Half time analysis!

Time flies when you’re having fun, not an original remark I know but none the less true! I am half way through my ‘gap year’ and my goodness it is going very quickly. Although looking back, some of the birds I have seen, the places I have visited seem a long way back, funny old thing time don’t you think? If my calculations are correct I have spent nights in 21 different places in the past 6 months! But first a quick look back at June; we said goodbye to it yesterday until 2017 and for me it was fantastic, well if we leave politics out of it !!!

Definitely the highlight was our trip to  Mull, we had fantastic weather, even better company and new birds, butterflies and dragonflies too. (Please see blogs, “Mull here we come” through to “Mulling it over”)Thanks to Roo for the photo above, timer set we were sat waiting for the click but she alone knew that we were ‘titled’ on the seat! As well as blogging I am making a scrapbook of our year and I try to do it monthly. So with that in mind I have been looking through June’s photos to pick the ones to feature when I came upon a butterfly I had written off as a tatty white one! Oh no it isn’t it is in fact a Green hairstreak, a first ever for us so it was worth looking through again!

As well as the birds we saw on Mull, Golden and White-tailed eagles included, we were pleased with the new butterflies and dragonflies we saw there too, albeit frustratingly fleetingly sometimes.

Working our way back home was fun too although the atrocious change in weather as we returned to England and the man who caused the M1 to be shut for 28 hours was not so amusing!

We visited some more of the WWT sites and have been really impressed by them all. Mind you when we learnt they had opened another one in Somerset it was a bit of a blow to our resolve to visit all the mainland one, hey ho to Somerset we must go. I have been struck by the friendliness of the staff/volunteers we have met at the sites and my stranger of the month is one of these. Heather, a volunteer at Caerlaverock who was simply a charming lady and a real pleasure to chat to, as I admired the Lego!

This posing Swallow was a treat at Martin Mere another WWT site.

We bought ourselves a present whilst on Mull as a reminder of our time away, not a bird we saw there but on The Farne Islands.

Our time away may have come to an end but not June, that still had plenty to offer including four life ticks! The Great reed warbler at Paxton Pits, Great Knot at Titchwell, Bluethroat at Lowestoft and Caspian tern at Breydon water and it is the Bluethroat that I pick as my bird of the month.

We still sometimes procrastinate when we hear of a new bird but on that occasion we got straight on to it and we were very pleased we did. She was a lovely little bird, showing pretty well but was gone by the next morning  so it was a good job we didn’t mess about.

Now to the half time analysis! I am loving it and am not sure how I will feel when the year is complete. No regrets other than I haven’t seen as much of my friends and sister as I would normally do and I apologise for that. I am definitely spending more time with Ian than I have for many a long year but I suspect his golf is suffering. He is in fact out playing golf now but I think it is only the second or third time all year! To be brutally honest I am slightly missing occasional time alone although I maybe next year I may regret saying that! Our garden has seen better times of that I am sure and as we can’t afford a gardener, we must take a bit of time to sort it out before it reverts totally to the wild.

But over this first six months we have seen:

235 Birds which included 20 life ticks

115 Moths plus 15 micros ( should be more micros but they are tricky!!!)

17 Butterflies

10 dragon/damselflies

20 Mammals

13 insects  (but plenty left if I can ID them!)

Reptiles and amphibians are sadly lacking so I will leave them for now and try to sort them out, I had better get out snake hunting I think!

So for now the total is 425

In case you don’t bother with the lists let me say thank you for sticking with me through the first half of the year, I hope you hang on for part two. Please leave comments on the blog is it really encouraging to read them.

If you want to read the lists you may need to refresh your coffee first but here goes:

Bird list to the end of June those in bold are new this month and those in red are life ticks

