This weeks wildlife 8th - 14th August

Monday 8th saw me heading off to Wembury on the bus for a walk as David had worked a night shift the previous night and was in bed trying to sleep during the morning so I thought it best to get out of the house. The weather wasn't bad but it felt distinctly Autumnal and the waders on the beach reinforced this view with a summer plumaged turnstone, 2 whimbrel, 7 curlew, 2 dunlin (1 with a complete black belly and 1 with a few black splodges) and 1 adult sanderling moulting out of summer plumage all seen along with the usual oystercatchers. 7 mallard flew along the shoreline, 3 female and 4 males in eclipse plumage, further proof that Summer is passing by. Best bird was a juvenile sedge warbler feeding in the undergrowth along the stream leading to the main beach, it showed really well and had surprisingly long and bluey grey legs. This is only the second one I have seen at Wembury.

Also seen were a male cirl bunting, 4 juvenile stonechats, chiffchaff and the usual whitethroats.

A nice holly blue allowed a close view on some ivy and a male common blue was also seen along with a wall, a small tortoiseshell, meadow browns and gatekeepers.

Holly Blue

 Also seen were common lizards basking in the sunshine on the wooden fences, a bloody nosed beetle, wild carrot with the black flower in the centre of the white flowers and one of my favourite flowers, montbretia.

Bloody Nosed Beetle

Wild Carrot

Montbretia



Moth wise a few tatty looking six-spot burnets were seen and in the toilet block were a magpie moth and a marbled green, presumably the same individuals I saw in the toilet block on the 5th August. However this time I had my collecting pots with me and I was able to catch and release them outside along with a small fan footed wave.

Small Fan Footed Wave

I enjoyed a pasty and coffee for lunch before heading home to start my 4 night shifts, they seem to come round so quickly and I get to dread them more and more. They weren't too bad as it turned out but I was knackered at the end of them on the Friday morning.

Saturday I had the moth box out in the back yard and Sunday morning I had a nice little collection of goodies including 2 Jersey Tigers, 2 male Four spotted Footman, 3 marbled green, a brimstone moth, 1 lesser broad bordered yellow underwing, 4 large yellow underwing and 4 willow beauty.

Four spotted Footman - male

Willow Beauty

Large Yellow Underwing

Sunday 14th saw me heading out to Bovisand on the bus as David was working a long day. The bus to Wembury no longer runs on Sundays but the Bovisand bus runs every day for the 6 weeks of the Summer school holidays and runs every hour! It was 20 minutes late and I nearly gave up waiting especially as it was showery with some heavy and prolonged showers. However I got there eventually and had a great 4 hour walk from Bovisand to Wembury and back with a pasty and coffee for lunch at Wembury. The showers at least allowed me to test out the waterproof-ness of my new back pack that I bought with my birthday money from Mum and Dad - and it passed!

More waders were in evidence today with 12 ringed plovers and 3 dunlin along the beach with curlew and oystercatcher. There were more mallards too feeding amongst the rocks as the tide went out, the males all being in eclipse plumage. A little egret fished in a rock pool. A pair of cirl buntings were heard and then seen with a second female later seen further along the path. 2 sparrowhawks soared overhead and a pair of kestrels hovered along the cliff tops. 6 stonechats were seen, 4 juveniles and 2 moulting males, and 2 white wagtails were feeding in the horse field with some pied wagtails. Chiffchaff, whitethroat, swallow and house martin were also seen.

The toilet block at Wembury held a blood vein, 2 mullein wave, an early thorn and 2 grass veneer sp., all of which were caught and released outside except one of the mullein waves which I couldn't reach on the ceiling.

Grass Veneer sp.

Other wildlife included a dead shrew on the path, dodder growing on the gorse bushes between Bovisand and Heybrook Bay, looking like strings of pink liquorice, long winged coneheads, a dark bush cricket (new for Wembury), common lizards and a few funnel web spiders webs (with spiders inside) on the gorse bushes.

Dark Bush Cricket

Dodder flower

Dodder strangling a gorse bush

Meadow Brown

Funnel Web Spider Web Entrance

Funnel Web Spider Web

Long Winged Conehead



The bus was late leaving Bovisand for Plymouth but I eventually got back to Royal Parade where I met David for lunch before heading home having had quite an eventful walk. I enjoyed my pasty too but I think I am getting addicted to them, they are bloody tasty though!