Again I have only managed a few short local trips this last week, the weather has been the usual almost gale force winds.
21st
A trip to the levels, sunny but a strong wind keeping most things out of sight except one buzzard, cetti's, a family group of four kestrels but little else. It depressed me so I packed up and not out again until the ...........
23rd
Plenty of gatekeepers on the plots plus a peacock, common blue (not so common now), s.skippers, whites m.browns. Birds seen were blue tits, goldfinch and a greenfinch (not common), marsh harrier and the usual common stuff. From the beach; curlew, oystercatchers, g.c.grebe, 1 barwit and a lesser b.b.gull.
Rosele's Bush Cricket on the garage door when I got home - forgive the paint runs!
pm.
Oare; seeing little stint, 3 LRPs, 2 grey plovers, 1 golden plover plus the godwit crowd along with dunlin, ruff, redshank etc..
25th evening
Just a walk along the LNR to get some sunset photos but I managed to see the barn owl over the back fields. The field opposite the Sportsman PH seems to have attracted a roost of gulls lately and I watched 3 Sandwich terns fly in and land amongst them and there were two common gulls on the breakwaters.
27th
Hardly any different
29th
I thought, sunny and little wind, could be a good day but no, the wind was soon back up to full strength keeping everything out of sight. I stopped at the roost and counted 14 cormorants, 1 lesser b.b.gull, 1 gbb gull, 1 curlew, 1 whimbrel, 54 oystercatchers, 1 Med gull flew west then one man and his dog walked out onto the 'roost'.
The two hay fields were cut today on the plots
The plots were quiet, I was hoping for butterflies but only found plenty of gatekeepers, skippers a few s.whites and a peacock and just one common blue. Birds were also keeping out of sight but a close encounter with a reed warbler took us both by surprise. I walked along the wall to the Sportsman, the field opposite held 101 cormorants, a flock of 49 bh gulls plus 2 common gulls.
8 miles offshore another 15 turbines being installed, totaling 30 - they are 140 metres high and weigh 600 tonnes.
BEST OF ALL
SILVER-WASHED FRITILLARY
IN MY GARDEN, 9 FEET AWAY AS I SAT INSIDE NEXT TO THE PATIO DOORS!!
3 comments:
Wow, how about that for a garden tick and yes, the wildlife around The Swale is pretty boring atm.
Love the sunset photo.
Sometimes it pays to just sit in the garden.................
First time here at your blog and wanted to say i enjoyed reading this.
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