I can't believe it is August already, this year has gone by so frighteningly fast but here we are. The heatwave and drought continue and there is scorched vegetation and brown grass to be seen everywhere in a very dusty and dry looking Devon and I'm really looking forward to some rain, however I would suspect that when the rain finally does arrive it won't stop and I'll be moaning about how wet it is.
Birdy and Burdy seem to have finally fledged and have flown the nest but they keep returning and are now spending more and more time back on the flat roof, we've never had Herring Gull chicks that can fly so well hang around the flat roof for so long before. The adults continue to feed them but the early mornings are becoming a little quieter although they still have periods of being excessively noisey as the sun rises.
I was going to visit Wembury on Monday 3rd August but with an Osprey being seen on The Plym the previous day I switched plans and headed there instead, catching the bus to Marsh Mills and then walking downriver to Laira Bridge. I arrived at just after 9am on the tide high but Blaxton Meadow was as depressing and dry as usual with the Redshanks and at least 2 Greenshank choosing to roost on The Embankment wall instead. On Blaxton Meadow there were a few Herring Gulls, 5 Little Egret, 5 Oystercatcher and 7 Shelduck (2 adults and 5 juveniles) and hidden in the tall vegetation were at least 17 Curlew.
A look for the recently reported Spotted Flycatcher was unsuccessful but the blue phase Ring-necked Parakeet was sticking its head out of the usual nest hole while I was looking for the Flycatcher.
Chelson Meadow was dry, brown and crispy underfoot and pretty much birdless but I did find 10 species of butterfly here including at least 4 second brood Dingy Skipper (2+ faded individuals and 2+ bright looking individuals), lots of Clouded Yellows including an helice type and good numbers of Small Heath. An Ectophasia crassipennis feeding on an Umbellifer flower head was a nice find too.
I ended up along The Ride on the dropping tide to scan the river for any sign of an Osprey, I was out of luck as expected but 2 noisey Sandwich Terns were a bonus as was a flyover Peregrine. I also found a ringed Black-headed Gull feeding out on the mudflats amongst the assorted Gulls present (details awaited but apparently ringed in Belarus) and a Shag was roosting out on one of the buoys.
I headed out to Wembury for a walk on Tuesday 4th August, I caught the 7am bus and it was cool, overcast and muggy when I arrived. There had been some brief showers overnight but it was bone dry along the footpath, the sun did break through the clouds at times although a heavy shower did arrive as I left for home.
I walked out towards The Point to look for a male Common Scoter that had been reported close in to the beach near the sewage pipe for the past 4 days, I quickly found him busily diving away and it was nice to get some closer views of a Wembury Common Scoter rather than the usual distant views as they fly past offshore.
Oystercatchers, a Common Sandpiper, 2 Whimbrel, a Curlew and 3 Little Egret were along the beach on the incoming tide and there were Mediterranean Gulls amongst the Black-headed Gulls, all 2nd summer or adult birds moulting into winter plumage except for a juvenile and a 1st summer bird. The most I counted were 12 but they were mobile along the beach so more were undoubtedly present.
There were still good numbers of Clouded Yellow flitting about, it really is a good year for them, and there were also plenty of Common Blue, Painted Lady and Hummingbird Hawkmoths on the wing too along with a single Comma.
A Slow-worm was a surprise on a footpath down to the beach, quite a long looking individual but it disappeared very quickly into the pathside vegetation. A Hornet Robberfly was also a nice find as was a Carrion Beetle larva, probably Silpha tristis.
