Last night Katy enjoyed seeing a dozen Glow-worms, other have reported a score on occasions. This morning the Bird Ringers were active with one having House Martins fly over her in the bird hide. From Rest & Admire I saw two pot markers in Durlston Bay and Old Harry beyond. I looked at the Buddleia flowers nearby with water droplets at it leaf tips and thought it unlikely to have insect visitors this morning. A two-foot-tall Horse Chestnut sapling showed its palmate compound leaves. Tiny Enchanters Nightshade flowers and Agrimony spikes were nearby. A call I heard from, an unseen bird I thought to have been a Heron.
I checked in on the “chimney stack” Elm. It was tall and straight amongst Holm Oak and had healthy leaves. Its trunk has another upright side growth then further up splits into two. At this point there is a sky facing hole which goes down into the main trunk. I ponder what birds, bats or insects might use that cavity. Near Solent House there was a mix of “pinkish” and dried flowers stems of Common Broomrape. A Carrion Crow remained perched on the low roadside drystone wall despite being passed by two cars. The cries of Herring Gulls came from the Sunnydale area.
Smithfield showed Corky Fruited Water Dropwort, Self-Heal, Field Bindweed, Greater Knapweed, Tufted Vetch, Horseshoe Vetch, Red Clover and Fleabane. Two Pyramidal Orchids benefitted from the protection of the canopies of Ash trees. A Woodpigeon sat and observed from overhead wires near the Large Copse.
Despite what was initially fine rain, I was amazed to see some of flying insects. At first a pair of Six-Spot Burnet moths were engaged via their abdomens upon a Field Scabious flower whilst another clung to the plant’s stem. In Taskers a more sensible specimen clung to the underside of such a flower using it as an umbrella. It was here that Cowslip leaves persisted. Meanwhile a Marbled White, with wings closed, clung vertically to a grass stem. Unidentified day flying micro moths flitted about in Taskers Meadow. However, beside Saxon’s Hay-rake Quarr Gatekeepers made and appearance. Someone with a creative flair had created a Stoney sculpture which consisted of a meandering road lead to a stone citadel.
The call of unseen Peregrine Falcon was heard which might have been over Lighthouse Field / The Gully. A ground searching Carrion Crow flew up to join two others in the hedgerow whilst the pitter patter was most obvious upon the leaves at Soggy Sycamore Corner. A sheet web upon Bramble had succeeded in catching rain drops and Blackberry petals. Skylark song was heard, and the fleeting glimpse of a Bullfinch seen. A pair of Goldfinches were upon the wares. When I stepped onto the tarmac of Lighthouse Road, greeted by a Robin and Blackbird, I became aware of the accumulation of clay upon the soles of my boots. I released a swimming Ladybird after recording the water collected in the rain gauge.