Tuesday 8th July

The year's first Roseate Tern was the highlight, present on and off in the Bight over the evening tide, closely followed by a moulting male Ruff, also new for the year. The latter is just the sixth July record and the earliest by several weeks after one on 22nd July 1989. 

Roseate Tern - Kevin Rylands

Ruff - Lee Collins

Also in the estuary minimum counts of 49 Sandwich Tern (20 juvs), 220 Black-headed and 58 Mediterranean Gull, with wader numbers also increasing with 72 Redshank, nine Bar and two Black-tailed Godwit, six Dunlin, four Greenshank, two Little Ringed, two Ringed and a Grey Plover

Elsewhere 60+ Swallow, five Sand and two House Martin were feeding around Warren Point, 12 Manx Shearwater and three Great Crested Grebe were offshore, a Buzzard was overhead and single Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker were on site. 

Year list addition: 

152. Roseate Tern
151. Ruff

Other Wildlife: The run of discoveries continues with a new digger wasp for the Recording Area, the tiny (four mm), black Solsky's Wasp Stigmus solskyi found running around on a Sycamore leaf behind the Crocus Meadow, possibly looking for its aphid prey; it's widespread, but local across England and Wales.

Solsky's Wasp Stigmus solskyi - Alan Keatley

It was a busy day for insects with many Silvery Leafcutter and Little Flower Bee collecting pollen on brambles. Amongst them were three new hoverflies for the year, Wasp Plumehorn Volucella inanis, Marsh Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus hybridus, Common Paragus P. haemorrhous and Four-banded Digger Wasp Gorytes quadrifasciatus. 

Four-banded Digger Wasp Gorytes quadrifasciatus - Alan Keatley

Marsh Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus hybridus - Alan Keatley

Other insects included two pairs of Small Red-eyed Damselfly mating on the Main Pond, several Javelin Wasp Gasteruption jaculator on umbellifers, several fresh Peacock butterflies, many Gatekeeper and a steady flow of Small White.

Javelin Wasp Gasteruption jaculator - Alan Keatley