Just like buses...

Things have been a bit hectic lately but the moth trap produced a newby for the garden on the 24th with the Grass Rivulet pictured above. Better was to come overnight last night though with two newbys'  - Pale Pinion pictured above and Grey Arches below!

The levels are full on with breeding activity at the moment and regular Hobby, Cuckoo, Redshank, and Tufted Duck. Recent highlight for me though was a new Hoverfly on the 29th while walking across White Dyke with Al Redman in the shape of the Long Hoverfly Sphaerophoria scripta pictured below. Choose Love.

Birds in mans world

It never fails to amaze me how birds will utilise any available niche to their benefit, whilst sitting at the Normans' Bay traffic lights the other day I noticed a pair of Starlings actively feeding young at their nest which was in a signal!

Lots of birding but no scarce or rare action to report, best of todays' (14th) WEBS was my first Lapwing chick of the year, only a day or so old, on Mappins. A walk around Wrens Warren on Ashdown Forest with Richard and Hazel was accompanied by the bell like song of Woodlark and the somewhat scratchier Dartfords.

Insect action has been quiet with the best of the garden moths being Scorched Carpet and Maidens' Blush on the 12th and the best of the butterflies being a Painted Lady on White Dyke on the 6th.

The Green-veined, or winged dependent on the vernacular you prefer, orchid pictured below was among the many flowering on Horse-eye on the 9th. Take care.

Anyone for racquets?

Racquet tails that is. Pom Sunday (30th) saw me at Birling for a sea-watch stint in the company of Al Redman, Lawrence Pitcher, John and Doreen Cooper, Roger Haggar, Roger Charlwood, Richard Butler et al for a quality 5 hours. I managed 41 Poms, as well as 7 Bonxies, 10 Arctics, 10 Velvet Scoter, and a miscellany of waders, Common Scoter, Gannets etc. There really is nothing better than watching Poms chugging up channel or loafing around on the sea like a flock of avian hyenas. A mid afternoon walk at Normans' Bay turfed up a Little Tern, along with a handful of Arctics.

The previous day (29th) I did my early season BBS visit to the patch. Survey work is always interesting as it involves a different mindset, and with the BBS you note absolutely everything on the transects of "your" square. The most noteworthy birds during my transects were a singing Grasshopper Warbler (second year running), and my first Hobby and Cuckoo of the year on the patch.

Elsewhere on the patch were another Hobby today (1st), and a singing Lesser Whitethroat on White Dyke. There were also 5 Barwit and 3 Whimbrel down Sluice lane and a Northern Wheatear showing Greenland characteristics near Lookers cottage. The Whimbrel pictured above was on the dam at Arlington reservoir on Thursday (28th) when, after a protracted wait, the rumper was seen. Also at Arlington a Little Owl near Chilverbridge house.

Bits and bobs

A pleasant evening stroll along White Dyke this evening (25th) was brightened by the Small Copper pictured above sunning itself on a bramble. Also a sub-adult male Marsh Harrier on Horse-eye, pairs of both Shelduck and Redshank on Mappins', and a female Sparrowhawk on prey on Down level.
Sunday (23rd) had a good selection of waders on show with Greenshank, LRP, Green Sandpiper, Redshank, Snipe, and a sp Dunlin all on Mappins. Elsewhere an early evening walk at Arlington on the 24th produced the goods with my first Osprey of the year (presumably the same bird as one seen earlier in the day that I was unaware of, this bird was missing a secondary) hunting over the res before drifting off north west. Also at the res was a Peregrine and a smattering of House and Sand Martins amongst the 100 or so Swallow.

Thick and fast

Never a phrase that could be applied to me, well certainly not the fast part, however that is the pace that the last week has taken with summer migrant arrivals, and not before time! This evening (18th) on Mappins' a cracking male Little Ringed Plover and a Golden Plover, along with a pair of Shoveler, half a dozen Teal, Swallow, and Yellow Wagtail. Reed and Sedge Warblers were chuntering away pretty much constantly despite the cold wind and my first Lesser Whitethroat of the year was singing behind the factory in Lower Dicker today. The weekend was pretty quiet however a pair of Wheatear on the 16th and yesterdays summer plumaged Red Necked Grebe found by Jake Everitt at Arlington reservoir helped to smarten up the year list as did House Martin at Brick Farm on the 17th whilst fishing with Rich. The Red Necked was the first summer plumage bird I have seen since three displaying at Weirwood reservoir in the early eighties, well worth the walk.
On the moth front the cold nights have resulted in low counts however the 9th was notable with singles of Chocolate Tip, Lunar Marbled Brown, and Streamer, the former two pictured below.

Wags, Whimbrel, WEBS, and getting lucky with a Cettis'

Friday afternoon and glorious weather found me back on the levels along with one of my top ten levels birds, Yellow Wagtail, with my first for the year singing on Down Level. Little else of note on Friday. The picture above is of one seen during Sundays' WEBS when 2 were singing and feeding around the scrapes and ditches.

The WEBS count was predictably quiet with the vast majority of duck having cleared out, the exception being a pair of Tufted Duck on Spoonbill scrape. Walking back to White Dyke a close burst of Cettis' song from a Blackthorn bush was hardly unexpected however the bird deciding to put in an appearance was, as was my ability to get a couple of pictures! Not the greatest I know, but they are my first of this species which I never fail to encounter on the patch.

A single Redshank by Mappins' will hopefully hang around for the summer whilst an influx of Sedge Warbler has clearly taken place since Friday with 4 holding territory along White Dyke. The Meadow Pipit pictured was also along White Dyke and returning to White Dyke farm in glorious warm sunshine butterfly activity began to pick up with half a dozen or so Peacock and, at Clegg corner, my first Speckled Wood of the year (pictured below).Whilst walking I had been cogitating on the fact that one of the features of the spring so far has been the general absence of waders, probably due to the generally fine weather. Sure enough this triggered the inevitable Whimbrel in a sheep field moment, so another year tick in the bag. Finally, to round off my morning, and a little later than my usual first date, a single Swallow hawking insects at White Dyke farm. Enjoy the sunshine.

Beachy Blue Rock

A mid morning text from Al Redman followed by a phone call set me heading straight out of work for a cracking male Blue Rock Thrush he had found at Belle Tout lighthouse. On arrival the bird was immediately performing, regularly catching and dismembering Bumble bees, prior to consuming them. Bizzarely the birds left wing was drooping slightly in some poses leading to speculation by some that this may be the same bird as that seen at Stow on the Wold throughout the winter. In any event it was an absolute cracker and a mega find for Al.
Elsewhere I saw the pair of Cattle Egrets in Litlington by accident on Tuesday night, and enjoyed a very pleasant pint of Long Man in the Plough and Harrow.
Tuesday night moth trapping produced firsts for the year in the form of Angle Shades and Nut Tree Tussock.