Fen Wainscot

Six Common Sandpipers on Maer Rocks this morning.

Maer Rocks early morning - 3 Manx Shearwaters, 2 Redshank, 1 Curlew, 6 Common Sandpipers, 14 Sandwich Terns, 1 Common Tern and at least 8 Mediterranean Gulls. Off Mudbank a little later - 2 Sandwich Terns, 4 Bar-tailed Godwits, 3 Whimbrel, 1 Canada Goose and 5 Mediterranean Gulls.

Yesterday evening - emerging flying ants above our house attracted good numbers of Herring and Black-headed Gulls along with at least 3 Mediterranean Gulls and 2 Sandwich Terns. Also a Sparrowhawk over and a second-summer Yellow-legged Gull on the Warren View playing fields.

29/6 - Maer Rock from 0630 'til 0655 produced 10 Common Scoters, 29 Shelducks, 2 Swifts, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 1 Sandwich Tern and a feeding flock of 18 Shags. Off Mudbank - 4 adult and a juvenile Sandwich Tern, 93 Curlew, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 1 Whimbrel, 3 Mallard and the single Canada Goose.

Moths trapped over the last couple of nights included Buff Arches, Small Fan-footed Wave, Riband Wave, Common Carpet, July Highflyer, Fern, Haworth's Pug, Foxglove Pug, Wormwood Pug, Currant Pug, V-Pug, Double-striped Pug, Scorched Carpet, Early Thorn, Scalloped Oak, Willow Beauty, Brussel's Lace, Barred Red, Privet Hawkmoth, Eyed Hawkmoth, Elephant Hawkmoth, Buff-tip, Lobster Moth, Brown-tail, Rosy Footman, Muslin Footman, Scarce Footman, Common Footman, Buff Ermine, Kent Black Arches, Heart and Club, Heart and Dart, The Flame, Large Yellow Underwing, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, True Lover's Knot, Double Square-spot, Bright-line Brown-eye, Smoky Wainscot, Shore Wainscot, L-album Wainscot, Large Ranunculus, Poplar Grey, Sycamore, Grey/Dark Dagger, Knot Grass, Coronet, Old Lady, Dark Arches, Marbled Minor agg, Common/Lesser Common Rustic, Fen Wainscot, Uncertain, Small Marbled, Oak Nycteoline, Nut-tree Tussock, Silver Y, Spectacle, Beautiful Hook-tip, Varied Tortrix, Wax Moth, Double-striped Tabby, Rosy Tabby, Garden Grass-moth, Satin Grass-moth, Small Magpie, Corn-borer, Rusty-dot Pearl, Coastal Pearl, Olive-tree Pearl and Box-tree Moth.

Fen Wainscot - my first trapped in the garden and a stunning little moth. Migrants last night were just 1 Silver Y, 1 European Corn-borer and 1 Rusty-dot Pearl.

This is only my second garden Shore Wainscot.

One of several Black-headed Gulls catching flying ants over our house yesterday evening.

One of at least three Mediterranean Gulls that joined the 'anting' Black-headed and Herring Gulls.

Two Sandwich Terns joined the masses of gulls from time to time.

A second summer (3cy) Yellow-legged Gull was on the playing fields at the back of our house late yesterday evening.

Small Marbled. This and a couple Palpita vitrealis (Olive-tree Pearl) were the only migrants in the trap on the 30/6.

A flock of 29 Shelducks flying in towards the river on the 29/6. Langstone Rock in the background.

Mudbank

Adult Mediterranean Gull.

Counts from Mudbank today included the first-summer Little Gull, 1 Common Tern, c195 Black-headed Gulls, 3 Mediterranean Gulls, 1 Redshank, c90 Curlew,  4 Whimbrel, 1 Bar-tailed  Godwit,   4 Shelduck, 1 Canada Goose, c70 Carrion Crows and 7 Great Crested Grebes. One Spoonbill scoped upriver.

Also today - Barn Owl - Yettington and on Bystock Pool - Kingfisher and the pair of Moorhens.

Reed Warblers, Little Gull

Good to hear two Reed Warblers in the West Lodge reedbed today. I was starting to think I wasn't going to record any in Exmouth this year as they're by no means guaranteed in the autumn.

Off the seafront this morning - a large feeding flock of c1000+ Herring Gulls, 4+ Mediterranean Gulls, c100 Black-headed Gulls, 1 Sandwich Tern and c65 Manx Shearwaters, at least 40 of which joined the feeding gull flock.

