Heath Fritillary at last

Saturday 15th June Very windy, some showers, sunny start then mostly overcast, 13 - 16C This morning I was picked up by my old pal Patrick Giles who was on a visit to Kent for a long weekend. NOt the best weekend weather-wise, but we make the best we can. The Heath Fritillaries around east Kent are normally on the wing by now, but I haven't seen any yet this year. Patrick was keen to have a look for them, so as it was quite sunny 1st thing we headed over to Thornden Woods for a look. In my experience they are seen in Thornden several days earlier than in East Blean. After a short walk we came across 3 pristine butterflies enjoying the sun.

We failed to find any more butterflies in Thornden woods, so we went over to Reculver where we saw several damselflies, a Broad-bodied Chaser and a Small Heath. After enjoying a bit of shelter from the wind and watching a few more common insects we took a trip to Faversham to look for the Black Kite. We spent nearly 3 hours in the area where the kite had been seen earlier in the day, but we were out of luck. Birds we did see were Hobby, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and Common Buzzard, plus a Yellowhammer. We took a walk late afternoon round Oare Marshes, but this wasn't the best decision due to the very strong winds blowing acros the marsh. There were a huge number of Swifts feeding low over the flood, and the usual selection of waders but it wasn't much fun in the gusty conditions. Probably the biggest thrill was when a Vulcan Bomber flew low over our heads. All in all a fun day, but hoping for calmer conditions tomorrow.