migrant birds
18 Aug 2022
There's been a fall of migrant birds down the east coast with the change in the weather. Pied flycatchers and whinchats have been seen in SS, so look out for wrynecks too in the next few days
Jeremy
grayling
14 Aug 2022
Several graylings in the garden, always seen with closed wings when resting and well-camouflaged when on leaves, less so on patios. Said to align their bodies to the sun to reduce tell-tale shadows, which it partly achieves in this pic, but am doubtful about the claim in general.
Jeremy
barn owl
12 Aug 2022
A barn owl hunting along the dykes at the back just after dusk at 2100 hrs. A relief to see since they've been rare this summer. Maybe rodent population affected by drought?
Jeremy
Golden samphire
10 Aug 2022
Some lovely clumps of golden samphire in flower in the marsh near the end of the spit.
Jeremy
jellyfish
10 Aug 2022
Several Compass Jellyfish stranded at high-tide mark. Swimmers beware – they do have stinging tendrils.
Jeremy
moth catch
09 Aug 2022
Disappointing overnight catch in moth trap – maybe the moon was too bright so the light box was less attractive to them. One little beauty, though – this Antler Moth. What a complex design and texture.
Jeremy
Diving beetle
03 Aug 2022
A large Diving Beetle unexpectedly crawling around in my moth trap this morning. They really are huge – one-two inches – and quite fierce-looking. They sometimes fly around at night in search of water so I put it in my pond, where it seemed quite content.
Jeremy
daytime moth
02 Aug 2022
A humming-bird hawkmoth was a welcome interruption to an outdoor committee meeting this evening, appropriately discussing SS conservation issues. Amazingly, these little beauties migrate here from Europe – how many wingbeats does that take?
Jeremy
stonechats
30 Jul 2022
It seems that stonechats have nested successfully at each end of SS, a pair by the Coastguards in the North and behind the Martello in the South. They sit up very helpfully on the topmost spray of bushes and call, as the name suggests, like two stones being crunched together.
Jeremy
nightjars
27 Jul 2022
Nightjars are still churring on the Heath, but only intermittently now as they near the end of their season. Still exciting to have one glide past in the gloaming, though, doing its own moth-catching.
Jeremy
