Well I can't say the weatherman was wrong, as he did say there might be a few bright interludes during the afternoon. However the 30 seconds we got was a bit of a disappointment.
So the dreary weather continues, and of course not helped by the fact that today was the shortest day and it did get dark very quickly.
Main highlight this afternoon were 50+ Goldfinches that flew across Bumpers Lane and then for some reason splitting up into 3 separate flocks, with each flock flying off in directions. The only thing I can think of, is that they had a pre-roost to "exchange news" of where they have been feeding, etc. before flying off to their respective roosts. I have seen it before with Jackdaws and Carrion Crows, but not with finches.
The only other highlight were 2 Rock Pipits on the beach.
Whilst on the beach I came across a new mollusc called a Thick Topshell (Phorcus lineatus)
Mammals Recorded:
Grey Squirrel
Birds Recorded:
1 Buzzard
1 Kestrel
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Wood Pigeon
2 Rock Pipit
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
50+ Goldfinch
Molluscs:
The large sea snail at the top is a Common Periwinkle (Littorina littorea). The one slightly hidden bottom left is a Thick Topshell also known as Toothed Topshell. More on Thick Topshell Here.
Mammals Recorded:
Grey Squirrel
Birds Recorded:
1 Buzzard
1 Kestrel
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Wood Pigeon
2 Rock Pipit
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
50+ Goldfinch
It was very very quiet on the beach with just 2 Rock Pipits seen.
Molluscs:
Limpet (Patella vulgata)
Common Periwinkle (Littorina littorea)
Thick Topshell (Phorcus lineatus)
Limpets. More on limpets Here.
Plants:
Japanese Spindle Tree (Euonymus japonicus)
Japanese Spindle Tree (Euonymus japonicus)
Mint (Mentha sp.)
Montbretia (Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora)Hebe (Hebe sp.)
Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum)
Here's a close up of one of the leaves, with what looks like the mining of an insect joining up the white spots. One to investigate further.
Ted:
This is Japanese Spindle and here........
............are its seeds.
This is a huge carpet of mint behind one of the beach huts at the cove. More on this plant Here.
This is Montbretia (Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora) and here............
.............are its seeds.
With around 90 different species of Hebe, I'm not going to guess which one this is. More on Hebe Here.
A new growth of Alexanders and a.............
.........few of the leaves I came across had lines of tiny white spots.
Ted:
Lots of climbing on walls and rocks today by Ted.