Quieter Days

 We are getting to the time of year when things change again. Gone are the hectic breeding days for the birds, and the hedgerows and reed beds are quiet now. I miss the ever-present songs of warblers, Skylarks, Robins, Song Thrushes and even the rasping call of pheasants. One or two pipe up every now and then but they are the exception now.

 The last week has seen waders coming and going at the Mere, with a few Common Sandpipers being a constant and seen each day. Redshanks were also regularly seen but were absent this morning. 

Common Sandpiper and Great Crested Grebes

Common Sandpiper and Great Crested Grebes

Common Sandpipers along the Mere south side

Little Gull numbers have been generally increasing, as have Little Egrets. A maximum count of 27 Little Egrets one morning was a new high for the Mere.

Little Gull juvenile

Little Gull

Eight Little Egrets

Oystercatchers are still seen and heard at the moment having completed their breeding duties. The Mere will be a lot quieter once they have departed 😂

Oystercatcher

Further to the previous post about Common Blue butterflies, just the day after I posted that I saw three Common Blues in second field, but they were all either worn or damaged. I'm guessing they were damaged in the day's hay cut rather than being worn through fair wear and tear.

This and two below, damaged Common Blues?

Certainly several butterflies along the south side looked past their best and they may all have been caught up in the general upset that goes with cutting the fields.

A very worn (or damaged) Ringlet

The moths I have come across during the day have all looked fine so they seem to have come through unscathed.

Magpie moth

I have been surprised by the number of small toads I have seen recently. I'm still stuck in the past few month's mind-set of dry day after dry day, and forget it has actually rained a few times this last week, so marching toads shouldn't surprise me.

Small toad on the move

Small toad

 I found a new hoverfly species (new for me that is) with a Two-banded Spearhorn turning up on the edge of Wassand wood. This brings my total up to 34 species.

Two-banded Spearhorn hoverfly

Plants have taken a back seat as I haven't seen a new species for a while, but that's no real reason to ignore them on the blog. Here's a photo of Agrimony taken this morning. 

Agrimony

Agrimony was used to colour wool back in the past, and was also used in medicine as a supposed cure for snake bite, poor sight, loss of memory and liver complaints. An infusion of the leaves is still used as an alternative to tea - never tried it myself!