There were some periods of sunshine in which a few insects appeared - Large White, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown, Small White, a Silver-washed Fritillary and a male Beautiful Demoiselle - but it was mostly cloudy with a brief but very heavy shower of rain.
A Marsh Tit was a nice find in the trees near the main dam while out on the water the resident White Farmyard Goose was present with a Canada Goose, Mallard, 11 Cormorant and 3 redhead Goosander. A male Great Spotted Woodpecker showed well at the top of a dead tree with a noisy juvenile, Swallows and House Martins flitted overhead and Siskins flitted about in the tops of the conifers.
I had the moth box out in the garden the night before our walk and in the morning before heading out for our walk I was pleased to find my first Marbled Green, Lychnis, female Ringed China Mark and Rusty Dot Pearl of the year and a good count of 5 Mullein Wave.
Marbled Green
Mullein Wave
Ringed China Mark
Wednesday 2nd August was wet and very windy and with lots of seabirds being seen off the tip of Cornwall I decided to torture myself again and try a seawatch off Rame Head. It's been a while since I last visited and I caught the earliest bus I could at 06:20hrs, arriving at the ruined Chapel at Rame Head at around 07:45hrs and just before the rain arrived. It was misty and murky offshore and the sea was churning away but I quickly picked up a Manx Shearwater in the gloom flying west. I also picked up a possible Cory's Shearwater but I unfortunately lost it as quickly as I found it, never mind but I think it was probably more wishful thinking than an actual Cory's.
The view from Rame Head Chapel in a brighter spell of weather
Rame Head
The rain duly arrived and visibility was pants and sea watching was only possible in the brief periods when the rain cleared a little but I had some great views of the usual suspects - Gannets, Fulmars, Manx Shearwaters, Herring Gulls, Great Black-backed Gulls, Shags and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. There was a constant stream of Manx Shearwaters passing through, most were very close in too, there must have been well over a thousand seen and they seemed to be really enjoying the foul weather as they sheared over the waves. I had a probable Balearic Shearwater amongst the Manx but too brief and distant for a 100% call but the best bird was a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull that whizzed past in the strong winds in the company of a juvenile Herring Gull.
A Kestrel, a Peregrine, a Whitethroat and 2 Swallows were the best of the land birds and a Small White was the only butterfly brave enough to face the grotty conditions but the rain eventually cleared and I headed home, disappointed as usual although it had been an enjoyable morning. And as usual on the sightings pages that evening there were 13+ Balearic Shearwater and 2 Sooty Shearwaters reported between 09:00-13:30hrs when I was there but I never even saw another birder present when I was trying to scan the sea!
A very soggy Red-tailed Bumblebee, Rame Head
Friday 4th August was earmarked for a birdy day out with Mavis and after meeting up at Plympton we headed off to Bowling Green Marsh for the high tide. It was meant to be a sunny day but it remained mostly overcast although at least it didn't rain while we were out.
It was quiet at the hide despite the very high tide but we had some lovely views of the waders roosting with a Ruff, 16 Lapwing and 6 Whimbrel the highlights amongst the Black-tailed Godwits, Redshanks, Dunlin and Curlew. The Snow Goose was present amongst the noisy Canada Goose flock along with the weird looking hybrid Goose and Teal, Shoveler, Mallard and Shelduck were also present.
Snow Goose
A Hobby over was a nice surprise as it unsuccessfully hunted House Martins before drifting off and a Peregrine was also seen as it stooped unsuccessfully at the roosting waders before dashing off too. Stock Doves, Swallows and Sand Martins were also seen overhead.
A Grey Heron was paying far too much interest in a small Moorhen chick hidden in the waterside vegetation but the noisy and persistent parents chased it off and it eventually caught itself a large fish instead.
Grey Heron
Gatekeepers and Holly Blues showed well in areas sheltered out of the wind and a Clouded Yellow dashed by over the grassy field, stopping briefly to nectar on thistles. A very confiding Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria) was a nice find feeding on bramble flowers at the viewing platform and a Speckled Bush-cricket, Long-winged Cone-heads and a brown coloured Short-winged Cone-head were also seen along the lane.
Hornet Hoverfly
Hornet Hoverfly
Hornet Hoverfly
Hornet Hoverfly
Speckled Bush-cricket
Long-winged Cone-head
Short-winged Cone-head
All in all a very nice day out with a taste of autumn in the air already.
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