Are dips good for your pecs?

The Safari sorted the moths out first thing. Not as big a selection as yesterday probably due to the brisk  wind. New in were the first Lesser Broad Bordered Yellow Underwings of the year.

Common Rustics are always good value - you just never know which form you're going to get

And a male Buff Ermine was a welcome returnee - not had one for a three weeks.

Then it was in to the Black Mamba - aka Wifey's car - and we sped off over to the South-side for an appointment with an American.

It wasn't showing straight off and another birder had already been looking for it for over an hour without success so we were hopeful it wouldn't be a long vigil before it put in an appearance.

Lots of Black Tailed Godwits, Redshanks and Lapwings were on the flood with a really nice number of Snipe. It wasn't long before we had  little heart flutter but it turned in to one of three or four Dunlins we eventually found.

Two Greenshank were 'hidden' amongst the godwits but several Ruff in various stages of moult were much easier to pick out.

Ducks included a good number of Teal but no Garganeys. Gadwall and Shoveler were present in small numbers and we saw singles of both Wigeon and Pintail. A juvenile Little Grebe was getting some stick from one of its parents.

Not a bad view from your bedroom window!

 Can you see the Pectoral Sandpiper?

Couldn't find it? Neither could we :-(

The site had a bioblitz on so we popped in to the centre to have a look at what they were up to. On the walk in we were just in time to see tthem tip out this Wood Mouse from one of their overnight traps.

We came away a tad disappointed, not seen a 'Pec' for some years but dipped a few - too many!

Later in the day our Extreme Photographer came round for a chat and whilst sitting in the garden we spotted a mason wasp going in to a hole in the kitchen brickwork. Nearby he saw a Ruby Tailed Wasp which was lurking furtively. As soon as the mason wap came out of the hole the Ruby Tail went up to the hole and backed in to lay an egg - fascinating to watch! It's all happenin at Base Camp.

Our Extreme Photographer also sent us some pics from his uncle's garden. Wish we had something similar wandering around on our lawn! 

Where to next? Frank is going to the vets for his op tomorrow and we'll meet up with some friends once he's been dropped off with them and hopefully we'll see something of interest while we're with them.

In the meantime let us know what's scuttling around on your lawn.

Fresh hair do

The Safari was delving in to the moth trap early this morning. A few in there but sadly no more hawkmoths.

4 Dark Arches of varying hues

Bright-line Brown-eye

Male Buff Ermine

Later we had a wander round to Patch 1 where we glad we'd smothered ourselves in DEET before we set off as the Cleggs were out in force and out for blood. The Butterfly Zone was our destination.

To the almost continuous stridulations of Grasshoppers and the chiff - chaff of a Chiffchaff we waited patiently for a particular butterfly to put in an appearance...had they even emerged yet?

Large and Small Skippers bounced around the grassheads and Meadow Browns weaved their way through the stems.

Here and there Speckled Woods cruised the lower branches of the trees and the edge of the scrub. A very bright Small Tortoiseshell shot past. Also shooting past a few times was a very speedy Brown Hawker dragonfly.

Whilst trying to dodge the attentions of one particularly tenacious Clegg we spotted a few dancing Poecilobrothus nobilitatus have a right old ballet on a stage of few Bramble leaves

A Tree Bee settled just out of range on the top of the small Elm tree in the middle of the pic.

Then at last our luck was in...White Letter Hairstreak...then two together spiraling upwards above the tree tops.

They like flitting round this small Sycamore tree adjacent to the path

But they just wouldn't come down to nectar on the Creeping Thistles like they did last year. Just one half decent record shot resulted.

Not a bad hours entertainment.

Where to next? No safari tomorrow, just an early start, a long journey ending in a traumatic hospital visit.

In the meantime let us know what's hair today and gone tomorrow in your outback