09062012

Grizzled skipper flying yesterday near Rammsjöstrand.

The sun came out in the afternoon and the temperature crept up above 20 degrees for the first time in a long time. We all headed out the door and had a picnic and walk between Mäsinge strand and Rammsjöstrand, taking in the excellent mire and new wetland as we went. Birds were few and far between, but we had a flock of 8 resident (?) barnacle geese along the coast and flushed a single spotted redshank off the new wetland. Likewise dragonflies were restricted to the commonplace and we failed to add any new species to the Atlas square or the Odo year-list

Sun at last

My mate Sam rang me yesterday excited about the sand martin colony in the gravel pit at Förslöv. So the first thing Ma B, Number 2 and I did today was drive down and check it out. It was bustling with activity and there must have been 350 nestholes in the sand-face. Nice one!

Next we went for a short walk around the Killeröd loop, not much bird action here just plenty of singing tree pipits and goldcrests and a single siskin.

Today's sun brought out the insects again, a morning walk aroud the Killeröd loop track produced a few grizzled skippers.

Small coppers are commonly encountered at the moment.

I still find the dubia/rubicunda species pair hard to call, this is dubia (black pterostigma, goodish size black spot in base of forewing). Other good pointers I have noted are the shape of the antehumerals and the distribution of colours on S2 and S3, and the hind wing patches are blunter on dubia (at the trailing edge).

In the afternoon we all checked out Rönnen, hoping for broad-billed sandpipers. We skunked out, despite 16 being reported earlier in the day. We did connect with a pair of garganey, recently hatched lapwings, three Temminck's stints and single bar-tailed godwit, common sandpiper and greenshank. Nearby Sandön was really quiet with just a curlew and three Sandwich terns.

It's back!

Spent a decidedly chilly pre-breakfast period in the field, first walking Grytskären-Ranarpsstrand and then quickly visiting Stora Hultstrand. Both were worth doing. The first walk produced barnacle goose (17 north), shoveler (4) and my first patch avocet of the year. Stora Hultstrand was worth checking, it looks good for waders at the moment, and produced avocet (1 - possibly the same bird), purple sandpiper (6 flying by - a little strange), greenshank (1) and my first turnstone this year. A big flock of Numenius flying past proved to be mixed - perhaps ten curlew and 18-20 whimbrel.

My first patch grizzled skipper.

After breakfast I took the kids out for the day. We did a big walk around Önnarp firing range, which was rather quiet (until we got there...). Saw some birds though, plenty of tree pipits and pied flycatchers around and had a nice hawfinch perched up briefly. Number 1 found me my first patch grizzled skipper. A dead common shrew went down well and was adopted (which reminds me to check, they may still have it!).

Common shrew.

On the way home we checked out a few wetlands (seeing Ginger Rogers for the first time) and hit the beach at Segelstorp to reward the kids for a hard day in the field. It was almost warm by now and they waded about happily in the water and I got told off by a (no doubt) well-meaning onlooker for abusing my children. I tried to explain that their mother was a sea-otter but it got lost in translation...