Wembury Shearwaters and Dartmoor Butterflies

I had planned to put the moth box out in the back yard on the night of July 7th/8th but with rain forecast for the early hours I decided to give it a miss. On waking up on the morning of July 8th it was indeed wet, misty and mizzley but I did find a Endotricha flammealis on the kitchen ceiling that had flown in through the open window overnight,  my 53rd House/Garden moth of 2020.

Endotricha flammealis

With the grotty weather I decided to have a quiet day at home but I was feeling quite antsy and unsettled and so decided to don my wet weather gear and head out to Wembury for a walk. There has been a lot of Shearwater action along the South Devon/Cornwall coast of late and so at the last minute I packed my big telescope, the first time I have taken it out birding with me since the Ross's Gulll on the River Plym in March. Wembury is not well placed for sea watching but I have seen Manx Shearwater from the coast path in the past when conditions were right and so I had my fingers crossed for seeing something offshore today.

On arriving at the main beach at Wembury it was dank and misty and I couldn't even see The Mewstone but by the time I had walked along the coast path to the gate opposite The Mewstone it was beginning to clear. I set up my 'scope and started scanning across the waves and quickly picked up Gannets and Fulmars flying around and 2 Guillemot flying east. Further scanning and I picked up a steady trickle of Manx Shearwaters flying low over the waves just out past The Mewstone and in the hour I was watching around 200 birds were noted, the majority heading west in small groups. Even better was a Balearic Shearwater, a Wembury tick for me, which I picked up amongst them, and I had good views of it before it disappeared behind The Mewstone and again as it came back into view on the other side. A further 2 probable birds were also seen but briefer, more distant views in mistier periods precluded confirmation.

The mist eventually cleared completely and the Shearwater movement ceased with birds possibly still moving further out but I did see more Guillemots moving both east and west and there were a few Razorbill amongst them.

A small flock of Gulls were roosting along the beach as the tide began to recede -  Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull including 1 juvenile and 5 Mediterranean Gull (3 adult, 1 2nd summer and a juvenile) - and along with them were Oystercatcher, a Little Egret and a Curlew.

 Adult Mediterranean Gull

Juvenile Mediterranean Gull

Around 10 juvenile Stonechats were feeding along the beach on the rotting seaweed with more seen along the cliff tops, it looks like having been a good breeding year for them this year. Cirl Buntings and Whitethroats were seen and heard and a Blackcap was in full song despite the weather as it appeared to be in a bit of a sing off with an equally enthusiastic singing Song Thrush nearby.

 Juvenile Stonechat

Juvenile Stonechat

I did see 2 butterflies on my walk despite the cloudy and wet conditions - a Meadow Brown and a very nice Wall. 2 Common Lizards were also a surprise resting on the fencing despite the gloom and a lethargic Bloody-nose Beetle was moved off the path into the safety of nearby vegetation.

 Meadow Brown

Wall

The cafe was closed so no Chunk pasty for lunch but the food stealing Carrion Crow was loafing around the main beach with its white winged fledgling.

Carrion Crows

A nice walk despite the weather, I didn't get too wet or muddy and I found my first Manx Shearwaters of the year along with a Balearic Shearwater, a Wembury tick - a good morning out.

Sunday 12th July was warm and sunny with a gentle breeze and despite feeling tired and groggy after working 2 night shifts I headed up to Roborough Down for a butterfly walk. I had originally planned to do my usual River Plym/Saltram walk but after seeing an Internet report of Grayling at Roborough Down and having received some info on Purple Hairstreak at Clearbrook I decided to switch plans.

I arrived on the Down at 09:30 and it was already quite warm in the sunshine. Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Red Admiral and Ringlet were flitting about and Yellowhammer and Blackcap were heard singing. A Dartford Warbler was singing away from the top of a Hawthorn Bush before flying off over the gorse, I assume it is the same bird I have seen before although it was in a different area than the one seen previously. Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler were also seen and heard and Whitethroat and Stonechat were seen with good numbers of juvenile Stonechat again being noticeable. Redpoll were songflighting overhead and I watched Swallow fledglings being fed by their parents mid air.

Ringlet

I arrived at the cycle track above The Skylark pub at Clearbrook at around 10:30 and quickly found a Purple Hairstreak down in the hedgerow by the path before it flew off out of sight. I scanned the tops of the oak trees for more but couldn't find any, presumably the wrong time of day for them to be active in the tree tops.

 Purple Hairstreak

Purple Hairstreak

Silver-washed Fritillary were flitting about but rarely settled for long. A Peacock, a Comma, a Large Skipper, Small White, a Brimstone, a Green-veined White, Holly Blue, Large White and a Speckled Wood were also seen and eventually I managed to find at least 4 Grayling although they were mobile and flitty across the heath.

 Silver-washed Fritillary 

 Silver-washed Fritillary 

 Silver-washed Fritillary 

 Brimstone

 Green-veined White

 Grayling

 Grayling

 Grayling

Grayling

And so another interesting walk on Roborough Down and another 2 butterflies for my year list bringing my total now to 30.

Sicily - Part II

The drive to Selinunte from Agrigento on Tuesday 1st October was broken up by a visit to the ancient site of Eraclea Minoa. It was mostly unexcavated but still very interesting with lovely views from the clifftops down to sandy beaches and clear blue seas.

Crested larks were vocal and flighty around the site and I briefly heard a cirl bunting singing. Grayling, clouded yellow, painted lady, wall, swallowtail and hummingbird hawkmoths were also seen.

 Grayling

 Swallowtail

Swallowtail

We carried on to Selinunte and arrived without incident and after checking into the Hotel Miramare we headed down to the beach just across the road for a swim in the Mediterranean sea and a chill out.

