Thrift Clearwing, Wembury

Saturday 1st June and it was a warm and sunny morning as I headed off on the bus to Wembury for a walk. As the morning progressed it became increasingly hot and as a result the National Trust carpark was jam packed with sun seekers by the time I left for home.

With the birding summer doldrums pretty much here I wasn't expecting much but I did see a nice selection of birds - a single gannet and fulmars offshore, a buzzard over mobbed by carrion crows, stonechats everywhere including a few fledglings, whitethroats everywhere with many still singing, a singing chiffchaff, 2 Canada geese, a little egret, just a single swallow around the horse stables and 3-5 singing  cirl buntings (mobile and vocal but at least 3 present).

There were very few butterflies on the wing despite the good weather and by the end of the walk I had managed to see 3 male common blue, 2 speckled wood, 1 female orange tip, a small tortoiseshell, a small copper, a meadow brown and 2 red admiral along with 3 green hairstreak in the same area where I saw them on May 21st ( but presumably different individuals?).

Small Tortoiseshell 

Red Admiral

Green Hairstreak

Green Hairstreak 

Green Hairstreak 

The only moths in the toilet block were 2 squashed and unidentifiable splodges on the floor and along the walk I found Depressia daucella caterpillars, lackey caterpillars, a squashed drinker caterpillar and a common carpet.

The moth highlight though was initially a mother shipton feeding on birds foot trefoil flowers, my first ever sighting at Wembury, but this was quickly superceded by a thrift clearwing flitting about on thrift flowers on the clifftops - very small and easily overlooked and quite a surprise.

Mother Shipton

Mother Shipton 

Thrift Clearwing

Thrift Clearwing

On getting back to Plymouth I met David at the allotment and was pleased to see 4 bee orchids flowering in the wild meadow nearby, an increase from the single specimen found here last year.

Bee Orchid

Bee Orchid

Bee Orchid