MONDAY 31ST MAY - ALL DAY VISIT TO COGDEN BEACH ----- TUESDAY 1ST JUNE - MORNING WALK INTO YEO VALLEY
WEATHER: two days of wall to wall sunshine with a light breeze. Temp 14 - 19C
May 31st 2021 - Cogden Beach
On bank Holiday Monday Dawn and I drove to our favourite beach at Cogden and once again it was very quiet as far tourists were concerned.
this is the view taken from thee hills above Abbotsbury - it shows the full 8 mile length of the 'Fleet' and Chesil Beach all the way to Portland
A few meters from the car car we saw a Lesser Whitethroat, it was singing and moving from bush to bush. Almost immedaitely we heard the loud call of a Cetti's Warbler and quite uncharacteristically it sat on the top of bush in full view. We saw Linnets, Skylarks, Stonechats and we heard a Chiffchaff.
a faded Common Blue
Not much flew past along the shore except for a single Fulmar, two Gannets and lots of Herring Gulls, we did see a juvenile Great Black-backed Gull on the beach later in the day.
Small Copper
I went for my usual walk after eating our picnic lunch, I found a few butterflies but not many, Orange-tip, Common Blue, Small Heath, Small Copper, Speckled Wood and a nice male Brimstone.
Once again I heard Marsh frogs calling and this time I found this one in the water, click, click!
We left the beach around 4:30pm and got home in good time.
Tuesday 1st June 2021 - morning walk into Yeo Valley and a garden watch
I spent two hours walking in the valley today, the first 1/2 hour was spent south of the railway line. I haven't been in the valley for a good two weeks or more and I was quite shocked at the growth of the vegetation in my absence. I had to wade through waiste-high growth, much of it was stinging nettles, ouch!
Bird life was busy, many species are still feeding young so they not sitting around waiting for their photographs to be taken. I saw Blackcap and Chiffchaff and dozens of Beautful Demoisel Damselflies, they looked stunning in the morning light.
the male Beautiful Demoisel Damselfly
I then walked to the north side of the tracks and went into the valley proper, I heard Green Woodpecker and saw Great Spotted, but not much else. A pair of Red-legged Partridge flew up from the tall grass and a pair of Buzzards circled overhead.
female Demoisel Damselfly
In the garden later and during my power-walk around the village ||I added many common birds to the list and a few more species of Damselflies. A Mayfly landed on my arm in the garden after I had tried hard ealier to find one settled, so here it is.
I know its now June - but here is a Mayfly