I feel really sorry for all the folk I've heard recently saying "Not much about, is there?" So there are no rarities at the moment but I've had great fun watching the thousands of 'common' birds we have here. Always worth watching are the knots wheeling over the fresh marsh each time they get disturbed from their roost, the little gulls daintily dipping down to pick small food items from the water's surface, little terns diving on the new Volunteer Marsh, the bittern taking feeding flights over the reedbeds, and this year's marsh harrier fledglings making their first tentative flights.
I've also had a great couple of weeks on my Rambles list by adding 20 new species, so that the total is now 1037, 682 have been noted this year alone. The new additions are 6 plants and 14 insects. The flora consists of thyme-leaved sandwort and lady's bedstraw, both found at Thornham Point, lesser water parsnip close to the fen hide and flixweed, bur chervil and several 'red' opium poppies all by the new walk in Patsy's Reedbed. (due to be open fully on September 1st.)
The 9 new moths have either come from the 9.00 a.m. Wednesday moth mornings or been found on the walls. Smallest of them, but with the longest antennae, was the micro Adela croesella, while another micro, the bee moth is interesting by the fact that it's larvae live in bumble bee and wasp nests, feeding on dead cells and the host's brood. Clouded silver, middle-barred minor, spectacle, small fanfoot, and engrailled were also noted, but to my eyes the green silver-lines and female ghost moth were easily the best to look at. The remaining insects were two soldier beetles, (Rhagonycha fulva and Cantharis livida), mint leaf beetle, an ichneumon fly (Amblyteles sp) and a large evil-looking brown horse-fly, Tebanus bovinus.
So, never mind the weather, come on everybody - get out and enjoy!
Ray Kimber.