Sand Martins, a Water Vole and an aberrant Chalkhill Blue

female Brimstone, Gonepteryx rhamni

to  view  a  Slideshow,  click  here

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