We're now half way through May, and after some overnight rain Dave and I arrived at Morton Bagot with some hope that a wader may have dropped in. As it turned out, although there is now a decent edge to the nearest flash, not a single wader had turned up.
Our birding highlights were therefore the continued presence of the singing Garden Warbler at Netherstead (they have always been one day wonders in the past), while a Red Kite, a Rook, and possibly two Grey Wagtails were all birds which would have added to last week's list.
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| Red Kite |
Also noteworthy were nine singing Reed Buntings (extending the patch record for the number of territorial males), and five pairs of Linnets.
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| Linnet |
So our eyes were soon cast downwards, but not in disappointment. The warmer weather ensured that plenty of insects were on the wing. We logged nine species of butterfly (all ones already recorded this year), two moths; Mother Shipton and Common Nettle-tap, and three species of damselflies including the first Beautiful Demoiselles and Azure Damselflies of the year.
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| Orange-tip |
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| Male Beautiful Demoiselle |
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| Azure Damselfly (immature male) |
This conflict of interest is typical of what happens from mid-May. The abundance of life at your feet is irresistible. I say abundance, recent wildlife literature emphasises a shifting baseline. Even I have lived long enough to remember far more butterflies and other insects in the countryside, and I can only hope that NGOs like the Heart of England Forest scheme stimulate the government to encourage a reversal of the dreadful trend towards the day when insects are scarce and even less biodiverse.
On a less gloomy note, I can't help aiming my camera at the more distinctive looking of other insect groups. In this case I picked up a longhorn beetle called Anaglyptus mysticus, and the UK's largest cranefly Tipula maxima, both of which may well be new for me.
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| Anaglyptus mysticus |
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| Tipula maxima |
I should admit that I didn't have a species name for them until I got home and carried out an internet search.
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| Mother Shipton |
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| Common Nettle-tap |
There is still plenty to see, you just need to get out there and look while it's still available.
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