Heat Wave Wildlife

Man, it's been hot this week. It is bone dry everywhere with clear skies and mostly gentle breezes and with no sign of rain to come anytime soon in the weather forecasts. It hasn't rained properly now for ages and as much as I enjoy good weather it looks and feels like the end of August after a hot, dry summer, not the usual green lushesness of late May. What impact this will have on wildlife remains to be seen.

After meeting work colleague Monica for a socially distanced gossip and catch up in a small park off Mutley Plain on Wednesday 27th May I wandered down to nearby Ford Park Cemetery for a look around on what was yet another hot and sunny day. It was too hot really and I wasn't planning to stay very long but butterflies and moths were flitting about and I eventually headed home after an hour and a half of wandering around amongst the tombstones.

Chiffchaff and Blackcap were heard singing away and Swift and Swallow flew around overhead. 2 Jay were making a huge amount of noise in a conifer tree and I scanned the dense branches for a possible Tawny Owl as the cause of all the fuss but the Jays suddenly fell silent and no Tawny Owl was to be found.

It was nice to find my first Meadow Brown of the year but they were very mobile and flighty in the heat as were Common Blue, Large White, Orange Tip, Speckled Wood and Small White. A Yellow Shell, a Burnet Companion and a Cinnabar Moth were also seen.

Meadow Brown

Yellow Shell

Burnet Companion

I was glad to get home and out of the heat but on checking my phone I had received a text from Russ about a sighting of a Red-backed Shrike at Saltram that morning and so I headed straight back out, foregoing my longed for cup of tea.

It remained hot on my walk to Saltram and along the way I could hear House Martin chittering overhead. Chiffchaff and Blackcap were heard singing in Saltram Park and Skylarks were also songflighting.

I eventually found the Red-backed Shrike, a stunning male bird, and I watched it along with the 7 other birders present but it was mobile and flighty and often elusive. The views were mostly distant and heat hazy and I hadn't brought my telescope with me but eventually the other birders left and I was left alone and had some great views of the bird perched out in the open on a bramble bush before I too had to leave.

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Meadow Brown, Common Blue, Small Heath, Burnet Companion and Cinnabar Moth were also seen and there were more Bee Orchids in flower in the spot I found them last week and I also found more Bee Orchids elsewhere across the site.

Cinnabar Moth

Bee Orchid

I was very glad to get back home and out of the heat for a much needed cup of tea but I was very pleased to see such a beautiful bird so close to home again, my second one at this location following another smart male bird seen here back in June 2016.

I had the moth box out in the back yard that night and the next morning I had a few moths in the trap with a Yellow-barred Brindle the highlight, a runner up for my top 10 back yard moths list. A nice Treble Lines and a Eudonia lacustrata were nice finds too.

Yellow-barred Brindle

Treble Lines

Eudonia lacustrata

After sorting out the moth box I headed out to Wembury to meet Mavis for a coast path walk. It was hot and sunny again but with a stronger Easterly breeze which kept things more comfortable.

We weren't expecting much in the way of birds but had good sightings of Whitethroat, Stonechat, Cirl Bunting, Linnet and Chiffchaff. 2 Kestrel had a bit of an aerial ding-dong overhead, 3 male Mallard flew along the beach towards the River Yealm, Fulmars wheeled around The Mewstone, Gannets circled around offshore, 6 Canada Geese were roosting together in the sheep field and single Swallow and House Martin hawked overhead.

Stonechat

Stonechat 

Stonechat

I was very pleased to eventually find 2 Green Hairstreaks in a spot I haven't seen them before and we had some lovely views of them flitting about in the gorse.

Green Hairstreak

Green Hairstreak 

Green Hairstreak 

Green Hairstreak

Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Common Blue, Small Copper and Large White were also seen along with a very smart looking Small Tortoiseshell and my first Large Skipper of the year.

Small Tortoiseshell

Large Skipper

Large Skipper

Small Tortoiseshell 

Stinking Iris and Foxglove were flowering very well and a newly emerged Golden-Ringed Dragonfly was found perched in the bushes near the main beach.

Stinking Iris

Foxglove

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

A very enjoyable but hot walk and I was glad to get back home and out of the sun. And with May now coming to an end it has proven to have been a very excellent Spring despite the current curtailments in place due to COVID-19. Mostly local wildlife watching has been very interesting and enjoyable as the stress and strain of the current sad and strange time continues and who knows what the Summer will now bring.

