The Bird and Bees (and Moths)

Bird News: Ibsley Water - ruff 1 juvenile, dunlin 2, ringed plover 2 juveniles, yellow wagtail 1 or more calling near the Tern hide, wheatear 2 (1 an adult male)

Ivy Lake - green sandpiper 2, Cetti's warbler 1 singing.

The moth trap had rather few moths this morning, but then it was the first really autumnal morning, dawning misty after a calm and very cool night. The few moths that there were included several very fresh and fine specimens including a sallow.

There were several frosted orange, all very fresh.

Other moths included a single migrant rusty-dotted pearl, large and lesser yellow underwing, flounced rustic, square-spot rustic and 2 brindled green, my first of the year.

It was volunteer Thursday and we were cutting willows again on the shore of Ivy Lake, as we will be again tomorrow. Later in the day I was on the south shore of the lake and took a look at the vegetated rafts we set afloat in the spring, some of the me have done pretty well.

I had lunch in the Tern hide where I eventually saw the waders listed above. I also heard a yellow wagtail, the first of the autumn, but typically I could not see it. A very noticeable thing today was the almost complete absence of martins, perhaps fifty each and a few swallows, a big change from the thousands of recent days.

At the end of the day I had a car left in the car park as I locked up, I waited around and was just about to lock up when the owner returned. I did take a look at the sandy bank on the lichen heath as I waited and found loads of small bees going in and out of holes and mating in the evening sun. I think they are Colletes succinctus.

I'm not sure this one is accepting visitors.

Three Damsels on Bramble

Headlines: Yellow wagtail (first of the year), dunlin, common sandpiper, 2 black-tailed godwit.

I was not working today, but I found I had gone home with a set of keys, so I went in first thing to return them. As the day was fine I took the SLR with me for a bit of a run out. I opened up the hides and from the Tern hide I saw that at least two of the black-tailed godwit are still there. I also heard a yellow wagtail flying over calling as if went north, I tried but just could not see it. I also heard dunlin and common sandpiper without seeing them.

Down at the Ivy South hide the suntrap had a good range of insects and I got a few pictures of damselflies. First up was, appropriately enough the first one to emerge each spring, the large red damsel.
Next was the commonest species at Blashford, the common blue damselfly. Strangely enough this usually abundant species became very rare at Farlington Marshes in my last few seasons there, I have no idea why.

Lastly I got a large red damselfly, these can be trickier as they mainly like to rest on floating water plants, although this one was on a bramble.

I spent the rest of the day out in the Forest and on a "Micro-safari" on the collapsing cliffs at Barton-on-Sea, I should have been doing the garden.