BUTTERFLIES
 DRAGONFLIES
 HOVERFLIES
 BUMBLEBEES

Bumblebees
Hoverflies
Butterflies
Solitary Bees
Adur Bees, Wasps & Sawflies
Flies
Ladybirds
Beetles
Moths
Grasshoppers & Crickets
Damselflies & Dragonflies
Bugs
Spiders

Fungi of Shoreham
Wild Flowers 2015

WILDLIFE REPORTS
 

28 September 2015

A Lunar Eclipse was seen in the early hours of the morning when the Sun, Earth and Moon were in syzygy.
Photographs taken at 11:19 pm; 2:09 am; 3:25 am; 3:27 am.

27 September 2015

Another first for me, a Great Crested Grebe was spotted on the flooded spring tide River Adur by the Riverside Business Centre (between the Railway Viaduct and the Tollbridge). It was difficult to photograph because it spent more than half the time diving underwater. The black and grey plumage means this is a juvenile diving bird. 

25 September 2015
Cats brought in two large caterpillars, one reported by Lorraine Courant as green with white dots was most likely the larva of a Lime Hawk-moth, Mimas tiliae, and the other one reported by Trev Smith was recognisable as the larva of the Elephant Hawk-moth, Deilephila elpenor. 
Adur Hawk-moths

23 September 2015

Cloudy but at least it was not raining and anything fluttering in the breeze was more likely to be a fallen leaf as the equinox passes and the days become even shorter. I made a trek to Mill Hill and managed to spot five species of butterfly, twenty or so Common Lizards, Lacerta vivipara, a colony of Ivy Bees and a few dragonflies. 
Adur Bees

20 September 2015
A Kingfisher rounded the arm of the west breakwater of Shoreham Harbour from the sea, at 11.35 am, and briefly rested on the lower section before taking off to take umbrage with another Kingfisher (unseen at this point) on the eastern arm. A brief altercation ensued with both birds flying about between the eastern and inner breakwaters. Peace broke out as one headed up the river whilst the other went towards the locks. I have seen Kingfishers up and down the lower river recently and suspected more than one is about happily confirms this. A female Wheatear perched on the fence by the Coastwatch lookout, a mix of Terns were feeding offshore and a steady trickle of eastwards Swallows made for a pleasant morning in the autumn sunshine.

I would think a fish this size would not get caught in a pool by the receding tide in the River Adur!

A dozen or more Wall Lizards,  Podarcis muralis, were very skittish over the carnot wall of the Shoreham Fort, Shoreham Beach in the sunshine that cast heavy shadows in the late afternoon. Two were small juveniles and both adults and young lizards clambered high up on the west-facing flint wall, right to the top on at least four occasions. The first lizard seen was very green on its back, but the green tinge was not remarkable on the others.

8 September 2015
Highlight of a grey and cloudy day was another family of two adults and five full-sized juvenile Common Lizards, Lacerta vivipara, on the prone chestnut fencing, 20 metres to the west of where a family of lizards was seen a week previously on the Pixie Path.
Adur Lizards

Adonis Blue Butterflies were still present on Mill Hill with nine other butterfly species seen in the afternoon. 
Adur Butterfly Day List

7 September 2015
A Red Admiral fluttered across a road in Shoreham. On a cycle ride to Upper Beeding, I was able to confirm frequent white butterflies, including occasional Large Whites and Small Whites, at least six Green-veined Whites, a surprise and unmistakable male Adonis Blue and two Speckled Woods. Two Southern Hawkers (dragonfly) patrolled over the cyclepath.
 

Adonis Blue	Green-veined White

On a cloudy day generally the butterflies had to be disturbed. On Anchor Bottom, I added nine Meadow Browns, six (4+2) Adonis Blues, and two Small Heath Butterflies.  
Adur Butterfly List 2015

1 September 2015

I first spotted an adult Common Lizard, Lacerta vivipara, on the Ivy at the top of the Pixie Path 3138 to Mill Hill, followed after a few minutes by five much darker juveniles as shown in the photograph above. 

On a cloudy day the butterflies were very frequent, but not too many to count. Almost all of the eight species were resting.  I stumbled across 50+ Meadow Browns, 20+ Adonis Blues, and a few Chalkhill Blues, Common Blues and Small Heaths on Mill Hill. A Southern Hawker (dragonfly) patrolled over the Pixie Path. where a dozen Holly Blue Butterflies and ten Speckled Woods were livelier. 
Adur Butterfly Day List

September 2014 Reports

Wild Flowers 2015
Shoreham Weather 2015

EasyTide (Shoreham)

Shoreham Beach Weather Station
 

Adur Nature Notes 2013