Lock Down Wildlife

Easter 2020 was a non-event and our plans to spend it in Bristol at my sisters to celebrate my Mums birthday went right out of the window due to the continuing COVID-19 lock down. The weather continues to mock us too as it remains dry and sunny, unusual for Easter at the best of times although it is often quite breezy, and with a few days off work over the Easter period we enjoyed a quiet time at home instead.

I had the moth box out in the back yard overnight on Sunday April 12th and despite the strong overnight breeze I found 5 moths in the trap the next morning - 2 Common Quaker, 2 Tachystola acroxantha and a Garden Carpet.

Common Quaker, Backyard

Tachystola acroxantha

Garden Carpet

It remained very windy all day on Monday 13th April (Easter Monday) but I decided to walk to Blagdons Meadow by the River Plym for a look around. It was sunny and warm out of the wind and I patiently scanned the skies in the hope of finding a passing Red Kite or Osprey but with no luck. The Meadow was bone dry as I suspected (it hasn't really rained now for over 4 weeks) and there was no sign of any orchids but Cuckoo Flower was very noticeable. A Blackcap was also singing away and 2 Swallows flew over heading upriver and I did find my first Speckled Wood of the year along with a Peacock.

Cuckoo Flower, Blagdon's Meadow

Speckled Wood

I headed home via the allotment where I found another Speckled Wood and a pair of Orange Tips with the female watched laying eggs on a weedy plant.

Speckled Wood, The Allotment

Speckled Wood

Female Orange Tip

Tuesday 14th April was sunny again and the wind had eased a little and so I walked to Ford Park Cemetery for a look around.

A few Butterflies were flitting about in the more sheltered areas and I found a Holly Blue, a Peacock, a Speckled Wood, Large White, Small White and Orange Tip along with a very smart looking Small Tortoiseshell.

 Small Tortoiseshell, Ford Park Cemetery

Small White

2 Ravens, 2 Jay and a Great Spotted Woodpecker were also seen and Chiffchaff and Blackcap were heard before it was time to head back home.

 Raven

 Robin

Robin

Thursday 16th April and it was time for my weekly walk to Saltram on another sunny but breezy day although the wind did ease later and it became very warm.

The tide was quite high although Blaxton Meadow wasn't flooded and out roosting on the mud were 3 Little Egrets and 14 Shelduck. 6 Curlews flew in to roost and with them was a very smart summer plumaged Bar-tailed Godwit but they kept getting a bit of hassle from nearby Carrion Crows and eventually they all flew off downriver.

 Bar-tailed Godwit and Curlew, Blaxton Meadow

 Bar-tailed Godwit and Curlew

 Little Egret - pinky/orange feet and pinky/lilac lores

Little Egret

The usual birds were seen and heard - Redshank, Canada Goose, Herring Gull, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Stock Dove, Ring-necked Parakeet, Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, etc. - and a Swallow collecting mud for a nest was very pleasing to see. A female Sparrowhawk and a pale Buzzard overhead caused a brief bit of consternation amongst the Herring Gulls roosting out on the River but despite scanning the skies there was still no sign of an Osprey or Red Kite. It was nice to see 2 female Wheatears although the views were distant and heat hazy but better views were had of a very confiding male White Wagtail as it fed on insects along the small beach by Saltram Quay.

 Canada Goose

 White Wagtail

 White Wagtail

 White Wagtail

White Wagtail

The warm weather meant there was plenty of insect activity and Orange Tip, Speckled Wood, Large White, Peacock, Small White and Small Tortoiseshell were seen along with a Brimstone Moth, 2 Green Longhorn moths (Adela reaumurella) and St.Marks flies.

 Brimstone Moth

 Adella reaumurella

 Adella reaumurella

St. Marks Fly - 9 days early! 

And so another enjoyable walk with a bit more variety this visit but it does seem like deja vu as I walk my set route in sunny skies every week although I will no doubt complain about the weather when it eventually breaks. And I am very lucky to be able to walk to Saltram from home for a much needed wildlife fix, especially with the lock down now being extended by another 3 weeks (and probably for longer again).