Off Mudbank - 1 first-summer Little Gull, 2 Common Terns, 3 Sandwich Terns, 4+ Mediterranean Gulls, c140 Black-headed Gulls, c90 Curlew,  2 Whimbrel, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 1 Canada Goose,  2 Mallard and 1 Peregrine. Nearby - 2 Reed Warblers at West Lodge and 2 Spoonbills scoped from the back garden.

Small Copper. My first Hummingbird Hawkmoth of the year was in the garden.

Osprey

Lu and I spent some time watching the Tawny Owls this evening.

Both Osprey and Spoonbill seen from the back garden today. Both firsts of the year for me. Off Mudbank - c130 Black-headed Gulls (including my first juvenile of the summer), 45 Curlew, 2 Mediterranean Gulls, 6 Sandwich Terns and a Great Crested Grebe. A quick look at Orcombe first thing produced just the singing male Cirl Bunting and 2 Peregrines. 

Yesterday of note - 2 Red Kites heading north up the other side of the river.

Tawny Owl

Vocal juvenile Tawny Owls are doing a bad job of staying undetected on the Bystock reserve at the moment.

I counted 11 Silver-studded Blues on a stroll round Withycombe Raleigh Common after work this afternoon. Nearby - 5 male Tufted Ducks on Squabmoor reservoir and 45 Common Spotted Orchids below the dam.

 Stonechat and Honeysuckle.

Bystock

Ringlet.

A very pleasant couple hours spent in Bystock DWT reserve this afternoon. Plenty of butterflies seen including several Ringlet and Marbled White alongside Small Skippers and a Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. I also spent some time looking at the numerous Common Spotted Orchids that are quite widely distributed across the meadow.

Small Skipper.

Good to find five Broad-leaved Helleborines along Wright's Lane following last years disastrous showing. Another week or two before they flower I should think.

Silver-studded Blues

Silver-studded Blue - Bicton Common. Was really starting to think these had gone from the usual local sites so a relief to find a couple this afternoon.

Mudbank on this morning's rising tide - 7+ Mediterranean Gulls, 8 Sandwich Terns, 10 Curlew, 1 Whimbrel, 6 Turnstones, 9 Mute Swans and 2 Great Crested Grebes. A feeding flock of gulls, distantly off the seafront, held at least 15 Mediterranean Gulls and a Cirl Bunting was in song some way away from the usual breeding spot on Orcombe Point.

12/6 - a twenty minute look off the lifeboat station produced a pale phase Arctic Skua, adult summer Mediterranean Gull, 3 Black-headed Gulls and 3 Manx Shearwaters. Off the Imperial rec - 7 Sanderling, 2 Sandwich Terns and 7 Black-headed Gulls.

11/6 - Orcombe Point early on - 2 Great Northern Divers over, a juvenile Stonechat, the singing male Cirl Bunting, 5+ Swifts, 3 Coal Tits and 20+ Common Scoters past. A look off the lifeboat station after work revealed 1 Common Tern and 7 Sandwich Terns.

Heath Spotted Orchid.

An Exmouth Pyramidal Orchid.

Little Tern

A Little Tern was fishing off the lifeboat station this evening. Also at least 7 Sandwich Terns and 4 Common Terns, the latter my first for the year which is both worrying and baffling in equal measure.

Off the Imperial recreation ground - 125+ Black-headed Gulls and a first-summer Mediterrnean Gull.

Miscellany

First-summer Mediterranean Gull - Duckpond.

A Great Northern Diver, 5 Sandwich Terns and 1 Black-headed Gull off the seafront this morning.

Yesterday off there - 2 Sandwich Terns, 3 Shelducks, 1 Black-headed Gull, 5+ Manx Shearwaters, 1 adult Mediterranen Gull and c12+ Common Scoters. Off Mudbank - a flock of c50 small waders consisted of at least 11 Sanderling and c30+ Dunlin. Also - 4 Grey Plovers, 1 Knot, 10 Sandwich Terns, 12 Canada Geese, 3 Mallard, 20+ Black-headed Gulls, 2 Mediterranean Gulls, 1 first-summer Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Great Crested Grebes, 2 Shelduck and 14+ Swallows.

Brown Rat - Imperial rec.

Pitcher Plant - Woodbury Common.

Some variation in Heath Spotted Orchid markings...

Almost trod on this Adder today.

Lots of Grass Waves on the wing today.

I spent some time looking at the Bystock Common Spotted Orchids today. Quite a few found but all pretty small after the prolonged dry spell.

Large Skipper.

Emperor Dragonfly.

Dartford Warbler.