Monday 26 August 2013

Sand Martins, a Water Vole and an aberrant Chalkhill Blue

female Brimstone, Gonepteryx rhamni
Yesterday morning I visited Arundel Wetland Trust for an hour. I stopped at the Sand Martin hide to watch the Sand Martins landing on the wall. At the bird feeder I saw a vole pop out and take seed from under the feeder. I spent some time focused on the spot to catch it the next time it emerged. I looked up and saw that a Greater-spotted Woodpecker had landed on a branch. It looked at me and flew off. I saw a Water Vole on the reed bed walk and it ignored me and other observers while it gathered vegetation to eat.

After lunch I headed to Kithurst Hill again and found the same aberrant female Chalkhill blue that Richard Knight had photographed 19 days before and posted on the BC Sussex sightings page on 8 August: http://www.sussex-butterflies.org.uk/sightings.html
late afternoon light
bracket fungus
Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea
Sand Martin, Riparia riparia






Water Vole, Arvicola amphibius







Kithurst Hill:
Brown Argus, Aricia agestis
Brown Argus, Aricia agestis
female Chalkhill Blue, Lysandra coridon
female Chalkhill Blue, Lysandra coridon, unnamed aberrant
female Chalkhill Blue, Lysandra coridon, unnamed aberrant
Common Darter, Sympetrum striolatum
Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas
very small Small Tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae
Small White, Pieris rapae
Speckled Wood, Pararge aegeria

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