1. Mute Swan
2. Bewick Swan
3. Whooper Swan
4. Pink-footed Goose
5. White-fronted Goose
6. Greylag Goose
7. Canada Goose
8. Barnacle Goose
9. Brent Goose
10. Egyptian Goose
11. Common Shelduck
12. Muscovy duck
13. Mandarin Duck
14. Eurasian Wigeon
15. Gadwall
16. Eurasian Teal
17. Mallard
18. Pintail
19. Garganey
20. Shoveler
21. Red-crested Pochard
22. Common Pochard
23. Ferruginous Duck *
24. Tufted duck
25. Greater Scaup
26. Common Eider
27. Long-tailed Duck
28. Common Scoter
29. Velvet Scoter
30. Goldeneye
31. Smew
32. Hooded merganser *
33. Red-breasted Merganser
34. Red Grouse
35. Black Grouse
36. Goosander
37. Red-legged Partridge
38. Grey Partridge
39. Common Pheasant
40. Golden Pheasant
41. Little Grebe
42. Great Crested Grebe
43. Red-necked Grebe *
44. Slavonian Grebe
45. Black-necked Grebe
46. Fulmar
47. Manx Shearwater
48. Gannet
49. Cormorant
50. Shag
51. Bittern
52. Little Egret
53. Great Egret
54. Grey Heron
55. White Stork
56. Glossy Ibis
57. Red Kite
58. White-tailed Eagle
59. Marsh Harrier
60. Hen Harrier
61. Pallid Harrier *
62. Goshawk *
63. Eurasian Sparrowhawk
64. Common Buzzard
65. Rough-legged Buzzard
66. Golden Eagle
67. Osprey
68. Kestrel
69. Merlin
70. Hobby
71. Peregrine Falcon
72. Water Rail
73. Corn Crake
74. Moorhen
75. Coot
76. Common Crane
77. Great bustard *
78. Oystercatcher
79. Black-winged Stilt
80. Pied Avocet
81. Stone-curlew
82. Little ringed Plover
83. Ringed Plover
84. Dotterel
85. European Golden Plover
86. Grey Plover
87. Lapwing
88. Great Knot*
89. Knot
90. Sanderling
91. Little Stint
92. Temminck’s Stint
93. Curlew Sandpiper
94. Purple Sandpiper
95. Dunlin
96. Broad-billed Sandpiper *
97. Ruff
98. Jack Snipe
99. Common Snipe
100. Long-billed Dowitcher*
101. Black-tailed Godwit
102. Bar-tailed Godwit
103. Whimbrel
104. Curlew
105. Spotted Redshank
106. Common Redshank
107. Common Greenshank
108. Lesser Yellowlegs
109. Wood Sandpiper
110. Common Sandpiper
111. Ruddy Turnstone
112. Grey Phalarope
113. Mediterranean Gull
114. Little Gull
115. Black-headed Gull
116. Common Gull
117. Lesser Black-backed Gull
118. Herring Gull
119. Iceland Gull
120. Glaucous Gull *
121. Great Black-backed Gull
122. Kittiwake
123. Caspian Tern *
124. Sandwich Tern
125. Common Tern
126. Arctic Tern
127. Common Guillemot
128. Razorbill
129. Black Guillemot
130. Puffin
131. Rock Pigeon
132. Stock Pigeon
133. Wood Pigeon
134. Collared Dove
135. Turtle Dove
136. Rose-ringed Parakeet *
137. Cuckoo
138. Barn Owl
139. Tawny Owl
140. Short-eared Owl
141. Common Swift
142. Common Kingfisher
143. European Bee-eater *
144. Hoopoe
145. Green Woodpecker
146. Great Spotted Woodpecker
147. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
148. Wood Lark
149. Sky Lark
150. Shore Lark (horned lark)
151. Sand Martin
152. Swallow
153. Red-rumped Swallow *
154. House Martin
155. Tree Pipit
156. Meadow Pipit
157. Rock Pipit
158. Water Pipit
159. Yellow Wagtail (Grey-headed)
160. Grey Wagtail
161. Pied Wagtail
162. Dipper
163. Wren
164. Dunnock
165. Robin
166. Common Nightingale *
167. Bluethroat*
168. Black Redstart
169. Common Redstart
170. Whinchat
171. Stonechat
172. Wheatear
173. Ring Ouzel
174. Blackbird
175. Fieldfare
176. Song Thrush
177. Redwing
178. Mistle Thrush
179. Cetti’s Warbler
180. Grasshopper Warbler
181. Sedge Warbler
182. Eurasian Reed Warbler
183. Great Reed Warbler*
184. Dartford Warbler
185. Lesser Whitethroat
186. Whitethroat
187. Blackcap
188. Wood Warbler
189. Common Chiffchaff
190. Willow Warbler
191. Goldcrest
192. Firecrest
193. Spotted Flycatcher
194. Red-breasted Flycatcher
195. Pied Flycatcher
196. Bearded Tit
197. Long-tailed Tit
198. Marsh Tit
199. Willow Tit
200. Crested Tit *
201. Coal Tit
202. Blue Tit
203. Great Tit
204. Nuthatch
205. Treecreeper
206. Penduline tit *
207. Great Grey Shrike
208. Jay
209. Magpie
210. Jackdaw
211. Rook
212. Crow
213. Hooded Crow
214. Common Raven
215. Starling
216. House Sparrow
217. Tree Sparrow
218. Chaffinch
219. Brambling
220. Serin *
221. Greenfinch
222. Goldfinch
223. Siskin
224. Linnet
225. Twite
226. Lesser Redpoll
227. Mealy Redpoll
228. Bullfinch
229. Hawfinch
230. Lapland Longspur
231. Snow Bunting
232. Yellowhammer
233. Cirl Bunting
234. Reed Bunting
235. Corn Bunting

