Yesterday a visitor captured on film a Common Shrew racing around in circles. These insectivores live fast and die young and eat, eat, eat! Hopefully, I can share this on Facebook soon! At the day’s end a Hummingbird Hawkmoth fluttered beside the path to the Centre.
This morning, over the short-shaded section of Lighthouse Road, a Hoverfly with black body a white stripe hovered at eye level and was a Volcuella pellucens. Appropriately such like wooded areas and Bramble flowers in particular! Later upon the gully coast path steps it was another Hoverfly this time the more familiar black and yellow striped variety. As it rested on the ground I could establish this was Chrystotuxm cautum keen on sunbathing! An unidentified Dragonfly briefly rested with it wings open upon the stems of down-land Gorse. Some eight red “bloodsucker” Soldier Beetles Rhagonchya fulva occupied the flower heads upon a stem of Wild Parsnip.
A Green Woodpecker had been heard near reservoir copse, but another was seen fleetingly in flight between the Mile Markers. From the cliff edge below, it was a Robin that flew towards be to be perching briefly beside me on the coastal drystone wall. An encounter with a Rock Pipit was at the Gully Mouth itself. Alongside on the cliffs a plant with stems, a basal rosette of leaves happened to be Sea Lavender in flower. First upon the sea I noted a Great Black Gull alongside a semi submerge piece of floating debris such as polystyrene. The bird attempted to ride it! Both, along with two floating Herring Gulls and a linear raft of eight Guillemots drifted westward with the current. A Shag chose to head west under its own power!
As the Guillemot chicks have fledged the sea cliffs have become much quieter. Hundreds of Marbled Whites fluttered about the grass-lands, but their residency would be shorter than the seabirds. A pair of said butterflies mating at Lighthouse Green. Elsewhere a Gate Keeper drank nectar from Wild Thyme. One Kestrel took a rest upon the inshore telegraph post in the gully. The Jackdaws were restless perhaps being disturbed by the calls and appearance of a pair of Carrion Crows which occupied cable posts for a while.
A Grey Squirrel camper beside the timeline with a recovered acorn in its mouth. A Great Tit fluttered between the branches overhead whilst below the bringing star of white amongst the green cover were the dainty flowers of Enchanters Nightshade.