.

Portland  

Birdwise pretty quiet as expected.

A light passage of Manx Shearwater and Gannet plus the odd Kittiwake and a Fulmar, several Shag and Cormorant on the sea and a few Auks to’ing and fro’ing between the West Cliffs and the race

5 Swift, 6 Swallow and 2 Sand Martin overhead.

A Little Egret flew up the East Cliffs mid-evening.

Dragonflies: Common Blue Damselfly, Black-tailed Skimmer, Broad-bodied Chaser, Emperor.

Butterflies: Small Skipper, Large White, Small White, Red Admiral, Comma, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper & Small Heath.

Moths: Dewick’s Plusia (vagrant), Four Spotted & Scarlet Tiger.

Insects: Swollen Thighed Beetle.

Quiet start

Wet ’n’ windy, 17°, breezy WSW.

Portland:

A rather quiet Portland today. We knew the birding would not be great this time of year but were hoping for some insect findings.

Due to the wet and windy weather even, that was out of the question.

Apart from a few Gannet passing by on the sea, a couple of Swallow and a handful of Swift late on. There was nothing else of note.

A Common Pipistrelle picked up with the bat detector at 22:30 hunting around the Obs.  

A couple of pics of 2 moths that were caught overnight and released at dusk this evening.

A Large Emerald and a Green Silver-lines.

Cholsey Thames

Sunny periods, 20°, light NW.

Alan along river today: Cetti’s Warbler, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Reed Bunting, distant Cuckoo, Yellowhammer, Chiffchaff and Kingfisher.

Dragonflies: Beautiful Demoiselle, Banded Demoiselle, Brown Hawker, Emperor, Four-spotted Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer, Broad-bodied Chaser, Common Darter, Ruddy Darter, Common Blue Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Emerald Damselfly, Red-eyed Damselfly and White-legged Damselfly.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Comma, Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Small Blue, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Red Admiral and Small Heath.

Moths: Forester.   

Insects: Spotted Longhorn Beetle.

all photos courtesy Alan

Emerald Damselfly

Marbled White

Hornet Mimic Hoverfly

Forester Moth

Garden Warbler

Ruddy Darter

Lollingdon

Cloudy, 22°, light WSW.

Little change out at Lollingdon today. 2 Lapwing present and seen mobbing a Buzzard, 5 Mistle Thrush and a Nuthatch present in one of the gardens.

Dragonflies: several Beautiful and Banded Demoiselle over the local brooks and an Emperor hunting over a wheat field.

Butterflies: Small Skipper, Large White, Small White, Red Admiral, Comma, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Ringlet and Speckled Wood.

Moths: Cinnabar.

BlueTit on the hunt

Lollingdon

Sunny spells, 21°, breezy W.

A cooler day than of late thankfully and a less tiring walk out to Lollingdon and back.

Little change with the usual Yellowhammer, Reed and Corn Bunting, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap and Chiffchaff all regular.

A Lapwing heard but no visual.

Dragonflies: Beautiful Demoiselle, Southern Hawker and Black-tailed Skimmer.

Butterflies: Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Large White, Small White, Comma, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper (foy), Ringlet and Speckled Wood.

Black-tailed Skimmer

Comma

Greenfinch

Speckled Wood

Yellowhammer

Bunk & Thames

Sunny, 25°, light WSW.

Bunk line today: Little Owl heard calling plus a Lesser Whitethroat, Yellow Wagtail and the usual regulars.

Dragonflies: Both Banded and Beautiful Demoiselle, Common Blue and Azure Damselfly, Black-tailed Skimmer and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Several Large Skipper and Small Skipper, (4) Brimstone, (1) Large White, (2) Small White, (2) Red Admiral, (1) Small Tortoiseshell, (2) Comma, (5) Speckled Wood, (20+) Marbled White, (50+) Meadow Brown, Several Ringlet and a Small Heath.

Alan noted very much the same as yesterday along the river and added Southern Hawker Dragonfly and both Large and Small Skipper Butterflies. Plus 6-spot Burnet Moth and Silver Y Moth.

Meadow Brown ↕

Marbled White

Small Heath

Great-spotted Woodpeckers in garden

6-spot Burnet courtesy Alan

Southern Hawker courtesy Alan