A walk around Arundel WWT

Littlehampton sunrise

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Yesterday afternoon I visited Arundel WWT for the first time since 4th March. It was a cloudy day and there weren't many visitors. I walked every track and enjoyed a stop at the woodland feeders. Everything was well organised for Covid rules as expected. Interesting to see work progressing on the new Pelican aviary, which looks impressive.

Bewick's Swans, Cygnus columbianus

Black-headed Gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Black-headed Gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Common Reed, Phragmites australis

Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis

Great Tit, Parus major

Marsh Tit, Poecile palustris

Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus

Oakmoss lichen, Evernia prunastri

Oakmoss lichen, Evernia prunastri

Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus

Silver Birch, Betula pendula

Trumpeter Swan cygnet, Cygnus buccinator

Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator

Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator

Radford's Flame Shoulder & the Streak

Streak, Chesias legatella

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Radford's Flame Shoulder (5 Nov) and the Streak (7 Nov) were 2 new moths to the balcony and rarities for West Sussex. Two Merveille du Jour arrived on 4th and last night a Light Brown Apple Moth, a Silver Y and a Water beetle (Rhantus suturalis) appeared.

Radford's Flame Shoulder, Ochropleura leucogaster

Light Brown Apple Moth, Epiphyas postvittana

Merveille du Jour, Griposia aprilina

Water beetle, Rhantus suturalis

Red-line Quaker, a Large Wainscot and a Bell Pepper plant

Red-line Quaker, Agrochola lota

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I had 2 new moths last night, a Red-line Quaker and a Large Wainscot plus another Merveille du Jour. We've had a new arrival in our cactus planter recently. The cacti have been poorly for a long time and we were planning to plant something else when a month or so back a new shoot appeared. We let it grow and watered it well. It has turned into a magnificent bell pepper plant with many peppers growing. We aren't sure where it came from, a chilli pepper plant was growing  on the same table and we use bell peppers but quite how this one seeded is a mystery. We're looking forward to harvesting our first pepper.

Large Wainscot, Rhizedra lutosa

Large Yellow Underwing, Noctua pronuba

Merveille du Jour, Griposia aprilina

Silver Y, Autographa gamma

Silver Y, Autographa gamma

Bell Pepper, Capsicum annuum