Saturday, 17 June 2023

Saturday 17th June

The first four Balearic Shearwater of the year flew slowly south early evening with a sub adult Arctic Skua chasing gulls offshore. These included at least 22 Mediterranean Gull, three adult, two second summer and 17 first summer including a French ringed bird.

Mediterranean Gull - Lee Collins

Counts from the evening high tide included 252 Oystercatcher, 76 Curlew, 10 Dunlin, six Ringed and two Grey Plover, five Redshank, four Bar-tailed Godwit, three Sandwich Tern and the Dark-bellied Brent Goose. One of the terns sadly looked like a poultry flu victim.

Sandwich Tern - Lee Collins

Elsewhere 160 Starling were on the Golf Course, and a several recently fledged Pied Wagtail were on Warren Point.

Wildlife News: A change in butterflies with a few more Gatekeeper on the wing, but Common Blue may have ended its spring generation. In contrast the Yellow-legged Mining Bee summer generation has now emerged with several on the wing at the car park roundabout colony.

Gatekeeper - Alan Keatley

Bumblebees are enjoying the flowering bramble and clover with several Tree, Red-tailed, and numerous Buff-tailed and Common Carder Bee. On areas of bare sand several Red- banded Sand Wasp were patrolling looking for caterpillars to take to their burrows.

Red-banded Sand Wasp Ammophila sabulosa - Alan Keatley

Heterotoma planicornis nymph - Alan Keatley

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