Port and Wey: 22 Jun 17

Church Ope Cove
This afternoon Dawn and I took Benji & Ted for a walk down to Church Ope Cove. A lovely walk that took us past Rufus Castle and then down to the cove and then back up the other side to the Easton/Southwell Road and then back up to the cottage.

Lots of wildlife with Speckled Woods, Meadow Browns and several Marbled Whites. Also a few Six-spot Burnet moths and a migrant moth a Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella) . Along the main road a Peacock butterfly in the brambles.

Here are a few photos from our walk:

Ted leading the way

And Dawn on her way down the "million" steps from Rufus Castle

A quick check to see who else has been down here.

And the quaint stones gardens in front of the cabins.

A very narrow trail to the beach.

The beach

The track going up the other side.

Great views across Weymouth Bay.

Looking back into the Cove.

A Small Skipper.

Lots of Marbled Whites above the cove.

A Meadow Brown takes a rest.

A pair of Six-spot Burnets.

A Rush Veneer

Unless I've got this wrong I'm pretty sure this is a Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis). I found one on Broadcroft Quarry Butterfly Reserve. Here there are dozens of them.

The Fleet
This morning, Dawn and I joined the guided walk along the edge of The Fleet headed by Mark from the Dorset Wildlife Trust.

Birds Recorded were: 2 Oystercatcher, 3 Ringed Plover, Black-headed Gull, 4 Mediterranean Gull, Herring Gull, 1 Great Black-backed Gull, 5 Little Tern, 1 Sandwich Tern, Skylark, 1 Swallow, 3 Meadow Pipit, 2 Pied Wagtail, 4 Rook, Carrion Crow and Linnet.

Also recorded: Sand Hopper, Green Shore Crab, a Rove Beetle (Bledius spectabilis), Limpet, Barnacles, Periwinkle and Cockles.

Plants: Shrubby Sea-blite (Suaeda vera), Sea Purslane (Halimione portulacoides) and Sea Asparagus

Here are a few photos from our walk: