FROM LANGDON TO LYDDEN

After Tuesdays storm,wednesday dawned clean and clear,and garden chores done a visit to Langdon Cliffs was the order of the day.

APPROACHING STORM AT THE HOE.
Marbled whites were plentiful in Langdon Hole,they are an impressively marked butterfly,on top and on the underside.

MARBLED WHITE

MARBLED WHITE underside.

SMALL TORTOISHELL

RINGLET

SMALL COPPER

PYRAMIDAL ORCHID

A beautiful morning at LYDDEN DOWN with fair weather cumulus bubbling up and a fair sprinkling of the first CHALK HILL BLUES of the year.

CHALK HILL BLUE.
The small elm copse at the top of the reserve which has supported a few white letter hairstreaks in recent years appears to be suffering a bad dose of the dreaded dutch elm disease,hopefully enough will survive to keep the colony going.

HERDS OF ELEPHANTS AND SURPRISE LETTERS

This morning started with five elephants in the moth trap,four large and one small,followed soon after in the warm sunshine by a single painted lady.

ELEPHANT HAWK MOTHS SMALL AND LARGE

PAINTED LADY ON GREATER KNAPWEED.

My wildlife garden is obviously doing quite well and it saves all that weeding and grass cutting.
After my boiler had been serviced it was off to Ham Street woods for a look round,soon found the first of a dozen white admirals and a rather tatty purple hairstreak put in a brief appearance,it was so hot the butterflies were very flighty and difficult to approach so it was home for a bit of tennis and a nice cup of tea.

WHITE ADMIRAL

PURPLE HAIRSTREAK with bits missing.

After Venus had been eclipsed at Wimbledon I ventured outside to take what little air there was and had one of those" I don`t bloody well believe it" moments a white letter hairstreak had found its way into my garden,amazing!managed to get a couple of shots before it went on its way,there are no elms in the immediate vicinity so where it appeared from is a mystery.

WHITE LETTER HAIRSTREAK a first for the garden.

A FRESH PURPLE HAIRSTREAK taken at HAM STREET IN 2009

DOING BIRD AT ELMLEY

I had agreed to play cricket in a testimonial match for Tony Rickson on Friday afternoon at Bobbing Court so I took the opportunity to visit the RSPB  reserve at Elmley in the morning.
On the approach road there were plenty of redshank and lapwing in evidence and a few yellow wagtails.At the farm young swallows were abundant hawking around the barn and orchard area.Reed and sedge warblers were also plentiful in the reed beds along the track.From the hides it was obvious that the avocet population is booming with chicks of all ages in evidence.

AVOCET CHICK not more than a day or two old.

WAIT FOR ME MA!

AVOCET IN REFLECTIVE MOOD

AND ONCE AGAIN.

REDSHANK

ANOTHER AVOCET CHICK quite independent at a tender age.

THREE SPOONBILLS Circling high over Elmley,later ther were five together.

ELMLEY IS A GOOD PLACE FOR BROWN HARES,also stoat and weasle were seen.

TEN SPOTTED REDSHANKS were on the flood nine here and one other.

The other one resplendent in summer black plumage

SPOTTED AND COMMON REDSHANK side by side.

AVOCET BOOKENDS.

UP AND AWAY TO SEE OFF A MARSH HARRIER.

A very obliging LAPWING by the farm track.
The cricket was fun,though the game was lost and I survived to tell the tale.
An old chesnut about the difference between a weasle and a stoat.
A weasle is weasily wecognised but a stoat is stoatally different! on that note I bid you all good day.

LITTLE BLACK AND WHITE RIDING HOOD

What big ears you have said the magpie.

All the better for hearing you said the fox.

What big eyes you have said the magpie.

All the better for seeing you said the fox.

And what big teeth you have said the magpie

All the better for eating you with said the fox.
At that point the magpie suddenly flew away and they all lived happily ever after.

THE END

PIPITS AND SKIPPERS

The rock pipits on the Prince of Wales pier are hanging on with two birds seen on Sunday afternoon, also two were at Samphire Hoe yesterday along with at least 7 meadow pipits three of which were displaying, seems to have been some late arrivals in the last week or two.I also had a late evening at Kings Wood Challock on Monday where a tree pipit was seen briefly,but no churrring was heard!theres a guided walk there this evening (wednesday)at 9pm lets hope the nightjars co operate.

ROCK PIPIT POW PIER

TREE PIPIT KINGS WOOD

ROCK PIPIT  SAMPHIRE HOE

On to the skippers now Small or Essex that is the question,is it small with ginger tips and essex with black tips to the antennae or vice versa, and then you`ve got to get good enough views to see them.
Essex tips are black ,have just checked Collins again.

ESSEX SKIPPER(black tips)

LARGE SKIPPER(hooked tips)

SMALL SKIPPER(ginger tips)
I think I`m correct in my ID of these little blighters but if you know different please let me know.
There are at least 23 house martins nests on the cliff overhangs at the Dover end of the Hoe with a couple more which may be occupied,they have been very industrious this last week,most now ready for finishing touches.
Dragonflies are also active on the main pond with several Emperors and Black Tailed Skimmers present

BLACK TAILED SKIMMER (male)

B.T.S.(female)

THE WHEEL OF LOVE

HAWKS AND DOVES

A couple of hawk moths have been in the trap this week an elephant and an eyed hawk moth,also four of the jock moths Rannoch loopers were found on monday night.

RANNOCH LOOPER

EYED HAWK MOTH

VARIED CORONET

ELEPHANT HAWK MOTH

TURTLE DOVE at Uplees copse Oare on thursday morning.

ROAMIMG IN THE GLOAMING(CLOWSE WOOD)

After last weeks nightjar hunt at Clowes Wood drew a blank a second attempt at Blean was successful last night when three birds were seen and heard  there along with at least two roding woodcock.

ROAMING IN THE GLOAMING (BLEAN WOODS)

WOODCOCK RODING IN THE GLOAMING!