A day away from Alton on a trip to Portland, Dorset.
Goldfinch on the beach huts. (Young birds already fledged as well). The ring on the leg means it's had a visit to the observatory. Either that or it is married.
Linnet in the fields...
Dingy Skipper...
Total of 10 migrant Painted Ladies seen...
The micro-moth Pyrausta Aurata by the beach huts...
A burnet moth (of some sort) caterpillar climbing the limestone in one of the quarries.
I was watching two together when a third appeared from the crack in the rock...
Peregrine on the cliff...
A white wagtail - the continental (and Icelandic) version of our Pied Wagtail on the East Cliffs - regular passage migrants here but this was a late date for one...
The tide was low and the sea flat - meaning that the boot-weed near the bill provided an interesting site...
I'm not sure why but as we started walking the coast path from Southwell I commented that it felt like a good day for dolphins - perhaps due to the flat sea. When we got to the lighthouse at the bill (and with no prior knowledge), guess what ...
Perhaps as many as 8 Bottle-nosed dolphins actively feeding and leaping.
