A QUIET WEEK

COMMON SANDPIPERLITTLE RINGED PLOVERCOMMON SANDPIPER BATHINGGREEN SANDPIPER CONTORTIONISTGREEN SAND ON TIPTOERED ADMIRALLINNET SAM HOELUNAR SPOTTED PINIONPEACOCKFIRST TOMATO OF THE SEASONLYDDEN DOWNSILVER SPOTTED SKIPPERCOMMON BLUE (female)COMMON BLUE (female)PAINTED LADY

Since my last post I  have been to the Kent Beer Festival at Canterbury on thursday evening,the Madness gig at Quex Park on saturday.Langdon Cliffs sunday morning.cricket at Hythe sunday afternoon,Backsand scrape monday afternoon,Samphire hoe tuesday and wednesday,Lydden Downs this morning and this weekend its off to the Pickering jazz fest in Yorkshire so a fairly quiet week really.Unfortunately there are no pics from Quex Park but it was a really good evenings entertainment especially good were the Blockheads even without Ian Dury.Backsand held 16 greenshank 17 redshank,a dozen common sand ,6 green sand,5 or 6 juvenile little ringed plovers afew lapwings 2 oystercatchers and 3 little egrets.Autumn migration is underway with a sedge warbler and 3 willow warblers at the hoe on tuesday.The first silver spotted skipper of the summer was seen at Lydden this morning.The garden continues to attract visitors with a migrant hawker yesterday and a couple of painted ladies today on the hemp agrimony.Best moth of the week was a lunar spotted pinion.

GET OFF MY CLOUD

SMALL MAGPIEROSY FOOTMANPYRALIDSILVER YDOT MOTH

CUTTLE FISH EGG CASES

Wednesday morning moth trap full mostly commoners but several silver y had arrived  ,rosy footman,dot moth,swallowtail and peppered mothand several interesting pyralids.Samphire Hoe in the early morning can be very special, something unusual may have arrived or the weather will sometimes surprise.Today a couple of common sandpipers were on the west beach,an adult mediterranean gull was in amongst the BHGs and later on 30 common scoters were seen flying by,is summer nearly over?surely not.The best sight of the day though was provided by a spectacular cloud hanging like a winter duvet over the cliffs for a short time.This cluster of chalfont like egg cases were found washed ashore at the weekend,they are evidently from the cuttle fish

HOTHFIELD HEAT

BOG ASPHODELSUNDEWKONIK(POLISH PONY)HEATH SPOTTED ORCHIDKEELED SKIMMER

Hothfield Common near Ashford is a KWT nature reserve with the last remnants of ancient bog and heath in the county.It is the home of the Keeled Skimmer dragonfly,Bog Asphodel and Sundew.Agood variety of birds and butterflies were also seen,including buzzard ,great spot and green woodpeckers,silver washed fritillary and small copper to name but a few.The only other humans I saw were dog walkers some even had their mutts under control.The site is grazed by highland cattle and konik horses,the latter being quite happy to be photographed.My first walk round was a little disappointing as very few dragonfles were out,but as the heat rose towards late morning the keeled skimmers came out to play,I placed a stick into the bog at the side of the boardwalk and within seconds they were using it as a convenient perch for both of us.It was very hot now and I retired to Samphire Hoe for my first swim of the year,cool,very cool.

MINES A BUD

PEACOCKCOMMACOMMARED ADMIRALHUMMING BIRD HAWK MOTHHBHMHBHMHBHM

The buddleia is blooming in the garden of the Kearsney Arms and the regulars are back for a pint or two of the amber nectar, with the odd holiday maker at the bar too.

LAST OF THE KITTIWAKES?

LAST OF THE KITTIWAKES

Last sunday morning I walked from Langdon Cliffs to South Foreland, a few years ago the cliff face at Langdon Hole would have been alive with kittiwakes,now there is just one occupied nest with one chick,a sad reality .There are more at Fan Bay and at South Foreland now, but only a couple of hundred at most not the thousands of yesteryear,and there is at least one chick that will not fledge as it was taken from its nest by a peregrine falcon and in the ensuing chase by agitated parents it was dropped ,lifeless, on to the rocks below.On a happier note skylarks seem to have had a successful season on the fields there,and are still singing well.

FEEDING ON SCRAPES

PECTORAL SANDPIPERPEC SAND and MED GULLSPEC SAND

Saturday was becoming a bit of a bore,been into Dover in the morning,watched a bit of golf,had a power nap,done some unenthusiastic gardening,thought Id have a quick scan of the KOS sitings and the pectoral sandpiper had re emerged on Rest Harrow scrape, so off to Sandwich I went.The hide there is not large, but one seat remained, the bird was on the middle island feeding quite happily,the others in the hide knew not that what they saw was a vagrant from america.About the size and stamp of a dunlin with a small ruff like posture it could easily be overlooked Iwould imagine.The juvenile Little Ringed Plover also showed briefly a couple of Med Gulls flew in Yellow Wagtails,a family group? were present with  Sand and House Martins aplenty,and that made my day folks.

UP NORTH

PURPLE EMPEROR

WHITE ADMIRALSILVER WASHED FRITILLARY

DARK GREEN FRITILLARY(with hitch hiker)Had a day up north on friday,well north of the medway anyway.Dene Park Tonbridge was the first venue,eventually,just off theA227 the info says,but of course its not that straightforward,so off to the town,got a map and the car park is not on the main road but on the minor road to Plaxtol.Best place for Purple Emperors in Kent and once the master oak is found sure enough my first sightings were made,though only in the air and in the upper reaches of the canopy.However one well worn individual did sit nicely just within range for a while.There were also plenty of white admirals to be seen and the odd silver washed fritillary as well as the more common species.Then with my best carbon footprint forward it was off to Lullingstone C.P. near Eynsford to see Dark Green Fritillary,I had been given directions by Fred Green at Dene Park,thanks Fred,where best to see them and sure enough there were several to be seen, most were well worn and faded but one was still in good nick and was quite confiding.DGFDGFDGFDGFDARENTH VALLEYLAVENDER FIELD