The tide was ebbing and so I headed straight down to The Point to see if any waders were about but the dog walkers had beaten me to it and there were just a few Oystercatchers out on the rocks along with 3 male Mallard, a Shelduck and Herring Gulls. However on my return walk when the tide was right out I did find 3 Turnstones looking very smart in their summer plumage, 2 Dunlin (1 larger and in full summer plumage, the other smaller and still moulting into summer plumage) and a Whimbrel.
I found 7 Green Hairstreaks at The Point, all but one were looking the worse for wear, and a Small White, a Green-veined White and 4 Speckled Woods were also seen. There was also plenty of other insect activity going on and 3 Common Lizards were found basking on fences.
Green Hairstreak
Green Hairstreak
Ichneumon deliratorius
Bramble Sawfly - Arge cyanocrocea
Plum Tortrix - Hedya pruniana
Common Lizard
A surprise was a Jay, it was squawking away in the trees on the hillside above the wheatfield before I managed to get a brief flight view of it. The Cetti's Warbler was also heard calling in the valley to the beach and also gave a brief flight view.
Cirl Bunting
Saturday 25th May started out sunny as I headed off to Grenofen Woods again, arriving off the bus at around 9am. I haven't visited Grenofen so late in May before but I wanted to try and see Tree Pipits after only hearing one on my previous visit. I also wanted to look for Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary as there were none on the wing on my previous visit when it was probably too early in the month after the cool and wet spring we have had.
Clouds were already bubbling up so I made my way to the downland as quickly as possible before the sun disappeared and very luckily I found a smart Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary sunning itself just as the sky started clouding over.
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary
I carried onwards to the bench overlooking the valley and sat for a while listening to the bird song and scanning the skies. A Garden Warbler was very vocal and I managed some decent views of it too, another 2 males were heard only. A Redstart and a Cuckoo were briefly heard too but not seen with the hoot of a Tawny Owl a surprise, it called twice from a stand of trees before going silent. Willow Warblers were vocal and showy while overhead 3 Swift, at least 3 Buzzard and a Swallow were seen.
I found 2 Meadow Pipits but they were distant, mobile and elusive, quietly and briefly singing from the top of bushes and half heartedly songflighting. They always returned to the bush tops after songflighting and seemed very Tree Pipity but closer views of one of them confirmed the Meadow Pipit ID.
Meadow Pipit
Meadow Pipit
The sun eventually reappeared and so I headed back to the area where I had seen the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary earlier and this time I found at least 3 of them, I had forgotten how small and fast they are and how difficult they can be to keep track of as they dash low over the ground between the bracken stems! Unfortunately I never got a look at any of their underwings but I did get some good views of their upperwings as the perched up for brief periods in the sunny spells.
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary
A Red Admiral, a Holly Blue, 2 Small Heath, 3 Brimstone and 3 Green-veined White were also seen along with a few Silver Y, a Speckled Yellow, Common Gorse Moths (Cydia ulicetana) around the Gorse bushes, a few Beautiful Demoiselles and a Golden Ringed Dragonfly.
Golden Ringed Dragonfly
A Dipper along the river from the bridge as I
began the steep walk back uphill to the bus stop was a nice find just as the clouds rolled back in and by the time I arrived home the forecasted rain arrived.
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