August 2023

Me & Dad went for a walk around Chipping Sodbury Common. Small Skipper, Peacocks, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Gatekeepers, Ruddy Darter & Meadow Browns were on the wing. The birds included Common Whitethroats, Linnets, Common Chiffchaff Family & Lesser Whitethroats. A Grey Squirrel paid a visit to our garden. A Painted Lady was nectaring on the Buddleias.

Peacock

Small Skipper

Gatekeepers

Common Whitethroat [Juvenile]

Linnet [Male]

Common Blue [Male]

Painted Lady

Brown Argus

Ruddy Darter [Male]

Common Chiffchaffs

Moths & Hoverfly, Yate 4th August 2023

The Moths of the day were Common Rustics, Straw Underwings, Large Yellow Underwings, Shuttle-shaped Dart, Willow Beauties, Broad-barred White, Scalloped Oak & The Vapourer. Also a Hornet Mimic Hoverfly nectared on the Buddleia.

Hornet Mimic Hoverfly

Common Rustic

Straw Underwing

Shuttle-shaped Dart

Willow Beauty

Scalloped Oak

The Vapourer

Yate & Lower Moor Farm NR 6th August 2023

A Hummingbird Hawk-moth paid an early morning visit to our garden. We went to Lower Moor Farm NR to look for the Lesser Emperors. We saw a couple of Brown Hawkers egg-laying & a Male Common Emperor patrolling up & down the main lake by the cafe. A Cormorant was also seen. A Small Grey moth was resting on the cafe door. A Female Holly Blue basked in the sun, as did the Male Common Darter. A few Black-tailed Skimmers were on the wing. We only saw the Lesser Emperors briefly in flight mode.

Hummingbird Hawk-moth

Brown Hawker [Females]

Brown Hawker [Female]

Cormorant [Summer]

Common Darter [Male]

Common Darter [Male]]

Holly Blue [Female]

Black-tailed Skimmer

Lower Moor Farm NR 9th August 2023

Our 2nd visit to Lower Moor Farm NR this year hoping to get better views of the Lesser Emperors. Again they showed well in flight & briefly in copulating mode. From the hide, we had a good view of a Male Common Emperor perched. Back at the cafe, the Brown Hawkers were still egg-laying in the main lake. The Male Common Emperor patrolled up & down, even chasing the smaller Lesser Emperors to the other side of the lake. A Male Migrant Hawker was perched nearby. Two Grass Snakes swam across in front of the cafe platform. Ruddy Darters were in copulating mode and a Red-eyed Damselfly rested on one of the lilly pads.

Lesser Emperor

Common Emperor [Male]

Migrant Hawker [Male]

Ruddy Darter [Pair]

Red-eyed Damselfly [Male]

Common Emperor [Male]

Lesser Emperor

Grass Snake

August 2023

We went to Slimbridge WWT for a few hours. In the Rushy Pen, were Ruffs, 4 Spotted Redshanks & Black-tailed Godwits, also Avocets. On the Tack Piece was a Juvenile Lapwing, 2 Red Kites flying over the 100 Acre & a couple of Green Sandpipers. We then went along the Summer Walkway to Middle Point. The Spoonbill was out on the Estuary with a Great White Egret. We saw 2 Shaggy Inkcaps along the walkway. A Red Kite flew over the Dumbles. We saw some Common Cranes fly over to the 100 Acre as well as a few on the Dumbles. The Ross's Goose was on Top New Piece viewed from the Estuary Tower & Ziess Hide [which we didn't go to]. A few Cuckoo Pints or Arum Lillies were around the site. A report came through on Rare Bird Alert that a Pectoral Sandpiper was seen on South Lake. Me & Dad went to go & see the bird. The Adult showed very well in front of the Hogarth Hide during the duration of the afternoon. It was also later seen on the Rushy Pen & Tack Piece. The bird was last seen on 18th August 2023. Some of the Black-tailed Godwits on South Lake still had the red shown in breeding plumage.

Straw Underwing

Marbled Beauty

Light Brown Apple Moth

Straw Underwing

Common Rustic

Garden Tiger

Moths, Yate & Slimbridge WWT 10th August 2023

The Moths of the day were Marbled Beauty, Light Brown Apple Moth, Straw Underwings, Common Rustics, Garden Tiger & Large Yellow Underwings.

Spotted Redshank [Pair Winter]

Spotted Redshank [Adult Winter]

Ruff

Lapwing [Juvenile]

Red Kite [Juvenile]

Shaggy Inkcap

Black-tailed Godwit [Adult Summer]

Green Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper [Adult]

Yate & Oldbury Power Station 11th August 2023

A Light Brown Apple Moth took up a temporary residence in our house.

In the afternoon, me & Dad went to Oldbury Power Station to see the Southern Migrant Hawker. A Male Broad-bodied Chaser, Male Common Emperor & Common Chiffchaff were by the small pond. The Male Southern Migrant Hawker peched on a reed, giving fantastic views. The blue eyes, which gives it the other name of Blue-eyed Hawker was very obvious. Common Migrant Hawker never has distinct blue eyes. The Female who was egg-laying is mainly greenish, another distinctly different from Common Migrant Hawker. A Common Toad then appeared at the edge of the pond, before disappearing back into the reed.

