June 6th and the summer birding doldrums seem to have arrived early this year after what has been a rather disappointing spring ("the spring that never was", as quoted by the BBC weather team). My fourth day off in a row (which doesn't happen often) and a day to myself again and I was bored. I am rarely bored as I always have something to do but today I was at a loss - I suppose there is nothing wrong with being bored at times, it does you good in the short term and makes you appreciate things more. And so after a morning mopeing around the house despite the sunshine and warm weather I decided to get out for a walk at Ford Park Cemetery, buying a coffee and a muffin at Costas on Mutley Plain along the way to enjoy amongst the tombstones.
The sun was increasingly being obscured by clouds until it was totally clouded over but it stayed warm and humid if a little breezey. I wasn't expecting to see much in the way of butterflies and moths but ended up doing quite well - 3 speckled wood, 1 female orange tip, common blues, a diamond back moth, a gallium carpet, burnet companions and 2 yellow shells.
Female Orange Tip
Diamond Back Moth
Gallium Carpet
Yellow Shell
A nuthatch was feeding on peanuts on the bird feeders with coal, blue and great tits and a buzzard soared overhead where swifts were heard but not seen screaming away. 2 fledgling ravens were mutually preening in the top of a pine tree and a few fledgling carrion crows were loafing about amongst the tombstones.
Fledgling Ravens
Fledgling Ravens
Fledgling Carrion Crow
A few false oil beetles were feeding in the daisy flowers and I found a nice looking hoverfly species.
False Oil Beetle
False Oil Beetle
Hoverfly Sp.
A couple of hours later and I headed off home, no longer bored. Not a bad way to spend a few hours and right on my doorstep too, the cemetery is such a lovely wildlife oasis in the middle of Plymouth due to some very sympathetic wildlife management by the Trust who run it.
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