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It was bloody hot this afternoon, but despite wearing just a short-sleeved shirt, I didn’t have my hat and therefore, the exposure to the sun didn’t go down to well. Birding at St. Catherine’s Point in high June does seem a little daft, but I was after the insect life as well as the bird life. I walked down to the old gates overlooking the lighthouse and the fields and watched from here. Over the sea, I was lucky to pick out two Fulmars flying different directions low over the sea and at least three adult Gannets flew east also. Good numbers of both Manx and Balearic Shearwater are still going past the Dorset, Devon and Cornwall coast so it wasn’t a bad idea to do some scanning. That’s how a Masked Booby was seen recently from this headland! A potential first for Britain.
On the Down, a Green Woodpecker flew over and a male Whitethroat was still holding territory along the roadside. A male Kestrel was seen hovering near the shoreline while overhead, a Common Buzzard soared effortlessly over the Down. I was spending some time looking at the insect life and a gorgeous Thick legged Flower Beetle landed on my hand of which I took some photos of this shiny green beetle. A couple of ladybirds were present as well as a grasshopper. Butterflies included Red Admirals, Meadow Browns and a couple of Painted Ladies along the small road leading to the Lighthouse.
Later in the day, a Hummingbird Hawk Moth was seen in my client’s garden at Westcourt Farm, Shorwell. This was my first for the year and hopefully with many more to come.
On the Car Ferry home, I was just starting to relax in my car when a juvenile Little Gull flew over the front of the ship and so I rushed out of the car but couldn’t locate the bird amongst the many Common Terns and Sandwich Terns. An adult Mediterranean Gull was seen flying over the sea near the Portsmouth side of the Solent, which rounded off the day nicely.
Thick-legged Flower Beetle on my hand near the Lighthouse this afternoon.
A Common Field Grasshopper near the Lighthouse this afternoon.
