Spring Ends and the Summer Doldrums Arrive

The heatwave finally broke on the last day of meteorological Spring and Sunday 31st May saw me heading out to Dartmoor for a walk with my mate Mavis. It felt much cooler but still warm and humid and the sky was mostly overcast with occassional sunshine breaking through. I had woken early to sort out my mothbox in the back yard and it was very slim pickings but I did have my first Heart and Dart and Heart and Club of the year. I also ripped my little toe nail in half the night before as I put the moth box together, I caught it on the corner of the clear perspex sheets and it's sore and painful to walk on but never mind.

While waiting for Mavis to pick me up at Yelverton I found a White Ermine and a Clay Triple Lines on the outside wall of the newly refurbished toilet block and after meeting Mavis we headed off to Challacombe Farm to start our birding and butterflying walk with fingers crossed that the sun would make more prolonged appearances.

It felt quiet at Challacombe with the late date, cloudy sky and fresh breeze keeping birdsong to a minimum but we did hear a Chiffchaff, a Blackcap, a Song Thrush and a few Willow Warbler. There were Swallows flitting about overhead and House Sparrows chirping away around the buildings with a Jay, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a pair of Grey Wagtail also seen along with lovely views of House Martins collecting mud from the roadside.

Chickens at Challacombe Farm

The sun did start to appear more frequently and it felt pleasantly warm out of the breeze and butterflies began to appear too, most notably Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries which were everywhere and showed very well.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

We also found 3 Speckled Wood, 2 Red Admiral and 2 Painted Lady but there was no sign of any Marsh Fritillary in the wet meadow although there were surprisingly quite a few Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries flying around in the meadow just to confuse us.

Azure Damselfly, a pair of mating Red-eyed Damselfly, Keeled Skimmers and Beautiful Demoiselles were also seen and it was a joy to see so many Heath Spotted Orchard in flower and showing a wide range of colours, sizes and patterning.

Keeled Skimmer

Heath Spotted Orchids

We also failed to find any Spotted Flycatchers on our wander about but it had been a lovely walk as usual although my toe was giving me a bit of jip by the time I caught the bus home from Yelverton.

I had a quick walk around Saltram on Tuesday 2nd June, it may now be meteorological Summer but it was cool and breezy with showers and sunny spells, a complete contrast to last week's heatwave. As expected all the usual fayre for June was seen and I still failed to find any Spotted Flycatchers. Just a single Speckled Wood was noted flitting about in a brighter spell while the continuing degradation of Blaxton Meadow by The National Trust just depresses me more and more. At least my toe feels better, I've done quite a number on it but hopefully it will continue to improve and my walking will get easier.

News of White-letter Hairstreaks having been seen at Oreston that day had me heading out there for a look the next day, Wednesday 3rd June. The weather wasn't great, it was cool, breezy, grey and showery with only very brief sunny periods and I really wasn't too hopeful but I did find one resting on a leaf despite the awful butterflying conditions. It looked very smart so presumably very recently emerged and hopefully more will be seen in the coming weeks.

White-letter Hairstreak

White-letter Hairstreak

While admiring the Hairstreak a Collared Dove flew overhead, a Chiffchaff and a Blackcap were heard singing and there were Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls roosting on the roof of the Post Office building while nearby 6 Bee Orchids were in flower although they were starting to go over.

Bee Orchids

I caught the 7am bus out to Wembury on Friday 5th June, it was cool, grey and breezy when I arrived but the grey skies did eventually clear and it felt warm in the sunshine when out of the wind. I wasn't expecting much on the bird front now that June has arrived but along the beach at The Point on the incoming tide there were a few tardy waders with a Whimbrel, a Dunlin and 4 Sanderling seen amongst the usual Oystercatchers.

Sanderling 

Sanderling and Dunlin

Sanderling 

Dunlin and Sanderling

Also along the beach were a Little Egret, a pair of Shelduck and 3 Mallard (2 males) while offshore a single Gannet was seen heading west and Fulmars were wheeling around The Mewstone. Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Whitethroat were still singing away and I saw fledglings of Blue Tit, Great Tit and Whitethroat along my walk. A Green Woodpecker was seen around the horse stables and 2 female Kestrels, 2 Buzzards and a female Sparrowhawk were seen overhead.

