Bird activity over the last couple of weeks has been distinctly dull with the exception of two Red Kites seen over Ladyfield Farm and a pair of Yellow Wagtails nesting along Manor Lane. The first pair in Ainderby village for many years.
It was nice too, to see the female Goosander on the Swale had
managed to preserve six of her seven young so far…
But it was insects that really dominated the sightings. Pick
of these was my first parish record of Small Heath…
The visit by the Yorkshire Naturalist’s Union to the village
in the 1940s described them as very common but at some point they completely
disappeared from the parish, so excellent to see them back.
On the same stretch of the Swale I had really good numbers
of common butterflies on the thistles..
And also around 50 Banded Demoiselles along about 500 yards
of riverbank…
Yesterday I got a call from a friend that he had a Pine
Hawkmoth in his garden. This would be a new species for me so Sand and I drove
over. A cracking beast…
As a bonus we watched a Hummingbird Hawkmoth on the red
valerian…
And then, completely unexpectedly, a White-letter Hairstreak
flew in giving me my best ever views of the species…
To round off a superb lepidopteral day I found at least 17 Purple Hairstreak in the oak ‘avenue’ down Greenhills Lane.
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