As the latest heatwave approaches, Dave and I were out in the "almost" midday sun slogging around Morton Bagot with very little optimism. But it turned out to be a good morning.
On arriving at the flash field I could see a Green Sandpiper and a load of Greylag Geese on the furthest flash, but having opted to travel light (without scope and tripod) we soon moved on to get a better look at the drying nearest flash. Before we got there we could hear some large gulls kicking off, and it turned out they were mobbing a Great White Egret standing gormlessly on the dry mud. We are sure it must have just arrived.
It was constantly being dive-bombed by Lesser Black-backed Gulls and after about ten minutes flew towards the furthest flash. Ten more minutes later it had had enough and we saw it flying north before gaining height by circling, and being lost behind the trees we were sheltering under.
I felt I was due some good luck after an unlucky streak during the week, and on moving to the Kingfisher Pool to see how many Green Sandpipers had chosen to rest there (five), we spotted a Little Grebe. This was the first here since 2021, so it deserved a photograph. This species has an annoying habit of disappearing into thin air, and once we emerged from behind the willow through which we had been looking, it had "gone". I'm pretty certain it had simply dived, but we never saw it again.
Two Kingfishers appeared briefly as we trudged back.
We didn't see much else, so I should mention my hapless attempts to see birds at Earlswood during the latter half of last week. On Thursday I dashed over to try to see a Ringed Plover, but it had gone. The following day I made yet another attempt to see the Mandarin on Terry's Pool. John Oates appeared and offered to show me its favourite perch. The branch in question proved empty. I'll be trying again tomorrow.
Finally, my garden mothing exploits produced 25 moths of 18 species on Friday night, which was fewer than I had been expecting. Only three were new for the year; a very worn Willow Beauty, an Iron Prominent, and most notably only my second Wax Moth.
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| Iron Prominent |
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| Wax Moth |
On Saturday I had a garden butterfly tick when I noticed a small moth or butterfly fluttering pathetically at the end of a strand of cobweb. I decided to go and rescue it and when I uncupped my hands found I was holding a beautiful Purple Hairstreak. I let it go before my brain caught up and reminded me I should have found a way of taking a record shot.
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