Butterflies were on the wing when the sun got going and I saw a male Orange-tip, a Red Admiral, a Painted Lady, a Speckled Wood, a Small Copper, Common Blues (all males), 2 Large Skipper, Meadow Browns and a Green-veined White. 

Large Skipper

There were also at least 4 male Beautiful Demoiselles along the stream with a single female also seen egg-laying.

Ovipositing female Beautiful Demoiselle

Male Beautiful Demoiselle on my foot

The Heatwave Continues

With the heatwave continuing I headed out to Wembury on Wednesday 27t May, I caught the 6:30am bus in order to avoid the worst of the heat and the crowds but the dog walkers were already out in force when I arrived at 7am and it was already feeling very hot in the sunshine. However there was a brisk easterly breeze blowing but it felt like being under a hairdryer as the air was so warm, it felt very humid too and as I walked along the coastpath I heard rumbles of thunder over the sea where clouds were beginning to build.

Thunderclouds building at Wembury

With Spring migration all but over now and the Summer Doldrums knocking at the door I wasn't expecting much in the way of birdlife but a Redshank along the beach with 4 tardy Whimbrel was a surprise and a single Feral Pigeon flying over heading east was unusual. Offshore I picked up a single Manx Shearwater flying west along with a few Gannets while plenty of Whitethroat were flitting about in the pathside vegetation including a few birds carrying food for hungry nestlings.

I had a look for Green Hairstreaks but with no luck and there were actually very few Butterflies seen despite the hot conditions, just a few flitty Painted Lady and a Red Admiral, a Small White and a Speckled Wood. However I did find my first Wembury Beautiful Demoiselle along the stream but it soon flew off out of sight.

Beautiful Demoiselle (Female)

I very quickly had had enough of the heat and humidity and so I caught the 9;45am bus back home and just after getting into the house a heavy rain shower arrived but the heat and humidity remained after it had passed through.

I had planned to meet up with Dave the Butterfly Guy to look for Marsh Fritillaries up on Dartmoor on Thursday 28th May but with cloudy skies and cooler temperatures forecast I decided to give it a miss. It was noticeably cooler overnight and I finally had a good night's sleep and on waking up in the morning it felt cooler and fresher but the sky was overcast and so I decided to head out to Roborough Down for a walk.

I arrived off the bus at around 11am and despite the grey sky it was starting to feel very hot and humid and as the day went on the clouds cleared and it became very unpleasantly hot again, however I did end up having an interesting walk although I was glad to head home and get out of the sun.

As I started my walk I immediately noticed Painted Lady butterflies flitting about, they were everywhere after what has been a big influx into the UK. Some were worn and faded but many looked in pristine condition and they were feasting on Blackberry flowers, basking in the sun or dashing about all over the place.

Painted Lady

Painted Lady

Painted Lady

I also quickly found Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries dashing about too, they have emerged in good numbers this year. They were constantly flitting about and I had forgotten how small, fast and flitty they are as they just disappeared from sight when flying low over the ground amongst the vegetation. A few did stop very briefly to nectar on Blackberry flowers and I managed to get a few photos before they were off again but it was a very tricky undertaking and I could never get very close to them.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary 

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary 

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary 

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary 

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary 

There were good numbers of Silver Y and Brown Silver-line moths being kicked up from the grass as I walked along the leat and I was also very pleased to find 2 Green Hairstreaks, 2 Small Heath, 2 Red Admiral, 2 Holly Blue, a female Common Blue, both male and female Brimstones and a very smart looking Clouded Yellow.

Green Hairstreak

Clouded Yellow

Clouded Yellow

The small pools across the Down were all dried up except for 2 and they were both looking mucky and in dire need of some rain to stop them from disappearing too. The main Dragonfly pond had the most water in it and buzzing over the surface were a male Broad-bodied Chaser and a male Emperor Dragonfly and they were constantly tussling with each other. There were 2 female Broad-bodied Chasers egg-laying in the water but this didn't stop the male regularly grabbing hold of them and trying to mate with them before letting them go. The females seemed to have a clear mucus-like substance on the tip of their abdomen at times, apparently this surrounds the eggs and on contact with the water forms a jelly to help stick the eggs to the underwater vegetation. 

