Another quiet period in what has been a very poor spring locally. Numbers of even common migrants remain low. Swallows are missing from a number of regular nesting spots…
I haven’t found a single House Martin in Ainderby and only one or two pairs in Morton. Swift numbers are much lower and most warblers seem particularly scarce. This is particularly marked with Lesser Whitethroat. There are usually six to eight pairs in the parish but I have had only a single singing bird this year. The only species bucking this trend is Garden Warbler with the species outnumbering Blackcap this year…
One notable sighting was this Goosander with seven young. This
is the first ducklings I have seen this far down the Swale…
On the plant front I found this very strange Dandelion (literally a spring plant!)…
It’s not clear what caused this but I suspect it is
agricultural herbicide which doesn’t exactly fill you with confidence!
There is also this superb area of Kidney Vetch restricted to just one small site…
This is the only place I ever see Burnet Moths and it is alive with bees like this Common Carder…
I’ll also mention an excellent weekend away in Suffolk, a bit of culture, a bit of good food and a few new species including White Helleborine…
Pasqueflower…
And Adonis Blue…
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