ISLE OF HARTY
I went back down to the estuary once again, to revisit The Swale. Not much change but an improvement in the weather meant a lot more butterflies were on the wing including Gatekeepers, Small Whites, Meadow Browns and 1 Small Heath. 1 ad. win. Mediteranean Gull remained in the Black-headed Gull flock and the resident Turtle Dove was once again on show in and around the farm.
one of the two male Turtle Doves purring from the wires
Other butterflies of note included several Small Skippers, Essex Skippers and 1 Red Admiral. The pond infront of our house became even more productive as I found 1 Emperor Dragonfly, 2♂ Black-tailed Skimmers, 1 Blue-tailed Damselfly and several Common Blue Damselflies. My aunt and I also went down to the Swale, this time to sketch the landscape (she being an artist and me just having finished an A-level in art, it was a great idea). All the same, I couldn't resist going off to search for more butterflies and birds. A single Whimbrel flew past and Gatekeepers were on the wing along with 1-2 Small Tortoiseshells. In the end we ended up searching for butterflies, and together saw 2 Red Admirals and a Comma.
Gatekeeper
Common Darter
Emperor Dragonfly
Blue-tailed Damselfly
Black-tailed Skimmer
Grass Snake, soon disappeared behind the bins
dead unIDed caterpillar species
CAPEL FLEET RAPTOR WATCHPOINT
With a few hours of sunlight left, I cycled down to raptor watchpoint only c.2km down the road. Not a great deal about except for 3 Marsh Harriers, 3 Yellow Wagtails and 3+ Green Sandpiper. 3♂ Black-tailed Skimmers were also defending their territory near the Pump Hill.
Grass Snake, a very sad road kill, only just run over minutes before I arrived
male Black-tailed Skimmer
Peacock caterpillar
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