Moths to end of June

Winter moth

Pale brindle beauty

Mottled umber

Early moth

Common Quaker

Early grey

Hebrew character

Small brindled beauty

March moth

Small Quaker

Clouded drab

Shoulder stripe

Double-striped pug

Oak beauty

Brindled pug

Early thorn

Early toothed-stripe

Emperor moth

Brindled beauty

Dotted chestnut

Powdered Quaker

Streamer

Frosted green

Shuttle-shaped dart

Muslin

Waved umber

Nut-tree tussock

Poplar hawkmoth

White ermine

Least black arches

Swallow prominent

Treble lines

Shears

Pale tussock

Pale prominent

Coxcomb prominent

Spectacle

Grey pine carpet

Eyed hawkmoth

Brimstone

Flame shoulder

Common swift

Heart and dart

Common footman

Buff ermine

Scorched wing

Cinnabar

Large yellow underwing

Double square spot

Treble bar

Common wainscot

Uncertain

Lobster moth

Foxglove pug

Mottled pug

Currant pug

Marbled brown

Ruby tiger

Brown-line bright-eye

Setaceous Hebrew character

Blood-vein

Purple bar

Bright-line brown-eye

Brown rustic

Angle shades

Clouded-bordered brindle

Garden carpet

Common carpet

Green carpet

Common pug

Pale-shouldered brocade

Mouse moth

Silver-ground carpet

Marbled minor

Small square-spot

Pale mottled willow

Vine’s rustic

Cabbage moth

Mottled rustic

Lychnis

Spruce carpet

Rustic shoulder-knot

Garden tiger

Orange footman

Great prominent

Lime hawkmoth

Peach blossom

Map-winged swift

Elephant hawkmoth

Beautiful golden Y

Straw dot

Snout

Ghost moth

Drinker

Smoky wainscot

Buff tip

Clouded border

Silver Y

Beautiful hook-tip

Dark arches

Riband wave

Large nutmeg

Clouded silver

The flame

Light emerald

Pine hawkmoth

Dark/grey dagger

Yellow shell

Small dusty wave

Four-dotted footman

Heart and club

Common rustic

Swallow-tailed moth

Micro moths  to end June 2016

1. Common plume Emmelina monodactyla
2. Semioscopis steinkellneriana…
3. Sulphur Tubic Esperia sulphurella…
4. White shouldered house moth Endrosis sarcitrella
5. Many plumed moth Aluctia hexadactyla
6. Garden pebble Evergestis forficalis
7. Yellow-faced bell Notocella cynosbatella
8. Large fruit-tree tortrix Archips podana
9. Rough-winged conch   Phtheochroa rugosana
10. Brown house moth   Hofmannophila pseudospretella
11. Triple-blotched bell
12. Small magpie
13. Common grey
14. London dowd Blastobasis lacticolella
15. Diamond back moth

 

 

Butterflies to the end of June   (I don’t know why this is spaced like this but I can’t change it sorry!)

Red admiral

Brimstone

Peacock

Small tortoiseshell

Speckled wood

Green-vein white

Orange tip

Small white

Holly blue

Small copper

Small heath

Dark green fritillary

Common blue

Small pearl-bordered fritillary

Green hairstreak

Painted lady

Ringlet

 

Dragon flies

Golden banded dragonfly

Keeled skimmer

Migrant hawker

Black-winged skimmer

Scarce chaser

 

Damselflies

Azure damselfly

Large red damselfly

Small red damselfly

Blue-tailed damselfly

Banded demoiselle

 

 

Mammal list to end of June

1. Rabbit.
2. Stoat
3. Hare
4. Grey squirrel
5. Common seal
6. Roe deer
7. Red deer
8. Muntjak deer
9. Sperm whale
10. Grey seal
11. Otter
12. Weasel
13. Bank vole
14. Fallow deer
15. Red squirrel
16. Pine marten
17. Beaver
18. Daubenton’s bat
19. Common pipistrelle
20. Water vole

 

What lies ahead for July and beyond? Plenty I am sure especially if the summer kicks in soon!