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The long weekend had a trip over to Beachy Head on Saturday for the Melodious Warbler that has been there for a few days, followed by a complete washout on Sunday and a trip to Dungeness today.

Star birds were a number of Black Terns, including one American Black Tern.

A Melodious Warbler finally gives itself up… distantly

Black Tern (European)

Black Tern (European)

Black Tern (European)

Black Tern (American)

Black Tern (American)

Great Green Bush Cricket

It’s been slow in the moth trap of late, but yesterday gave us a wonderful Clifden Nonpareil, rather smaller than last year’s monster, but a stunner nonetheless.  Here’s a few more mothy highlights from recent weeks.

Garden Tiger

Scorched Carpet, a new moth for the house

Sallow Kitten

Iron Prominent

Clifden Nonpareil

It’s autumn already.  We seem to have been the only place in Sussex this weekend without a Pied Flycatcher, but a look in the garden this morning gave us something nearly as good, in the form of a migrating Reed Warbler visiting the pond. We have heard them singing before on spring passage, but this is the first we have seen in the garden.

No wildlife today, but some panoramas from yesterday’s walk from home around Cissbury, Chanctonbury and Lancing Rings, a total of 17.5 miles.  Highlights, other, than superb views, included an incredible number of Wall butterflies on Steep Down, as well as at least 30 Corn Buntings there (presumably a post-breeding gathering) and the biggest rarity: RAIN!

It was quite entertaining to watch either side of the downs getting heavily rained on while I only had a few spots throughout the afternoon.

Chanctonbury (peeking out behind the left of the gorse) and Lancing (the distant wood just right of the very small bush by the right-hand path) Rings from the trig point on Cissbury Ring

Chanctonbury (far left), Lancing to the left of the gap to the sea and Cissbury Rings from the path below Cissbury

Lancing and Cissbury Rings from Chanctonbury

Lancing (far left), Cissbury (right of centre) and Chanctonbury (about 3/4 right) from Steep Down

Cissbury and Chanctonbury (peeking through the cloud of dust from the combine harvester) from Lancing Ring

It’s always a bit quiet bird-wise in June and July, but this weekend has seen a return to birding, with a Red-backed Shrike, handily placed for our lunch appointment and today a walk around Pagham Harbour.  In truth, this was more walk than birding, but we did get a nice red Curlew Sandpiper  and a few other waders.  They were too far away for decent pictures, though.  On the home front, the moth numbers are rising.

Swallow Prominent

Peach Blossom

Ethmia quadrillella, a rarity in Sussex

Directions to the Shrike: turn rght at the Dragonfly sculpture

Red-backed Shrike

A blast from the past

This handsome chap will turn into a grey Sycamore moth

Black-tailed Godwit

Black-tailed Godwit, still in summer plumage

Spotted Redshank

Our garden is home to a few species of Bush-cricket and over the last week we have added another in the form of Roesel’s Bush-cricket, which has taken to climbing on our doors and windows.

Also at home, the latest moth trap yielded an Oak Nycteoline, not the first we have had, but the first that has hung around long enough to be photographed.  Meanwhile on the Downs the Dark-green Fritilaries are out.

Roesel’s Bush-cricket

Roesel’s Bush-cricket

Oak Nycteoline

Dark-green Fritillary

Dark-green Fritillary

The heatwave continues and it’s quiet on the birding front, but the mothing is beginning to pick up a bit and the butterflies are more plentiful.  Attached are a few moths of recent traps, including a Bordered Sallow, a new moth for us, and a Silver-washed Fritillary from today’s walk.

Lime Hawkmoth

Small Elephant Hawkmoth

A herd of Elephants

Bordered Sallow

Large Emerald

Pebble Hooktip

Lesser-spotted Pinion

Silver-washed Fritillary

It was a glorious day yesterday, so a brisk 10 mile walk over the down from home and up to Cissbury Ring was just the thing.  It wasn’t a spectacular haul of wildlife, with 10 species of butterfly, a few dragonflies and damsels and a few birds, but Corn Buntings were plentiful and that’s a treat these days.

Corn Bunting

Six-spot Burnet on a Pyramidal Orchid

Marble White

A Tree Pipit on Cissbury Ring

Another Corn Bunting just after a bath

Karen brought a treat home from work today: a male Stag Beetle she had found.  It’s been a few years since we have had one at home, so it was great to see this magnificent beast again.

No, the cavalry aren’t coming, just a compilation of a week which saw a couple of evening trips out and more butterflies than birds.

Tuesday evening saw us charging across Sussex when an Elegant Tern at Church Norton was reidentified as an American Royal Tern.  On Wednesday we went out to Iping Common in search of Nightjars.  The longest day is the best time for good views of them, and the amphitheatre created by a coppice gave us fantastic views of at least three males and a female displaying just over our heads (the photos were still terrible, though).  On the way up we had quite a few roosting Silver-studded Blues.

Today we had a morning return to Iping, with a variety of dragonflies and damselflies and loads more Silver-studded Blues in better light, and then on to Knepp, where we had a bit more royalty with a few Purple Emperors (imperiously refusing to be purple) and some Purple Hairstreaks.

A Royal Tern in the high security prison on Tern Island

A roosting Silver-studded Blue

Broad-bodied Chaser

Four-spotted Chaser

Silver-studded Blue

Silver-studded Blue

Beautiful Demoiselle

A Purple Hairstreak keeps its wings firmly shut

This Hairstreak allows a glimpse of purple

Purple Emperor

Meanwhile at home, someone’s hungry