PAINTED LADIES

Two fresh painted ladies were seen along the Maydays seawall on Monday 1st. One of them paused long enough on a bristly ox-tongue flower for this picture to be taken. Painted ladies have been scarce this summer.

A couple of common blue butterflies were also seen inside the seawall.

Two common seals were basking on the saltmarsh at the top of the Pyefleet until disturbed by a passing windsurfer. A third seal was pictured when it briefly surfaced as it swam back down the Channel.

Only a small selection of birds noted during the high tide with three common sandpipers along the bottom of the seawall being the most interesting. A marsh harrier was flying along the Langehoehall seawall while four kestrels were hovering above there, with two common buzzards over the ranges and another two over Reeveshall. Three yellowhammers and 25 house martins were also noted.

This speckled wood was resting on a holly bush in the Firs Chase garden on Monday 1st. Also noted were meadow brown, gatekeeper and holly blue as well as a migrant hawker dragonfly.
A hummingbird hawkmoth was seen visiting some salvia flowers in the garden the previous day.


In the skies overhead ten swifts passed over the garden on Sunday 31st.

The regular female red squirrel was back in the cedar tree in Firs Chase having just raided the feeder on Monday.

The usual timings for her visits is early morning and early evening but this visit for a change was early afternoon. This one's dirty whiskers shows it has had it's head deep inside the nut feeder.