Tree Sparrow from our hotel balcony

Balcony View at the Hotel Miramare, Selinunte

Wednesday 2nd October saw us heading firstly to Cave di Cusa, a large abandoned quarry which was the source of the stone used in the building of the ancient city of Selinunte. It was very rural and peaceful and I added jay to the bird list while also seeing vestal moths and a nicely marked unknown moth species.

Moth Sp., Cave di Cusa

Onwards to the ancient city of Segesta where we marvelled at the temple and the views from the ancient theatre across the valleys and hills while watching house martins and a red-rumpled swallow overhead. A fan-tailed warbler was the highlight though, showing very well as it fed in the undergrowth, and as usual there were wall lizards everywhere.

 Segesta

 Segesta

Wall Lizard

Segesta

Thursday 3rd October was spent wandering around the extensive ruins of Selinunte, a fascinating place and for once somewhere we were actually allowed to clamber over and amongst the ruins.

Temple G, Selinunte

Temple E, Selinunte

A pair of marsh harriers soaring high overhead were new for the bird list and I finally managed to get some proper views of Moorish geckos resting on the stone walls. A plain tiger butterfly was a surprise too as it dashed past in the strong breeze and I also found a male common blue feeding on flowers.

 Moorish Gecko

 Moorish Gecko

 Moorish Gecko

Moorish Gecko

 Common Blue

 Clouded Yellow

 Wall Lizard

Grayling

The next morning saw us driving back to Agrigento to return the hire car before catching the train back to Palermo. The train journey was just as stunning as before and I had some better views of great white egrets along the coast and briefly saw 2 little grebes before they dived underwater.

Our last afternoon was spent wandering around Palermo enjoying food and drink and the wonderful buildings and I managed to find an oddly marked male common blue and a few brown argus flitting about in the park by the sea to finish off the day.

 Common Blue

 Common Blue

Brown Argus

And so all in all a great holiday, some interesting wildlife sightings and some fantastic archeological sight seeing and as usual I feel like I need a holiday to get over it now that I am back home.

Dorset Birthday Butterfly Heaven

My birthday was on Monday July 17th and the weather was glorious - very hot and sunny, just like last year - and so it was off to the coast for the day starting with a drive to Durdle Door, somewhere I have wanted to visit for many years now after learning all about the geology of the area for my O-level geography course many years ago.

We walked down the cliff path to the beach at Durdle Door along with many other people and it was already baking hot. The views of the coast and Durdle Door itself were stunning and along the walk I managed to see a small blue, a clouded yellow, a male chalkhill blue, common blue, marbled white, gatekeeper, small skipper, meadow brown, red admiral and lots of Lulworth skippers - fantastic!

Durdle Door

Chalkhill Blue, Durdle Door

Small Blue, Durdle Door

Lulworth Skipper, Durdle Door

Walking back up the cliff path was hard going in the heat as was the walk along the clifftops to Lulworth Cove but again there were plenty of butterflies to keep me occupied including dark green fritillary, painted lady and yet more Lulworth skippers.

Dark Green Fritillary, Lulworth Cove

Dark Green Fritillary

Lulworth Skipper

Lulworth Skipper

After some lunch at a pub in Lulworth Cove we headed down to the beach for a look at the stunning scenery, unfortunately the firing ranges were closed so we couldn't walk along the cliffs but we headed up to the small headland to the right of the cove where the views were amazing and yet more Lulworth skippers were seen along with a small heath and a dark green fritillary.

Lulworth Cove

Lulworth Cove

Lulworth Skipper

Lulworth Skipper

With the heat rising we moved on to Kimmeridge Bay for the afternoon where we sat on the beach and admired the interesting geology while Jack splashed around in the water. We found some fossils in the rocks and a Roesel's Bush-cricket, a new species for me, looking a little out of place amongst the boulders, while 2 ravens were seen flying overhead.

Fossil, Kimmeridge Bay

Kimmeridge Bay

Roesel's Bush-cricket

Roesel's Bush-cricket

We headed back to the cottage at the end of the day feeling very sun kissed and enjoyed a barbeque for tea - a very lovely birthday day indeed.

Tuesday 18th July and it was hot and sunny again but very windy and with thunderstorms and rain forecast for the afternoon David and I headed off in the morning to the nearby RSPB reserve at Arne for a walk, meeting the others at the café on the reserve later in the morning. A look for raft spiders on a small pond drew a blank but I did have some nice views of keeled skimmers and small red damselflies, a new damselfly for me. There was no sign of any Dartford warblers in the blowy conditions with a flyover siskin and tree pipit being the only small birds of note but I did get to see an osprey perched in a dead tree eating a fish, a little distant even with a telescope but a bonus bird for the day. A single grayling was also seen feeding on heather flowers in a sheltered spot.

Keeled Skimmer, Arne

Keeled Skimmer

Small Red Damselfly, Arne

Small Red Damselfly

Osprey, Arne

Grayling, Arne

Small Copper, Arne

With the clouds rolling in again we drove to nearby Poole for some lunch and a look around the shops. I watched 2 common terns for a while as they flew around the marina before we drove back to the cottage, arriving just as the rain began to fall and the thunder and lightning began.

Common Tern, Poole

The following day was cool and cloudy and mizzly and so after a quick look around Swanage where I saw a Sandwich tern in the mist and then some lunch at Corfe Castle it was time to head back to Plymouth - but what an amazing few days away I had had - gorgeous scenery in a stunning part of the UK, butterflies galore (21 species) including 2 lifers, good birding, a new damselfly, a new cricket, a visit to a RSPB reserve new to me, interesting geology and a fantastic time with my family, all in all a brilliant birthday time.