IS THERE HONEY STILL FOR TEA ?

This morning I reported for special duties at General Mcvails,having been blinfolded and sworn to secrecy I was taken to a secret location to watch out for buzzards,not your common or garden buzzards but honey buzzards.We didn`t have to wait long before two birds took to the air and circled around in the distance.

 THE REAL PHOTOGRAPH

 CROPPED PHOTOGRAPH

One of them came a little closer as it sailed into the breeze.
In all four birds were seen.

                                         COMMON BUZZARD

THE GENERAL Saluting his troops.
An outbreak of Peacock butterflies in the garden this week,I found this one warming up in the early morning sunshine.

PEACOCK
I walked through Folkestone Warren on wednesday in the hope of finding a Grayling,no luck unfortunately they are like hens teeth these days,they may even have gone altogether.
Two ravens made their presence known by" cronking" from the cliff.

                                                               RAVEN

                                                      JERSEY TIGER
Failed to see Grayling in East Sussex on thursday too

 SMALL BLUE

 DARK GREEN FRITILLARY

ROUND HEADED RAMPION A CHAMPION FLOWER OF ANCIENT CHALK GRASSLAND,but not found in Kent

 PANORAMA FROM WINDOVER HILL

 The grassland was absolutely covered in chalk hill blues

After a brief pit stop here I made my way home,but with one last call at Lydden Bank hoping for the last of Kents resident butterflies to have emerged and indeed they had,just three but its a start.

 THE FIRST SILVER SPOTTED SKIPPER

SILVER SPOTTED SKIPPER

NOT TONIGHT JOSEPHINE

For a few days Napoleons bird has been hanging out on Oare Marshes,the Bonapartes Gull is a smaller North American cousin of our own black headed gull.It took a while to locate but it eventually showed well at a distance on the mud near the slipway.

                               BONAPARTES GULL

BONAPARTES GULL could it be the same individual that turned up last year?
Another new bird for the year was a Spotted Redshank

SPOTTED REDSHANK
Wader numbers are building as autumn migration gets under way with black tailed godwits as usual, top of the league,avocets,ruff ,whimbrel,curlew, oystercatcher,lapwing ,dunlin and common sandpiper also seen.
Other things of interest seen:-

SMALL TORTOISHELL.I have not been lucky enough to find the immigrant YELLOW LEGGED variety that has appeared at various places on the east coast including Sandwich.

 AN INTERESTING MUSHROOM

RUDDY DARTER
A few pictures from the last week

MARBLED WHITE Still sleeping.

 SMALL SKIPPER

 These should really be tiger moth caterpillars but they are in fact those of the CINNABAR MOTH which feed on Ragwort.

 GATEKEEPERs are enjoying a good summer.

 A male BROWN ARGUS,they are extremely territorial and aggressive to other small butterflies.

FEMALE COMMON BLUE,this is obviously not the normal brown variety

PURPLE HAIRSTREAK

 This was a real surprise when it appeared in the South Foreland Valley near the Pines Garden.Another surprise was a Silver Washed Fritillary seen near the lighthouse.

BLACK REDSTART at Samphire Hoe.

FROM LANGDON TO SAMPHIRE HOE

Monday and tuesday of last week were reasonable weatherwise ,the rest of the week was overcast windy and cool and my camera and I stayed indoors.

SECOND BROOD COMMON BLUE

 CHALK HILL BLUE

 SMALL COPPERS ARE REAPPEARING

 GATEKEEPER

 US NAVY 6th FLEET FLAG SHIP MOUNT WHITNEY IN THE CHANNEL LAST MONDAY.

 SKYLARK Still feeding young apparently

 MARBLED WHITE Nectaring on a thistle.

A Belgian ketch sailing by the Hoe.
Meanwhile at home the moth trap has been turning out some good catches.

 GREY DAGGER

 BUFF ERMINE

 PRIVET HAWKMOTH

 BUFF ARCHES

 CAMPION

 PEPPERED MOTH

 LOBSTER

LILAC BEAUTY

WHITE ERMINE

 MARBLED GREEN

 BARRED SALLOW

 ROSY FOOTMAN

 SCALLOPED OAK

 Lozotaeniodes formosana?

 EARLY THORN

A DOVER " SHARK"