A great afternoon for raptors around the North of Yeovil this afternoon. A probable honey buzzard over heading South at 1600 (Very pale underneath, though in bad light, only obvious features on under wing was dark outer-converts but perhaps had some mottled markings on body. Wings held back in typical honey buzzard posture with a far-projecting head, with tail about half the length of the wing.)
Also, a peregrine east over Lark Hill around 1630.
hi Oliver, brill`s sighting must have been blown in from the near continent, the black-veined white has been extinct in this country since the 1930`s ,wish I`d seen it .Chris Thorne
Oliver - may I respectfully suggest that, given that it is extinct in britain with only a tiny handful of sightings (the last I think in 2007) the black-veined white you reported was something else - green-veined white? if you do want to claim a sighting like this you really need to supply a photo so that others can check it...
It definitely was not green-veined white. This clearly showed the black vein pattern above and below the wing with no dark spots or other markings visible. I am unaware of any other British or European species resembling this, though of course I'm open to suggestion. I can try to search again for it tomorrow morning, though I would imagine it would have moved on by now?
No sign after nearly an hours searching this morning, but was surprised to find a hummingbird hawkmoth feeding alongside the stream this morning. A first for the site I think.