Getting there - slowly

With every passing day my energy levels are on the rise and that bloody cough, finally, seems to be going away. Although I am still struggling to find the enthusiasm to get my act together in an angling  sense, I am enjoying the simple pleasures of looking at whatever there is to be seen whilst on my daily wanderings with Bruno. Worth Marshes RSPB Res. and West Stourmouth have been the focus of my efforts and there is generally something to look at, even if not photographed, at both of these sites. 

The two most numerous dragonfly species I'm seeing out on Worth Marshes.
Migrant Hawker (top) and Common Darter (bottom)

The weather is still very unpredictable and, because of strong winds, there have been a couple of nights when I've not bothered to run the moth trap. Late on Friday afternoon there was a hatch of flying ants and the skies above Dumpton became alive with hundreds of gulls taking advantage of this situationn.Although it was Herring and Black-headed Gulls which constituted the bulk of those birds involved, there were also good numbers of Mediterranean Gulls present and I managed to grab a few shots as they passed over the garden.

It was this morning when I finally discovered a Convolvulus Hawk-moth within the confines of my Robinson Trap. Not the first 2025 garden record, as I'd seen one feeding, very briefly, on Nicotiana, right outside my study window on 31st August. However, it was a most welcome visitor and means that I've managed to trap all ten hawk-moth species that are on my garden list during this annual cycle.

A few other back-ups in the form of Olive-tree Pearl, Clancy's Rustic (5), Scarce Bordered Straw (2) plus the regular Rush Veneers and Rusty--dot Pearls. I did manage my third Vestal, of the season, on Saturday and was very impressed by another stunning looking Ichneumon sp. that was on the inside of the perspex dome on the same morning.

Ichneumon sp - probably very common?

Clancy's Rustic - a regular visitor to the MV trap.

With less than a fortnight to go before Kefalonia beckons, I am slowly getting my kit together in preparation for this adventure. There's stuff that I've never previously had to think about, so an A4 writing pad has proven to be an essential piece of the puzzle as I attempt to ensure I've got all bases covered?