SUMMER LEAF TINTS

Sunday for a change really lived up its name with lots of sunshine through the day. The large amounts of rain that fell during June have made their impact on the tree growth. A close look at some of the fresh leaves that have emerged recently reveal some stunning red colours. It is like autumn has come early. This branch of oak leaves has put on a spurt of over a foot's worth of growth in the last month or so. It is not just one bush or one type of tree, all kinds of trees are making the most of the perfect growing conditions.

The areas of long grass are losing their fresh green colour as they fade to brown. The bright yellow clumps of lady's bedstraw stand out in the summer grasslands with their dense blooms. Several patches of lady's bedstraw grow around the park and it seems to relish the poor dry soils by the coast here.


The sunshine was good for the insects such as this delicate looking azure damselfly seen resting on some grass not far from the park pond. There was also ruddy darter and black-tailed skimmer dragonflies seen along the park paths.
Purple hairstreak was seen again in the south west corner of the park over some oaks and more fresh commas were seen with their bright orange wings.

Managed to find this summer chafer after it buzzed passed me and crashing onto the grass as I walked along. This is the insect which is coming out at dusk in large numbers in recent nights and flying around the tops of trees. I have seen them in the past but not in such numbers. Even the local male kestrel has been staying up late in the car park until almost complete darkness, snatching these chafers in mid-air with its talons. The black-headed gulls too have been flying low over the tree tops and picking off chafers as they buzz round the trees.

Other birds seen during the day were sparrowhawk, turtle dove singing near the entrance, nightingale calling in the car park and the sand martins numbering about 100 birds over the park.

The moth trap was run Saturday night into Sunday morning and collected about 70 moths of 25 species - slightly down on the previous night but then the sky ended up clear. One of the least moth-like creatures was this buff-tip pictured above that mimics a snapped off twig absolutely perfectly. Two elephant hawks added some colour, the giant privet hawk again and a poplar hawk were some of the bigger boys. Most of the moths were the same as the previous night.

Moth traps can often attract other insects and this giant beast of a beetle was crawling his way through the grass towards the bright light. It is the great silver diving beetle and is almost an inch and a half long. On two occasions last summer this beetle was noted coming to the light. It is a beetle that by all accounts is becoming scarcer in south-east England because of the loss of wetland habitats.
This rather alien looking mass of slime is the common moon jellyfish. Masses get washed onto the beaches in mid-summer, sometimes every five paces you can find another one. This one here is one of the larger ones with its distinctive four purple rings visible. Luckily this very common jellyfish does not possess a sting that humans could feel.