Tuesday 6 August 2019

Dorset insects

Hello

A quiet day for me wildlife wise - an early walk at Harrington Airfield provided a fishing Osprey over the airfield pool which was a nice surprise! A Turtle Dove was heard 'purring' briefly and the bushes held reasonable numbers of common warblers.

Breezy conditions and squally showers induced plenty of gulls on the move to spend time on ploughed fields and areas of water, with hundreds (and probably thousands) of Black-headed and Lesser Black-backs migrating through the county. A juvenile Mediterranean Gull was at Pitsford Reservoir with one of these flocks this afternoon. Other birds in the Scaldwell Bay included an adult Yellow-legged Gull and singles of Common and Green Sandpiper. At 7pm this evening it was possible to see a fishing Osprey hovering over the reservoir north of the causeway (I was actually in fields east of Hanging Houghton at the time), such was the quality and clarity of the light.

Steve Fisher saw a Merlin fly over Stanwick Pits this morning plus a Cattle Egret, two Green Sandpipers and a Common Sandpiper and Jonathan Cook's venture to Hollowell Reservoir this afternoon yielded six juvenile Shelduck, ten Dunlin and two Little Ringed Plovers.

Regards

Neil M


Brown Silver Lines Moth.

Silver-studded Blue.

Sloe Shield-bug.

Large Skipper.

Leather Shield-bug
Golden-ringed Dragonfly.

Green Tiger Beetle.

All images taken in
Dorset by John Gamble.

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