A hot sunny day with a light west wind.
South shore (Malcolm)
I went along the sea wall late morning hoping to see some ringed Mediterranean gulls feeding on the beach by the wooden jetty. There were 10 adult and 2 juvenile on the beach, a couple were feeding on sandmason worms, but most were just resting and preening, presumably having already eaten their fill.
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| Preening adult Mediterranean gull, this shot shows how prominent the sandmason worm tubes are again |
There were three ringed birds, but all previously seen this year. Other Meds were resting/preening on the other beaches.
Mediterranean gull total 23 - 20 adult/3rd calendar year, 3 juvenile
Peregrine Falcon 1
In the Nature Park
The juvenile Sparrowhawk was whining again, unfortunately silent in this short clip.
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| Juvenile Sparrowhawk |
Painted Lady 2 - first record this year
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| Painted Lady |
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| One of three Small Skippers |
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| Male Large White |
Red Admiral 4
Meadow Brown 2
Gatekeeper 5
Speckled Wood 2
Common Darter 5
Middleton Nature Reserve (Malcolm)
An early evening check of the main ponds, really just to see what dragonflies were around.
Brown Hawker 4
Emperor 1 male
Broad-bodied Chaser 1 male
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| Broad-bodied Chaser |
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| Black-tailed Skimmer |
Common Darter 10+
Not many butterflies
Large White 1
Meadow Brown 2
Gatekeeper 6
This young Little Egret seems to be developing its skills nicely.
By this time gulls were arriving for an evening bath, including 4 Mediterranean gulls, an adult, a 2nd calendar year and two juvenile.
This is one of the juveniles, I am just sat on the seat in the lower car park for this and the following shots.
This is the adult and a juvenile. If you watch closely (or in slow motion) you can see the adult has a white ring.
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| After checking so many Meds along the shore, this is the first new ringed bird seen this month! |
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| This is the 2nd calendar year Mediterranean gull |
