A Quieter Time as May Progresses.

 Lunar Marbled Brown

 May started off busily for me but it quickly quietened down! Colder evenings and a breeze coming in off the sea put a hold on getting the moth light out except for one evening when I managed a few hours, getting 9 species of moth for the new garden list.

 Yellow Barred Brindle

 Pebble Prominent

 Grey Pine Carpet

 Coxcomb Prominent

 I tried to get out as early as possible, I was rewarded with a female Marsh Harrier one morning, the Swifts were becoming more numerous, and a lot are screaming through the towns nearby.

 Marsh Harrier

 Common Whitethroat

The Common Whitethroats were in decent numbers around the village lanes and along the clifftops. I had briefly seen a Lesser Whitethroat but it was soon dispatched by a Common.

  Common Whitethroat

  Common Whitethroat

With the sunnier days upon us the butterfly numbers were growing, numerous Orange Tips and Speckled Woods and a Painted Lady which seems to of taken up residence at the end of one of the lanes as we've seen it a few times in the same spot. This Frog was seen chilling out on the coastal path early one morning, I had to step back to get him in focus! 

Common Frog

Great Start To May.

Pied Flycatcher

 The weather was great as May started and with the sun came the birds, I am loving living here and experiencing so much more bird movement and variety and what a start with 2 Flycatchers both together! Andrew Chamberlin met me birding along the clifftops and showed me a image of a Spotted Flycatcher he had found at the large clifftop wood, with it being quiet where I was I decided to head along that way with him to try and connect, no sooner had we gotten there and located the Spotted' we then had a Pied Flycatcher feeding along the same stretch!! awesome.

 Pied Flycatcher

 Pied Flycatcher

 Spotted Flycatcher

The Pied was a first for the patch list but Spotted I had seen the previous autumn, but these are getting a much scarcer bird so it was good to connect in the spring.

My usual morning stints looking out to see have been producing a few new birds, the Fulmars are regular and 3 was seen on one day. A nice addition was a Med Gull mixed in with some  common gulls resting off shore.

 Med Gull

 Fulmar

 Fulmar

 Bar Tailed Godwit

A great spot was this Bar tailed Godwit which flew past, it was then spotted further along at Overstrand, the waders are few and far between so I was glad to of picked up on this flyby.

 Bar Tailed Godwit

 The Linnets have been passing in large numbers along with Goldfinches, this was a local bird though collecting nesting material.

Common Sandpipers 

Waders were obviously mocking me saying "few & far between" as I also added Common Sandpiper, this group of 4 birds were stopping and feeding on the sea groynes as they headed west.

 Common Sandpipers 

I had seen a pair of Red Kites on a couple of occasions, one time they circled low over the garden checking out the recently cut paddock behind for food. There have been a lot of butterflies on the wing too and the bats were venturing out more earlier in the evenings, the moth light will have to be gotten out again!

 Red Kite

 Red Kite

Red Kite