Reflections

Another warm sunny day with a light variable breeze, although clouds were building by late evening.

Joanne Byrne spotted this Roe Deer yesterday. It was on the embankment to the railway line, to the east of the railway bridge at the start of Moneyclose Lane.

It was only small so likely one of this year's young

This shows the location, there were people talking in the gardens.....

.....but the deer was happy to continue feeding.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Janet reported one of the two Cygnets was dead on the main pond spit yesterday. The remaining one was looking well, but perhaps lonely, today. The following shots from Rosemary Silvester.

The solitary remaining cygnet

Common Blue Damselfly

Male Emperor

I had a look mid morning (Malcolm)

Two of the summer plumaged adult Little Grebe were together on the "no swimming" pond.

One of at least two independent young grebes

No sign of the Gadwall today.

Butterflies:

Ringlet a few faded ones

Meadow Brown several

Gatekeeper several

Green-veined White 3

Common Blue 3

No sign of the Copper-tip Longhorn moths again

Dragonflies:

Emperor 6

Female Emperor in flight, with its reflection below

Female Emperor ovipositoring, again nicely reflected

Black-Tailed Skimmer 1 male

Broad-bodied Chaser 2 males

Male Broad-bodied Chaser

Common Darter lots! This pair are ovipositoring.

Buzzard 1 drifted high to the south

Common Buzzard

Not so many Oystercatcher on the Heliport wall today, but these low neap
tides barely reach it

Ocean Edge beach (Malcolm)

The gulls were resting on the dry mud again this evening 

Including 27 Mediterranean gulls. Three were colour ringed, but all seen previously this summer.

This German ringed bird (AZ-ZZ) has not been recorded since it arrived 19/07
Clearly they commute between feeding/roosting areas

Swallows 5 feeding above the rotting strand line.