Sunday 11th July and it was off to Suffolk for a few days away visiting my family. The journey from Plymouth to Suffolk was not fun though, taking 7 hours and beset with heavy traffic and various jams but we arrived safely and in one piece and I managed to see 8 Red Kites along the way.
We stayed at The Holiday Inn again which is just across the road from my Mums house and on checking out the grassy roadside verges along the A12 when we walked back and forth between the hotel and Mums house I was very pleased to find quite a few Essex Skippers along with Small Skippers, a Bee Orchid and a few Pyramidal Orchids.
Monday 12th July and I managed to wangle a 3 hour visit to RSPB Minsmere. It was raining quite heavily when I was dropped off near the Island Mere Hide but by the time I was picked up 3 hours later it was hot and sunny.
I had a great time despite the weather and the challenging light conditions and I managed to add Common and Little Tern, Ruff, Little Gull, Green Sandpiper, Knot, Bearded Tit and Spotted Redshank to my year list. Marsh Harrier, Avocet, Kittiwake, Mediterranean Gull, Reed Warbler, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Sanderling and Sand Martin were all good to see too.
With the sun beginning to shine I decided to finish my visit with a walk along the butterfly trail and was pleased to find 2 Comma, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Silver-washed Fritillary and a White Admiral flitting about.
Tuesday 13th July and I had my moth box out in my Mums back garden and the next morning I had a nice haul of moths including 3 Elephant Hawk Moths, a Light Arches, 10 Box Tree Moth, a Short-cloaked Moth, a Poplar Grey, a Pale Mottled Willow, Least Carpet and a Rush Veneer.
Heading home to Plymouth on Thursday 15th July and the journey was much more pleasent with only a few hold ups this time and along the way I saw a total of 7 Red Kites soaring overhead.
An enjoyable trip as always but the weather wasn't great for butterflying and I didn't get an opportunity to look for Purple Emperors and Small Blues as originally planned. It was nice to do some proper birding though despite the rain and also nice to catch up with my family in these continuing weird COVID times.
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