Having missed them on their way through in the Spring , I decided to see if I could catch up with Wheatear and Yellow Wagtail on their way back to warmer climes . I headed for RSPB Elmley , on the Isle of Sheppey , arriving in very mixed conditions , but still that very strong wind , made worse by the flatness of the reserve . The track from the road to the car park is usually good for picking up a few species , but today , it was like a cemetery . Had the cattle not been around , the 
only thing to look at was a pair of immature , I think , Marsh Harriers , that seemed to be playing in that wind . When they turned , it appeared that one had some food , possibly in it's talons , and
the other was attempting to take it . Perhaps a practice at a food exchange ? Amongst the cattle mentioned , were a number of bulls , and I arrived at a gate almost at the same time as the 
farmer , who stopped his tractor and ran towards the animal which was lying on it's side . The farmer climbed the gate and shouted and whistled at the bull , which eventually got up , much to 
the relief of the farmer . Mind you , it looked a good animal , so not surprised the farmer was worried . The farmer's shouting and whistling did me a favour , disturbing two Brown Hares 
from the ditch side , and after a quick look to see what all the noise was about , ran off at speed into the distance . One Lapwing , one distant Kestrel and two Grey Heron later , I reached the car park . Very little apart from House Sparrows in the area , until I noticed a Swallow flying into the 
Gents toilet . Following , I found a brood of four , only just fitting into the nest , just behind the door , sittting very quiet . That was until the next visit from the adult , when it became each man ,
or woman , for themselves , to get the food . It won't be long till they fledge . A couple of marquees were being erected on the enclosed lawned area , which would explain why the car park was so quiet . I decided , that as it was so quiet along the track , I would not walk down to the hides , as the probability was that it would be just the same , so headed back down the track ,
finding these two very large cockerels with white flaps on the sides of their heads , looking like 'joke ears' . Only difference on the way back down were several juvenile Pied Wagtails like this 
one . I drove to Capel Fleet , and once off the main road , drove slowly along the lane , checking the wires and bushes alongside . A good sized flock of House Sparrows and a few Greenfinch wasn't much of a result . Near the raptor viewpoint , a male Kestrel was hovering with ease in the
wind . A few seconds later , he dropped like a stone into the stubble in the field and probably caught a meal , as he didn't re-appear whilst I watched . Arriving at the Ferry Boat Inn , as far as you can go along the lane , and with the tide going out , I had a walk down to the waters edge , 
and I was pleased that I did , as I found 3/4 very mobile Wheatear around the high water line . I said very mobile , and as you can see , the one above was just about to lift off as I got the shot . A female Pheasant with seven youngsters and a distant Marsh Harrier were seen on the way back . I stopped just past the bend at Capel Fleet , seeing a small shape on a distant post . The shape did get closer and was joined by another . Two more Wheatear .
Nearby , a flock of Starlings were following the cattle in the field , collecting the disturbed insects , and on checking with binoculars , found my other target species , a juvenile Yellow 
Wagtail . In the distance , a black bank of cloud was approaching , so I decided to call it a day and head home . As I passed the Elmley entrance , a Little Egret was circling some open water , and I 
just managed a shot before it dropped in and disappeared into the reedbed .
