Another week and another 2 night shifts looming large and so despite the grey skies and a cool breeze on Monday 4th July I headed off to Wembury for a walk. Again it was warm and humid out of the breeze, especially so when the sun did briefly appear from behind the clouds and as a result there were good numbers of insects around.
I managed to find a single Gatekeeper and 4 Small Skipper, both firsts for Wembury this year, and I also saw a Red Admiral, a Large Skipper, 2 Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Browns and Ringlets. A Six-spot Burnet, a Sicus ferrugineus and various Bees and Flies were seen but a Lesser Stag Beetle was a surprise find.
It was quiet on the bird front as expected with 2 Whimbrel roosting at The Point with 4 Curlew and 32 Oystercatcher the highlight. A male Bullfinch, a flyover Sparrowhawk carrying what looked like a Skylark in its talons, the usual Cirl Buntings and Stonechats, the usual singing Whitethroats and a hovering male Kestrel were also of note.
Thursday 7th July was a hot and sunny day as a heatwave starts to develop and so I decided to visit Roborough Down in the afternoon for a butterfly walk. I arrived at 2pm and it did feel hot but it notably cooled whenever clouds briefly covered the sun.
Butterflies were on the wing but not in particularly great numbers. Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Large Skippers were the most numerous with a Red Admiral, a Comma, a Holly Blue, a Gatekeeper, a male Brimstone, a Large White and 2 Small Tortoiseshell also seen.
I had a look for Grayling in the area where I saw them 2 years ago but was out of luck, maybe I'm too early this year but some of the area has been severely burnt from the out of control swaling fires earlier in the year.
I also managed to see at least 2 Silver-washed Fritillary, constantly cruising over the hedgerows and occasionally tussling with each other or any nearby butterfly. One did briefly nectar on bramble flowers but was gone before I could get a photo.
I had chosen to visit in the afternoon in order to look for Purple Hairstreak in the oak trees and I did manage to see at least 3 flitting about in the tree tops but none settled in sight and the views were brief. It wasn't helped by the skies becoming cloudier after 5pm, the best time to start viewing Purple Hairstreaks apparently as they become more active in the late afternoon, and the temperature did noticeably dip too in the breeze.
A few birds were noted too along the walk with a Jay, a Buzzard, a Coal Tit, Stonechats, a pair of Yellowhammers, a Swallow and a Bullfinch the highlights. Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Whitethroat were heard singing and Linnet, Greenfinch, Meadow Pipit and Skylark were also noted.
I had the moth box out in the back yard that night but in the morning the catch wasn't as good as I had hoped for with the night being cooler than I had expected it to be after such a hot day. However a Clay and a pair of Four-spotted Footman were new for the year and a Buff Arches and an Old Lady were nice to see.
Despite the cool morning it soon became a hot and sunny day on Friday 8th July and so I headed out to Oreston to have another look at the White-letter Hairstreaks. After a little bit of a wait I eventually saw 2 of them but they were flitty and mobile and regularly engaging in aerial skirmishes with each other before disappearing from view. Both were looking worn, one especially so, but I did eventually manage to get some good close views of the smarter looking individual.
A Jay, a Buzzard, 4 Swift and singing Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Chaffinch were also noted with a Large White, 2 Holly Blue, a Speckled Wood and 4 Meadow Brown also seen flitting about before it was time to head home and cool down.
Saturday 9th July was hotter again and we headed off to Exmouth on the train to meet up with my sister Vik and brother-in-law Nik who are holidaying in East Devon for the week. It was very hot in the sunshine and Exmouth was very busy with people but we enjoyed a walk up to The Geoneedle where Marbled White, Comma, Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper were flitting about. The highlight though were 4 Cattle Egret feeding amongst the cows near Powderham Church, seen from the train on the journey to Exeter but unfortunately not present on our return trip to Plymouth.
The weather is set to get even hotter next week with temperatures into the high 20°'s, probably too hot me but that's UK weather for you.
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