Thursday August 15

We are getting to the business end of August, but today in a brisk westerly with sunny intervals it soon became apparent that the birds weren't aware of this. The only sign of active movement was a loose party of six Swifts heading south.

At the flash field yesterday's rain has removed any muddy edge and the only waders were three Green Sandpipers and 35 Lapwings. You can tell its a bit slow when you feel inspired to count Greylag Geese; there were 175 of them.

So the inevitable fall back was insects. I found a shieldbug called a Parent Bug which I don't think I've seen before, although they are evidently quite common.

Parent Bug

Also, a large hoverfly Volucella inanis which I have recorded here before.

Volucella inanis

The umbellifer heads of various species were crawling with all kinds of flies, providing some nice photographic opportunities.

Butterflies on the wing included Brown Argus and Common Blue, while dragonflies were just the usual species and were largely uncooperative.

Finally a digression. My journey to work takes in the discs of the Selfridges building in central Birmingham, the blue light glowing around each acting as a lure to moths. I've counted hundreds this year, mostly common species, and yesterday these included a Lime-speck Pug, the first I have seen in spite of 18 months garden trapping.

Lime-speck Pug

As Pugs go this is a pretty spectacular one, but it is apparently not especially rare, so I may yet trap one in the garden or at Morton Bagot.