The Emperor Dragonfly never settled for a second and it was interesting to watch it snatch small flies out of the air to feed on but the Broad-bodied Chasers did occassionally settle for short periods. Azure Damesfly were also present with at least 2 pairs seen mating.

Broad-bodied Chaser (male)

Broad-bodied Chaser (male)

Broad-bodied Chaser (female)

Mating Azure Damselfly

There were a few Heath Spotted Orchids in flower across the Down, they were small but very delicate and pretty looking, most had a pinkish hue but a few looked very white.

Heath Spotted Orchid

Heath Spotted Orchid

Bird wise it was quiet with a Skylark, 2 songflighting Meadow Pipit, 3 Swallow, 3 Swift, 3 singing Yellowhammers, a male Bullfinch and Stonechats of note. Willow Warblers were vocal and showy at times while a Green Woodpecker, a Chiffchaff and 2 male Pheasant were heard only. The highlight though was a male Dartford Warbler which popped up on the Gorse near me as I was being scolded by a pair of Stonechat nearby.

Yellowhammer

Dartford Warbler

A Broad-biled Sandpiper was found at Dawlish Warren on Friday 29th May but with plans for the day I couldn't go to look for it. I really didn't expect it to stick around and I wasn't in the mood to endure the chaos of Dawlish Warren again on a sunny Saturday during Half Term Holiday Hell but news came through that it was still present in the morning on Saturday 30th May and so I grabbed my stuff and headed out.

I didn't arrive off the train at Dawlish Warren until 09:52am, a little later than I would have liked, and I headed straight out to The Bight where the Sandpiper has been showing. It was a bit of schleck in the hot sunshine and over the soft sand but I walked as quickly as I could and told myself it would be good for my core muscles.

There were birders lined up along the dune ridge at Groyne 13 with telescopes trained upriver and as soon as I joined them they quickly pointed out the Sandpiper to me as it fed fairly close to us out on the mud with a few Dunlin and Ringed Plover. It was quite dark looking with a white belly, smaller than the Dunlin it was with and sporting a very distinctive head patterning reminiscent of a Jack Snipe. It was busily feeding away and moving back and forth in front of us and I enjoyed some great scope views of it for around 45 minutes before all the waders took to the air and flew off down to the distant waters edge on the dropping tide and out of sight.

Broad-billed Sandpiper, The Bight - close but no cigar for my camera

Broad-billed Sandpiper - photo courtesy of Oli Mockridge, @yeovilbirder.bsky.social on Bluesky

With the Sandpiper unlikely to return until the evening incoming tide I headed back to the nature reserve for a look about where it felt hot and airless. The Southern Marsh Orchids were still in flower but mostly looking the worse for wear after a week of very hot and dry weather but I did notice quite a few Wild Asparagus in flower around the site. A showy male Whitethroat was songflighting whereas a singing male Cirl Bunting kept itself hidden in the vegetation  and at the Main Pond at least 2 Reed Warbler were singing and I managed to get a few decentish views of at least 2 more birds. 

A few Meadow Brown were flitting about, my first of the year, and I rescued a Yellow Belle moth from the grasp of what looked like a Robber Fly but it wasn't in a very good way as I tucked it away in the grass and out of the sun.

Yellow Belle

Male Broad-bodied Chaser, Main Pond

Canada Geese pair with 8 Goslings on the Main Pond

Canada Geese

By Midday I had had enough of the heat and crowds and so decided to head home early, my train was delayed (as usual) but the hold up had  been caused by the Sir Nigel Gresley steam train coming through on a rail enthusiasts day trip. The delay also meant I had distant views of the Red Arrows display team and their coloured smoke trails as they did their thing over nearby Torbay for the Paignton Airshow.

The Sir Nigel Gresley

I was home by 2pm after what was quite the easy Twitch of a new bird for me and it only cost me £7.15 return on the train with my railcard. The Broad-billed Sandpiper showed straight away when I arrived and showed well for around 45 minutes and the small crowd of birders present were a nice bunch to chat with. It also goes to show that even though Spring is virtually over there are still a few surprises to be had.