only thing to look at was a pair of immature , I think , Marsh Harriers , that seemed to be playing in that wind . When they turned , it appeared that one had some food , possibly in it's talons , and the other was attempting to take it . Perhaps a practice at a food exchange ? Amongst the cattle mentioned , were a number of bulls , and I arrived at a gate almost at the same time as the farmer , who stopped his tractor and ran towards the animal which was lying on it's side . The farmer climbed the gate and shouted and whistled at the bull , which eventually got up , much to the relief of the farmer . Mind you , it looked a good animal , so not surprised the farmer was worried . The farmer's shouting and whistling did me a favour , disturbing two Brown Hares from the ditch side , and after a quick look to see what all the noise was about , ran off at speed into the distance . One Lapwing , one distant Kestrel and two Grey Heron later , I reached the car park . Very little apart from House Sparrows in the area , until I noticed a Swallow flying into the Gents toilet . Following , I found a brood of four , only just fitting into the nest , just behind the door , sittting very quiet . That was until the next visit from the adult , when it became each man , or woman , for themselves , to get the food . It won't be long till they fledge . A couple of marquees were being erected on the enclosed lawned area , which would explain why the car park was so quiet . I decided , that as it was so quiet along the track , I would not walk down to the hides , as the probability was that it would be just the same , so headed back down the track , finding these two very large cockerels with white flaps on the sides of their heads , looking like 'joke ears' . Only difference on the way back down were several juvenile Pied Wagtails like this one . I drove to Capel Fleet , and once off the main road , drove slowly along the lane , checking the wires and bushes alongside . A good sized flock of House Sparrows and a few Greenfinch wasn't much of a result . Near the raptor viewpoint , a male Kestrel was hovering with ease in the wind . A few seconds later , he dropped like a stone into the stubble in the field and probably caught a meal , as he didn't re-appear whilst I watched . Arriving at the Ferry Boat Inn , as far as you can go along the lane , and with the tide going out , I had a walk down to the waters edge , and I was pleased that I did , as I found 3/4 very mobile Wheatear around the high water line . I said very mobile , and as you can see , the one above was just about to lift off as I got the shot . A female Pheasant with seven youngsters and a distant Marsh Harrier were seen on the way back . I stopped just past the bend at Capel Fleet , seeing a small shape on a distant post . The shape did get closer and was joined by another . Two more Wheatear .Nearby , a flock of Starlings were following the cattle in the field , collecting the disturbed insects , and on checking with binoculars , found my other target species , a juvenile Yellow Wagtail . In the distance , a black bank of cloud was approaching , so I decided to call it a day and head home . As I passed the Elmley entrance , a Little Egret was circling some open water , and I just managed a shot before it dropped in and disappeared into the reedbed .Two heavy showers on the way home , just hope weather for the next two days volunteering is a bit more settled .
numerous species seen was the Small Heath , closely followed by the Gatekeeper , with several 
females like the one pictured found . In the area that I was hoping to find Small Blues , this male
Brown Argus shimmered in the morning sun , the leading edges of his forewings looking unreal .
A few Common Blues , mostly males like the one above , no longer resplendent in colour , as weather and territorial disputes have removed many of the scales from the wings .
Just a single Red Admiral , probably a female from the size of the specimen ,
and a single , very fresh looking Peacock .
Another fresh specimen was this female Large Skipper , but I didn't find a prospective mate .
Another female was this Meadow Brown , she was oviposting amongst the grass , but made sure that I never managed to get a shot of her in the act . Speckled Wood , Large White , Small Skipper and Small Copper were also seen , but didn't make it to the camera . A total of 12 species seen on the visit , which , given the conditions was reasonable .
Two of the largest hoverflies were also found , Volucella inanis , nectaring on Marjoram ,
A smaller relation , Scaeva pyrastri , was also found .
the viewfinder , he was gone . Further down the garden , I found the Migrant Hawker , also a male , resting on a Honeysuckle . He was much more of a poser , and even allowed me to get a 
close up of his head and thorax , the powerhouse of muscle to which the two sets of wings are attached . At about 1330 , a phone call from the gas fitter saying that he would be on site at 1500 , had me heading out the doors for an hour at the Farm lake , just taking the old camera for quickness . I was welcomed by a pair of juvenile Green Woodpeckers , one of which I managed to
grab a shot of through ground vegetation . Things seemed very much the same as last visit , with
the Small Red-eyed Damselflies still chancing their arm , ovipositing in the shallows . As I watched a pair , they lifted off to lay in a different spot , and immediately got snared in the web of an Orb Spider . The vibrations alerted the spider , who headed to the pair . The damselflies were 
still in tandem when the spider arrived , but then the male , very chivalrously , released his mate , so that she could become the spider's meal , whilst he flew off , probably to look for another mate . The second lap of the lake , produced 'a very odd wasp' to quote fellow blogger Rob/The Living Isle . I would probably had some trouble identifying this one , had he not posted both male
and female Gasteruption jaculator , what a great name , on his blog on the 6th. July , this being the female showing that incredible ovipositor . 
upper jaw and head , and the two lower jaw bones of a Badger . I wondered at the time , just what killed the animal , as the rest of the animal was nowhere to be seen , just the severed head . 
volunteering days , and then forgotten about .
