Great White Egret in Bude

I had the moth box out in the back yard overnight on Thursday 13th August and rigged it up with a clothes airer and a golfing umbrella to try and protect it from the forecasted overnight showers and in the morning it was a little soggy but with a few nice and dry moths in it. Square-spot Rustic and Garden Rose Tortrix were new for the year and Marbled Beauty and Eudonia angustea were nice finds.

 Garden Rose Tortrix

 Marbled Beauty

Eudonia angustea

Friday 14th August was grey and dull but warm and humid and so we took a drive up to Bude for a look around. A Great White Egret has been seen regularly along the River Neet which runs through the centre of Bude and as soon as we arrived we found it resting along the shoreline of the river right by the busy main road passing through the town.

 Great White Egret

Great White Egret 

We carried on to nearby Maer Lake which was unfortunately shrouded in mist. However a quick scan around revealed 27 Dunlin, 3 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Greenshank, 3 Ringed Plover, a Curlew, a Green Sandpiper, a Lapwing and a Common Sandpiper. 2 Redshank were also found, one a juvenile bird which did an almost convincing impression of a Wood Sandpiper as it fed distantly out on the Lake in the mist.

I decided to cut my losses and to try and return to the Lake later if the weather cleared and so we parked up and wandered along the coast path and into Bude for some lunch and shopping.

Sand Martin, Swallow and House Martin were buzzing around overhead and Red Admiral, Meadow Brown, a Small Tortoiseshell and 6-spot Burnet were also seen in the humid mist.

The Great White Egret was still along the river right by the main road and I managed some even better views of it, certainly the best views of one I've ever had, and it was getting a lot of interest and attention from people passing by.

 

Great White Egret 

 Great White Egret 

Great White Egret

Great White Egret

Great White Egret 

Great White Egret 

The weather had improved by the time we got back to the car with the mist replaced by harsh and hazy sunshine and another look at Maer Lake before heading home was still challenging. I did get some better views of the waders present including the juvenile Redshank but unfortunately there was no sign of a proper Wood Sandpiper.

Saturday 15th August and we visited Wembury with Mother-in-law for some fresh air and a pasty. It was overcast and humid again but did clear to hot sunshine and we had a pleasent time. A male Beautiful Demoiselle, Red Admiral and a Wall were seen with the highlight being a very smart Magpie Moth rescued from the toilet block and released outside.

Magpie Moth