Wednesday 15 February 2012

A new moth at Wembury 14th February 2012

After finishing 4 night shifts on Monday morning I headed out to Wembury on Tuesday 14th with David for a walk in the sunshine and fresh air. The temperatures have risen back to around 10 degrees and it was a pleasent walk along the coast despite it being the half term school holidays. There were quite a few people out and about with their kids but the upshot of this was that the cafe was open and we had our first Chunk pasty of the year for our lunch - yummy!

Bird wise I found 2 dunlin amongst a flock of around 35 turnstone feeding on the rocks at the tideline as the tide went out, the count of 35 turnstone being the highest count I have had at Wembury this winter due to the generally mild weather. Also seen were 1 curlew, oystercatchers, 2 redshank and a smart bar-tailed godwit, the first I have seen at Wembury at this time of year, no doubt displaced by the recent freezing weather snap.

Other birds seen on the walk included a singing song thrush, a goldcrest, a pair of bullfinch, 2 little egrets, a male stonechat, a grey wagtail and 3 male and 7 female cirl buntings sitting in a hedge by the stubble covered wheatfield. The mallard numbers have dropped although they were difficult to count amongst the rocks at low tide but the white and the pale brown farmyard types were still amongst them.

Stopping off for a wee in the toilet block on the way back to the car I was surprised to see a moth. I had no pot with me and had left my camera at home but when I checked the guide books at home I identified it as a dotted border, a new moth for me.

No comments:

Post a Comment