A walk around Goring Gap mid-morning was totally uneventful, though the site was busy with people. A particularly loud yaffle from a
Green Woodpecker was about peak. At home, a
Coal Tit was around the garden again and we noticed the
Herring Gull family on our roof for the first time, with two fluffy youngsters appearing.
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| Herring Gulls on our roof |
Ingrid and I went to check on the Shelduck brood on the downs near Lychpole Farm in the afternoon and walked a loop through No-Man's-Land and back down Titch Hill. Eight young Shelducks were still present and growing well, sharing the pool with a couple of juvenile Pied Wagtails and the occasional Linnet. Seven Corn Buntings, a Yellowhammer, a Meadow Pipit, a Raven, a couple of Moorhens on the other dewpond (including calls from a juvenile), five Buzzards, two Kestrels and four Swifts were among the other birds noted. It was a busy walk for butterflies though, with multiple Dark Green Fritillaries, Large Skippers, Red Admirals, Peacocks, Large Whites, Small Tortoiseshells, Meadow Browns and Small Heath.
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| Dark Green Fritillary on the downs |
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| young Shelducks on the pool near Lychpole Farm |
