A beautiful calm blue sea, disturbed only be the odd fishing boat, motor boat and a flock of Herring Gulls paddling about. A pitter-patter of feet on water and a Shag was taking off, another 9 (3 adults and 6 youngsters) were standing on one of the rocks just above the sea level.
Not a Guillemot to be seen from down on the cliffs, however through our camera, images of the remaining 6 chicks and 14 adults, still a few days to go until these cute black and white fluffy chicks are old enough to ledge – fingers crossed they will make it.
A family of Rock Pipits caught my attention, the pathetic crying call of the youngster only stopped when a large insect was trust into its beak by a parent.
A few black scimitar shaped Swifts soaring across the sky, while the bulky body of a Peregrine Falcon floated past, causing a Feral Pigeon to rapidly change its direction, so as not to interest this predator.
Skylarks singing on the downs, alongside the chatting of Stonechats and the twitter of Linnets was accompanied by the sound of cattle tearing and munching the grass.
The more urgent mooing of Hereford cows and the replies of calves eventually alerted me to the two calves which had somehow managed to get stuck on the wrong side of the wall – I’m almost sure the cows knew that if they got my attention, I would open the gate and let the calves through!
A large trawl of moths in the trap, with 40 species identified and a number of others which escaped! A Poplar Hawkmoth was the biggest species, the large furry grey body and wing shaped most distinctive. Others included Elephant Hawkmoth and Small Elephant Hawkmoth, plus Swallowtailed, Poplar Grey, Peach Blossom and a Bright-line Brown Eye, while the most numerous was Dark Arches. The trap also attracted masses of small flies and a few beetles.