River Plym Walk

I missed out on my weekly River Plym and Saltram visit last week with all the Woodchat Shrike and Little Bittern excitement going on and so it was nice to get back for a walk there on Saturday 23rd May despite the strong breeze and occassional heavy showers. It was fairly quiet people wise, probably due to the weather, but there were still plenty of cyclists plying the footpaths as usual who still don't know what 2 metres is as they cycle side by side.

Before heading out for my walk I went through the moths in the back yard moth box and was pleased to find my first White Ermine, Willow Beauty and Marbled Minor Agg. of the year amongst Vines Rustic and Heart and Dart.

 White Ermine

 Marbled Minor Agg. - number 1

Marbled Minor Agg. - number 2

It was nice to get back to Saltram Park with Chiffchaff and Blackcap still singing away along with songflighting Skylarks but the Spring excitement is now slowly slipping into the Summer doldrums. The highlight was a "singing" Spotted Flycatcher in a different area to the one I saw last year and only really noticed due to stepping off the footpath to make way for cyclists passing by. I managed to get a good view of it before it flew off higher into the trees where I lost sight of it but I was very pleased to see one after having just spent some time scanning around the area where I saw one last year without any luck.

Ring-necked Parakeets were noisy and flighty amongst the trees and a pair of Stock Dove were surprisingly confiding. As usual an unseen Green Woodpecker yaffled away in the trees. No waders were seen along the estuary or on Blaxtons Meadow but Shelduck, Canada Geese, 2 male and a female Mallard , a Grey Heron and a breeding plumaged Little Egret with orangey feet and a lilac based bill were all seen and amongst the assorted plumaged Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls were 6 assorted immature Black-headed Gulls and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Stock Dove

Despite the breeze I found Speckled Woods flitting amongst the trees while the grassland held good numbers of Common Blue and Small Heath. 2 Glow worm larva were a nice surprise find along with at least 8 Bee Orchids, looking a bit weak and weedy in the continuing dry conditions from a lack of rain. 10 Roe Deer were also seen, looking quite orangey coloured in the strong sunlight compared to their usual dark winter pelage.

 Common Blue

 Common Blue

 Common Blue

 Small Heath

Small Heath

 Glow Worm Larva

 Glow Worm Larva

Glow Worm Larva

 Bee Orchid

 Bee Orchid

 Bee Orchid

 Bee Orchid

Bee Orchid

I stopped off at Blagdons Meadow on the walk home where it was bone dry underfoot but a few more Southern Marsh Orchids were flowering in the slightly less dry areas.

Southern Marsh Orchid

Another enjoyable walk and one that continues to throw up surprises and interest in these lock down times. And as lock down continues I have realised a few things about my life - firstly, I really no longer enjoy my current job and I need to do something about it, secondly, now that everything is closed down due to COVID-19 I realise I waste a lot of money on nothing (coffees, snacks, lunch out, glasses of wine, train and bus fares, etc.) and thirdly, I really do not pay enough attention to the wildlife close to home. All things to mull over in the coming months with restrictions on daily life set to continue for some time yet.