Today I just had a short walk at the pools west of Wells, but managed to see just over 30 bird species in about 45 minutes. Nothing new for the year but some great views of soaring marsh harriers, a lovely grey heron, and plenty of lapwings, redshanks and avocets.
At this time of year almost anything can turn up almost anywhere: Today a hoopoe was reportedly seen briefly in Wells, probably the same one that has been further east on the coast for a couple of days. Whilst I was working at my desk (which is in an upstairs room at home) I did keep an eye on the garden just in case it decided to drop in, but no such luck!
Brenda writes: “Today there were five moths in the trap, three regulars (light brown apple, Hebrew character and clouded drab) and two new ones for the year. The carpet family is very numerous and the garden carpet, with its beautiful markings, will be a regular visitor.
The shuttle-shaped dart is variable with regards to the combination of light brown and darker grey but what they all have is two long oval parallel marks on their wings which look a bit like the shuttle on a weaver’s loom – hence the name. They will become very numerous in two waves because they have two broods in the season.
I keep.mentioning the bank opposite Wighton Church. Today there were two new species of flower there, meadow clary – here surrounded by ground ivy – and germander speedwell which is a deep blue with a white eye.
On the green were a slightly odd couple.
New species for April 30th:
Moths: garden carpet, shuttle-shaped dart
Flowers: meadow clary, germander speedwell
TOTALS TO DATE:
Birds = 170
Moths = 22
Wildflowers = 69