Heavy morning rain but dry by early afternoon. A fresh SE wind.
First an update from yesterday - 4 Lunar hornet moths at Middleton Nature Reserve all across the road from the car park - Linda. Pheromone lure
Kevin Eaves had this tiny moth in his overnight trap.
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| Small Marbled moth |
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| It's a migrant, probably from Southern Europe. Amazing how such small insects can travel great distances. |
South shore
I went along the sea wall 08:30 - 10:00 (Malcolm). It lashed it down all the time, and the SE wind was constantly wafting mists around, creating a surreal seascape.
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| These are the two adult Kittiwakes, much better shots to follow, but these provide a sense of this morning's conditions |
I went down while the tide was out to see if the Mediterranean gulls were feeding on the beach between No.1 outfall and the wooden jetty. There were 12 - 14 but a long way out, plus difficult viewing through the mists and rain.
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| The Med on the right has a white ring, possibly the one seen at Conder Green yesterday |
All the gulls flew off together, I assumed as the tide was now coming in. But perhaps not.....
......10 minutes later Osprey fishing, I thought it had just arrived, but more likely it had been fishing a while, out of sight from me, but not the gulls.
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| This is the point that it caught a Bass. It is only just visible despite being quite close to the waterline |
It flew off with its catch to the south
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| Osprey with a Bass |
Janet managed a walk in between showers at lunchtime
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| Curlew |
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| Cormorant |
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| One of two adult Kittiwakes |
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| Grey Seal near No.1 outfall |
I had another (dry) look this evening (Malcolm)
Still at least one adult Kittiwake
At least one newly fledged Rock Pipit has managed to survive the perilous, and regularly fatal, first flight from the lighthouse area nest hole. Positioned on the vertical wall with just sea below, they haven't even a chance to flex their wings, before their first attempted fight.
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| Newly fledged Rock Pipit |
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| Two Peregrine Falcons above the Power Stations |
Just a quick look on my way home
Stonechat 1 male and at least 1 juvenile
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| The male was display flying as I arrived |
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| Then he settled over his usual bramble bush |
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| One juvenile looking more confident now |
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| Likely a different juvenile, but I didn't see two at the same time, there were at least three when the male was first feeding them away from the nest. |
