Falling off the Kent Weald, dropping onto Romney Marsh, the channel in sight, a dark morph juvenile Honey Buzzard heads south. (white ring - letter ‘A’). Nicely spotted by Jamie. @jamiepartridge.bsky.social
Nick Green
@shadoxhurstman.bsky.social
Owner, custodian of Alex farm pastures 15 acre SSSI, Shadoxhurst, Kent
Delighted to have our first Large Yellow-face bee ( Hylaeus signatus) in the garden on its preferred plant Weld - not sure if it’s unusual for N Lincs @lincswildlife.bsky.social
Orlestone forest: A phone vid of a teneral Downy Emerald Dragonfly. Its brown eyes will change colour to apple green as it matures. DE dragonflies seem to me to be more numerous than a decade or so ago.
Dungeness, Wednesday evening. At the tail end of migration, in between storms a small group of Kittiwakes loiter inoffshore.
Lovely seawatch at Dungeness tonight 5-7 pm: 1 G Skua, 1 Pomarine Skua, 7 Arctic Squa, 1 BT Diver, 46 BT Godwits, 9 Whimbrel, 16 C Scoters, 1 Guillemot, 7 Kittiwakes, 4 Med Gulls. @dungenessbirdobs.bsky.social
Since mid March, I’ve idled away time watching the secretive Sallow Longhorn (Adela cuprella). They stay out of sight in the highest catkins of scrubby sallows. The males display together in sun, and when they land, they disappear into foliage—not to be seen again until the next flight show begins.
Alex Pastures, Kent, Probably our earliest ever Nightingale singing away this afternoon. Let me know if you heard an early one too!
2 seeds of Sea Purslane and 2 bio-beads. Ducks filter out the saltmarsh seeds, so let's hope they can recognise the Southern Water bio-beads as not being food! #biobeads
Dropping off the Kent Weald onwards to the East Sussex coast 2 female Honey Buzzards departing this morning.
A second Osprey sighting over Orlestone for me this afternoon. Same bird as yesterday.. ..or just coincidence? Best wait for more sightings to answer that!
I don't see many of these over Orlestone! In fact my first ever, an Osprey flys high across the forest and then on towards the Rye / Camber area.
Osprey drifting away over Orlestone towards Rye presently.
Attention Honey Buzzard watchers; A distant but distinct bird over SE Kent today. Looks to have a number of secondaries missing and might be a bird that someone may have been surveying.
It’s a breakthrough year for Purple Emperors along the woodland edges of Alex farm Pastures, Kent. This week, our first 2 sightings (plus a bonus L. Tortoiseshell too). Frustratingly hard to get a record, but luckily this male made an accidental fly-past whilst filming Purple Hairstreaks.
Common Cranes skirting Hamstreet, Kent and heading North this a.m. I wonder what their story is? Probably they've channel-hopped on a slowed migration.. and likely a loyal bird is staying with a lame mate - for better or for worse!
From Saturday, with winter tasks over at Alexs, time for some raptor watching. This unlikely and lucky group gathering started with local Buzzards and Ravens escorting a migrating Marsh Harrier over, which in turn aroused the interest of a Goshawk with the Peregrine not far behind.
