6th July

A nice calm, sunny day came up with a few more departing migrants at the Bill, where 50 Swifts and singles of Redshank, Curlew, Sand Martin and Grey Wagtail made up the on/overhead tally on the land and 34 Common Scoter, 4 Sandwich Terns, 3 Manx Shearwaters, 2 Mediterranean Gulls and a Great Skua passed by on the sea.

By day, a lone Clouded Yellow was at the Bill and single Hummingbird Hawk-moths were again at several sites. Overnight, a single Marbled Yellow Pearl Evergestis extimalis at the Grove was easily the best of the thin selection of immigrants attracted to the moth-traps.




Forester and Silver-studded Blue - Admiralty Quarry, 6th July 2016 © Ken Dolbear

And on the subject of day-flying lepidoptera, we happened to be passing Ferrybridge in the late afternoon just as Andrew Duff caught this Six-belted Clearwing whilst sweeping thrift for beetles - although they're common enough in places on 'Tophill' we couldn't immediately recollect any previous records of this clearwing from Chesil (...in fact we were quite disappointed that it wasn't a Thrift Clearwing which, since it occurs within sight of the island in east Devon, remains something of a Holy Grail for Portland clearwing-seekers!):