30 Friday Aug 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature
‘Aw, isn’t that sweet?’ I thought when I spotted this couple of Meadow grasshoppers today. ‘He’s got his arm around her.’
Of course, there was a bit more going on than that and, as I watched, another part of his anatomy swung around her body to make contact with her vital parts. No wonder he’s got a glint in his eye!
29 Thursday Aug 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature
Tags
#365DaysWild, autumn migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, migrating birds, Spot fly, Spotted flycatcher
The day started cool, with a heavy dew and clouds hiding the sun, and I thought I wasn’t going to find a lot during my Cosmeston meander. I was wrong.
Once the sun came out so did the creatures: two Green woodpeckers together on the grassy track ahead; two migrating Whinchats, my first this season; a Hummingbird hawkmoth that only hummed a little before landing on the dirt track in front of me – not something I’ve ever seen before; another magnificent Clouded yellow; and, today’s star, yet another Spotted flycatcher, my fifth at Cosmeston in the past week and the most confiding, allowing me to get quite close for photos. It has been a wonderful, and much needed, immersion in Nature today.
28 Wednesday Aug 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature
I am sometimes guilty of overlooking the ordinary but this photo, which I am very pleased with and now have as the desktop image on my laptop, reminds me of how truly lovely is the ‘ordinary’ Meadow brown butterfly. I tend to overlook it in favour of more colourful or unusual species, yet it is a butterfly that continues to grace the local meadows even now, when many of the other butterflies have gone for the year. I am rebuked by its beauty!
27 Tuesday Aug 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature, plants
Fog! I woke to whiteness and the silence fog often seems to induce – perhaps the morning birds were so shocked by this sign of the coming winter that they forgot to sing. It was still early but I stomped along to Cosmeston, thinking migrating birds might have been forced down, unable to see clearly their routes south. I did locate one Spotted flycatcher but what really caught my eye were the beautiful webs, some designed by spiders but others perhaps by different small creatures, all dripping with tiny droplets of moisture.
26 Monday Aug 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature
In recent days I’ve been spending some time searching for migrating birds, and I’ve had some success, with several Spotted flycatchers, a couple of Tree pipits, and good numbers of Willow warblers, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and both species of whitethroat. Although Redstarts have been seen locally, I haven’t yet managed to find one so, when I caught a reddish flash through the bushes at Cosmeston, I thought I’d got lucky. Unfortunately, it turned out that the flash of red was at the wrong end of the bird – redstart comes from the Anglo-Saxon for ‘red tail’. My little bird had a red breast.
25 Sunday Aug 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature
The Migrant hawker’s name is somewhat misleading – it does still like to migrate away from where it was hatched and was once only seen in Britain when it migrated here from Europe. But, since the 1940s, ever increasing numbers have come here and this species does now breed in Britain, where its range continues to expand northwards.
I’ve seen a few of these dragonflies this year but today was the first time one has settled long enough for me to get a few photos. That was probably because, despite our high daytime temperatures, it is now quite a bit cooler at night, and, as I was out relatively early this morning, I found this little one still basking in the sun trying to warm up.
24 Saturday Aug 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature
The Wall butterfly (Lasiommata megera) used to be named Wall brown (and you do still hear some people call it that), one of the trio of browns along with the Meadow brown and what was the Hedge brown but has also been renamed, the Gatekeeper. Unfortunately, the Wall is not faring as well as its brown friends – though they are both thriving and plentiful, the Wall is seen much less frequently and in more limited locations than it used to be.
This Wall is only the fourth I’ve ever seen so I was delighted to spot it last week during a meander through the wildflower meadows at Arlington Reservoir and Nature Reserve in East Sussex.
23 Friday Aug 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature
When my friend Jill and I returned to her car after our walk to Rottingdean Windmill last week, we were treated to the sight of a Kestrel hunting for food in the meadow immediately in front of the carpark. After one unsuccessful plunge down into the grass, it retreated to a fencepost.
But, within minutes, it was airborne once again, and even closer to us this time. What always amazes me with Kestrels is how, even in very strong and gusty winds, they manage to keep their heads perfectly still so as to focus on their potential prey. Their flying skills are phenomenal.
22 Thursday Aug 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature
Tags
British butterflies, butterflies, butterfly, Malling Down Nature Reserve, Seaford Head Nature Reserve, Silver-spotted skipper, Skippers
I know my vision isn’t the best but I really don’t see the silver marks on these skippers’ wings as spots – they look more like squares to me. But maybe Silver-squared skipper doesn’t have the same ring to it!
I’m a big fan of the various skipper species so was very much hoping to find my first Silver-spotted skippers during my recent short break in East Sussex, and I was definitely not disappointed, seeing them at both Seaford Head Nature Reserve (just one) and Malling Down Nature Reserve (several).
Like the other skippers I’ve seen, these were very cute and rather cheeky, happy to perch and stare when not slurping away on wildflower nectar. Those at Malling Down seemed to favour pink flowers in particular, but that may just be coincidence.
21 Wednesday Aug 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature
Tags
Adonis blue, blue butterflies, British butterflies, butterflies, butterfly, Malling Down Nature Reserve
Sunday was a day of two butterfly first-sightings.
Not only did I see my first ever Long-tailed blue but I also saw my first Adonis blues – and what stunning creatures they are! Aptly named after the Greek god of beauty and desire, the Adonis is an almost unbelievable shade of cobalt blue that shimmers when the sun catches it.
These are not butterflies we see in south Wales so I was really hoping to find some during my short break in East Sussex, and I did! These two were enjoying the sunshine and the wildflowers at the Malling Down Nature Reserve.
earthstar 
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