August 2022

30th. Photographing swarming bats with Daniel Whitby near Box Hill in Surrey.

Barbastelle

Bechstein's bat

Daubenton's bat

Natterer's bat

Brown long-eared bat

Back to Arundel Wetlands Centre in the morning.

Cattle egret - 10 present.

Two red kites flew through.

Dragonflies included common blue damselfly, and these common darters and several migrant hawkers.

29th. My first visit to Arundel Wetlands Centre. The highlight was an approachable brown hairstreak butterfly. Brown hairstreaks spend most of their time in the canopy, and are extremely elusive. Females occasionally descend to lay eggs on blackthorn, as this on, the first I've seen.

Also at the Centre - brown rat under the bird feeders. Marsh tit and greenfinches on the feeders, reed and Cetti's warblers, cattle egrets and kingfisher in the grounds.

Male pheasant.

28th. Up to 3 hedgehogs in the garden at Lyminster.

27th. We travelled to West Sussex to join Daniel Whitby catch bats at a swarming site. The last breeding British bat species I needed to see was Alcathoe bat, Myotis alcathoe. He caught over 20 in a suspended harp trap, together with a putative Brandt's bat, Daubenton's bats, Natterer's bats, Bechstein's bats, barbastelle and brown long-eared bat!

Alcathoe bat. In Greek mythology Alcathoe defied Dionysus who then turned her into a bat. The Alcathoe bats can look so much like miniature Daubenton's bats!

Close-ups to show some dental and ear features, and penis shape.

Putative Brandt's bat

Bechstein's bat

Brown long-eared bat

Daubenton's bat

Natterer's bat

24th. A night on the Mendips with Daniel Whitby, who takes great triggered flash photos of flying bats. Not much about tonight apart from a couple of Daubenton's bats. I am now covered by a licence to photograph bats with a trigger system, so here goes!

21st. Big catch of 161 greater horseshoe bats for telomere sampling at Woodchester.

7th-15th. Cornwall to oversee building work and escape the heat - it was 7C cooler than in Bristol, and still very hot. Clouded yellows on the Island and near Ding Dong Mine, and hummingbird hawk moths in St Ives, including 2 in the garden.

15th. Walked around St Agnes Head. An emperor moth caterpillar crossed the track. Old engine house at Wheal Coates below. Dead polecat just East of Hayle on the A30.

14th. We cycled the Camel Trail from Wadebridge and then to St Saviour's Point N of Padstow. Whimbrel, greenshank and Sandwich terns on the Camel.

12th: St Ives Island, (07.30-09.30): 2 storm petrel, 10-50 Manx shearwater/minute at start,  7 Balearic shearwater, 17 distant tern sp. (probably black), 2 Mediterranean gulls, 1 great skua. The sunset and moon remained spectacular.

Huge numbers of spider crab carapaces and some dead crabs have been washed up on St Ives beaches recently. There must be a big moulting event close offshore. Lots of been washed up around the harbour area.

11th: St Ives Island, (08.00-09.30): 4 storm petrel, 50 Manx shearwater/minute at start, movement finished by 09.30h, 8 Balearic shearwater, 1 common tern, 4 Mediterranean gulls, 2+ common dolphin, 3 harbour porpoise. A spectacular sunset followed by a blood 'sturgeon' moon. A pod of dolphins swam in the orange-tinted sea.

10th: St Ives Island, (08.40-09.40): 2 storm petrel, 1 Cory's shearwater , 10 Sandwich tern, 3 harbour porpoise. Compass jellyfish are being washed up on Porthmeor Beach. Herring gull W186 blue is still near the deck chair area in the harbour.

9th: St Ives Island, 08.30-10.30: 1 great northern diver, 4 storm petrel, 1 sooty shearwater, 5 common scoter. 

8th: St Ives Island, 08.00-09.00: 2 Balearic shearwater feeding with c30 Mediterranean gulls, 1 Arctic tern, 1 harbour porpoise. 

I cycled on the eBike trail 'Moorland Meander' only to be taken over single track track with sharp stones near Baker's Pit on the GPS route. The Brompton got two punctures despite pushing, and I had a long push home. I did visit Men-an-Tol, Lanyon Quoit and Ding Dong Mine. Quite a lot of wall butterflies and some graylings on the wing.