Sandwalk woodland , the sturdy Violet Helleborine mentioned last visit , has the lower half of it's
flowers open . Usually in the shade of the tree canopy , but today , a single shaft of sunlight was streaming down on it . I crossed the cricket field and crossed into the small meadow over the 
stile , and was met by what I believe is one of the Roe fawns that I found a few visits back . As 
long as I stood still , it just looked , but just the suggestion of a step forward and it was off . 
Surprisingly , it did stop for another look , but once again , a movement from me and it headed off to the left hand fenceline . By the time I arrived , thinking that it had headed for cover , I found not one , but both fawns and their mother . She gave a bark , and all three did bound for 
cover . They were moving through Thistles and Nettles as tall as myself , so although all three , the female on the left , the second fawn somewhere in the middle of the shot , and the other one on the right , disappeared from sight into bushes beyond . I could hear them moving about , and 
a couple of times the female had a quick look to see if I was still about . Not wishing to upset the three of them , I moved on and left them to carry on with what they were doing . I always visit the walled garden again for butterflies before leaving , as things had usually warmed up by then , but today it only held a few Small Whites , a couple of them ovipositing . I arrived a split second too 
late to get the female laying , but did find the end product , this egg laid on the leaf of Horse-Radish .
ovipositing further out on blanket weed , but also noticed several ambush attacks from the Rudd whilst they were doing so . Two male Emperors and three male Brown Hawkers were continually in aerial battles , but the sound of wings close by , drew my attention back to the small bay , 
where I found a female Brown Hawker ovipositing amongst the reeds . Sometimes , she almost 
got her armpits wet as she went about her business . Apart from the fact that she was ovipositng , identified as a female by the yellow markings along the side of her abdomen , the male having blue markings . Apart from constant visits by Swallows to skim a drink off the surface , and for the second visit , juvenile bird of prey calls from the woods , but never seen , the only other interest was this Holly Blue , nectaring on White Melilot/Melilotus alba , a member of the Pea
family .
Clustered Bellflower/Campanula rotundifolia , always pleasing to the eye . Just before the gate onto the hillside , the first of many large groups of Chalkhill Blues , 13 in this group . 
Fortunately , they were covering what they were perched on , and I'll just say that the area is very popular with dog walkers . Over the whole site , the species were in their thousands , at times , 
the whole hillside dancing with their light blue colour . With so many around , it's no surprise 
that many mating pairs were found , too many to keep count of . No problem with numbers for next year then . Whilst looking for the target species , I found a nice stand of 
Harebells/Campanula glomerata , nodding in the strong wind . So small , not much higher than 
the grass , and so delicate as well . Also found were lots of one of my chalk grassland favourites 
, Eyebright/Euphrasia officinalis . By this time , I had caught sight of the very occasional Adonis Blue , but no sign of any Silver-spotted Skippers . Continuing my search I found a species that I haven't come across for a few years now , the Wasp Spider/Argiope bruennichi , an immigrant 
from the continent . This is the female , a good sized individual , and it's her colouring that gives it's common name , the male being much smaller and just brownish . The large numbers of Chalkhill Blues were reflected in her web , as she was eating one with two others wrapped and waiting , and the remains of at least another two on the ground below . From the other side of the
web , the wrapped meal and her less coloured under body can be seen . Middle bottom of the shot is the zig-zag marking that all webs of this species display . The Silver-spotted Skipper 
eluded me all of the visit , but I finally managed to get a few shots of the other target , the Adonis Blue . Just a few males , with their vibrant pristine colour showing well in the sunshine . Could be
confused with the Common Blue , of which there were a few on the wing , but the black lines crossing the outer white fringe , lacking in the Common Blue , is the determining factor .
White-legged Damselfly , a male , down by the small river , and not far away , a female Banded 
Demoiselle , and lastly , a tiny member of the Pea family , Hairy Tare/Vicia hirsuta .
happy to pose .