Southern Migrant Hawker [Male]

Southern Migrant Hawker [Female]

Broad-bodied Chaser [Male]

Common Chiffchaff

Southern Migrant Hawker [Male]

Common Toad

Southern Migrant Hawker [Male]

Yate 13th August 2023
The Light Brown Apple Moth was still resting in our house.

Latteridge 14th August 2023
While I was working at Organic Blooms, I flushed a Large Yellow Underwing when I was weeding the paths. It then landed on one of the plants. So as I was on my break, I managed to get a few pics of it, before a big gust of wind blew the Moth off.

Latteridge 15th August 2023
The following day, when I was working at Organic Blooms watering the Edible Flowers, I ended up flushing another Moth. This time a Micro speices called a Brindled Flat-body [Agonopterix arenella].

Yate 16th August 2023
Dad found an Adult Female Oak Eggar Moth in our garden resting on the fence. Also a Volucella inanis (Wasp Mimic Hoverfly) was seen as well.

Light Brown Apple Moth

Large Yellow Underwing

Brindled Flat-body

Oak Eggar

Yate & Pensile Hill 17th August 2023

Dad found a Caterpillar of an Elephant Hawk-moth in our garden.

In the afternoon, we went to Pensile Hill in Nailsworth. Quite a few Chalkhill Blues were on the wing. Other Butterflies were Brown Argus, Small Copper, Meadow Browns & Adonis Blues.

Adonis Blue [Female]

Adonis Blue [Male]

Elephant Hawk-moth Caterpillar

Brown Argus

Common Blue [Male]

Chalkhill Blue [Male]

Chipping Sodbury Common, Yate & Oldbury Power Station 20th August 2023

Me & Dad went for another walk around Chipping Sodbury Common. A few Common Grass-veneers were seen in the long grass. The birds were Linnets, Common Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroats, Common Chiffchaffs & Willow Warbler. A few Gaterkeepers were still on the wing. The Moths of the day were Light Brown Apple Moth, Common Grass-veneers, Orange Swift, Ruby Tiger, Dusky Thorn, Straw Underwings, Large Yellow Underwings & Common Plume.

Me & Dad went back to Oldbury Power Station to see the Southern Migrant Hawker. The Male made a very brief appearance & the Female was not seen at all. Other Dragonflies seen were Common Emperor, Common Darter & Common Migrant Hawker. The Butterflies on the wing were Red Admiral, Common Blues & Small Copper.

Linnet [Male]

Common & Lesser Whitethroat [Juveniles]

Lesser Whitethroat [Juvenile]

Common Whitethroat [Juvenile]

Common Chiffchaff [Juvenile]

Gatekeeper [Female]

Common Darter [Male]

Red Admiral

Common Blue [Female]

Small Copper

Light Brown Apple Moth

Orange Swift

Dusky Thorn

Common Plume

Common Emperor [Male]

Yate 21st August 2023

I took a few pics of a Straw Underwing in our garden.

Straw Underwing

45690 Leander, Pixash Lane 23rd August 2023

We went to Keynsham to see 45690 Leander on the Essex Avon tour from Shoeburyness-to Bristol Temple Mead under Pixash Lane bridge. Only just made it, having been stuck in a couple of traffic jams on the way.

Chipping Sodbury, Horton & Yate 24th August 2023

One of the local Little Owls we saw on an evening drive. In Horton, we saw 2 Common Kestrels. Common Wainscot took up temporary residence in our house.

Little Owl [Adult]k

Common Kestrel [Male]

Moths, Yate 25th August 2023

The Moths of the day were Willow Beauties, Common Purple & Gold Moth, Double-striped Pug & The Vestal.

Willow Beauty

Common Purple & Gold Moth

The Vestal k

45690 Leander, Oaksey & Rollright Stones 26th August 2023

We went to Oaksey to see 45690 Leander again, this time on the annual Cotswold Venturer. Due to the RMT Rail strike that happened on that day, the tour ran from London Paddington-Gloucester instead of Worcester. We saw Leander running in the morning & evening runs.

In between, we went to see the Rollright Stones in Oxfordshire as we had not been there since 1998. There are 3 sections. One is called The Kings Men Stone Circle, the second is called the King Stone & the third is called The Whispering Knights.

45690 Leander at Oaksey

The Kings Mean Stone Circle

The King Stone

The Whispering Kinghts

The Kings Stone Circle

Chipping Sodbury Common 27th & 30th August 2023

27th August
Another visit to Chipping Sodbury Common this time around, we managed to see a Whinchat & Common Redstart briefly plus regluar species.

30th August
Another visit to the common this year featured 2 distant Red Kites, an obliging Juvenile Common Kestrel, Goldfinches, Common & Lesser Whitethroats.

Whinchat & Linnet

Goldfinch [Juvenile]

Red Kite

Goldfinch [Adult]

Common Kestrel [Juvenile]

Lesser Whitethroat [Juvenile]

Common Kestrel [Juvenile]