Stampede

It’s been a bit quiet in the moth trap of late, but the hot weather has fixed that.  Four species of Hawkmoth: two Eyed, one Privet, one Lime (not frequent here) and a herd of six Elephants.

Pondlife

It’s getting busy in the pond!

A picture of elegance…

…but enough about me.  A late evening return to Church Norton meant that we didn’t have to compete with the heat haze or the crowds.  The Elegant Tern played its part by showing well, if a little distantly.  It went through a full range of antics: loafing on the mud, having a bath, trying it on with the local Sandwich Terns, flying around like a mad thing and stealing fish from a much-bullied Common Tern.

Little B**t*r*

Little Bittern, of course, although after seven hours of looking at a windy Somerset reedbed and seeing nothing another interpretation was understandable. Early next morning the bird finally showed after another hour of watching.  Ham Wall is a remarkable place: there can’t be many other places in Britain where you can see six species of heron in a day, as well as a supporting cast including Hobby, Red-footed Falcon and Glossy Ibis. We travelled back a bit early to pick up the Elegant Tern at Church Norton, which showed eventually, but wasn’t photographable while we were there.