June has arrived and it's that time of year to metamorphose into a butterflyer/moth-er until the autumn arrives as birding now takes a bit of a back seat.
I had the moth box out in the back yard overnight on the 2nd June and the next morning I actually had some moths in it! Garden Carpet, Heart and Dart, Light Emerald, Middle-barred Minor, Vines Rustic and Brown House Moth all made an appearance after what seems to have been weeks of cold and/or wet nights.
Friday 4th June and I had a walk along the Plym and around Saltram as the Birding Doldrums begin to kick in. It was sunny and cool but I managed to see a few Butterflies (Common Blues, Small Heaths and 2 Speckled Wood) along with a Burnet Companion Moth.
The tide was flowing and on Blaxton Meadow there were 4 Curlew, 2 Oystercatcher, Shelduck, Canada Geese, 2 Grey Heron, 2 Little Egret and a Lesser Black-backed Gull amongst the Herring Gulls.
Chiffchaff and Blackcap were heard and Swift, Swallow and House Martin were flying about overhead. Skylarks were still singing away too.
I eventually found my first Plym Spotted Flycatcher of the year, quietly "singing" away amongst the branches with possibly a second bird "singing" nearby too.
A Treecreeper, 2 Green Woodpecker heard yaffling, Song Thrush, 2 Buzzard, a pair of Chaffinch and a pair of Stonechat were all noted too.
It was also good to finally find both Bee Orchids and Southern Marsh Orchids in flower.
Sunday June 6th and a planned walk around Burrator Reservoir was abandoned when we noticed signs advertising a charity walk being held at the Reservoir that day and so we turned around and headed back to Roborough Down for a walk instead.
We parked up near Clearbrook and walked along the Leat towards Yelverton village and back, another part of the Leat that we haven't walked along before, and along the way I managed to find a few butterflies - a Small Heath, a Painted Lady, a Wall, a Green Hairstreak, a Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Speckled Wood and Brimstone.
A Cuckoo was briefly heard calling but a songflighting Redpoll showed very well when it briefly landed in a tree. Yellowhammer and Stonechat were seen and heard too and it was nice to see a good showing of Heath Spotted Orchids.
Monday 8th June and with 2 night shifts looming large I headed out to Wembury for a walk. It was warm and sunny, humid and still and I actually came home earlier than planned as it became too warm and sticky for me.
A Green Hairstreak was still flitting about in the gorse bushes at The Point and I also saw a male Orange Tip, Speckled Woods, male Common Blues, a Large White, 2 Green-veined White, a Small Copper and 3 Red Admiral.
2 Shelduck, 2 Oystercatcher, a Gannet, Stonechats with fledglings and songflighting Whitethroats were the avian highlights with Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Cirl Buntings all heard too.
An interesting observation was of a male Whitethroat disturbed from vegetation by the footpath which flew down to the ground in front of me and then ran along the footpath with droopy, fluttery wings before disappearing into cover presumably a distraction display to lure me away from a nest.
Yellow Flag Iris were in flower in the valley to the beach and there was a fine display of mesembryanthemums in one of the village gardens. Common Broomrape was beginning to emerge too.
A Lackey Moth nest was found in a sloe bush and a large Oak Eggar caterpillar was rescued from certain squashdum off the footpath but there were yet again no moths in the toilet block.
