15 Oct 24

Wakeham

In preparation for my Op on Monday 21 Oct, I have been told to stop taking certain meds, two of which both treat high blood pressure and heart failure. This is my second day, and already I can tell that my breathing is definitely impaired by not taking them. The doctors know best, so I have decided that walks up and down the back garden will have to do, until after the op.

I'm not complaining as I absolutely love my garden, and there is always something to find. Today's highlights were 3 individual Chiffchaffs passing through, along with a party of 3 Siskins, a Speckled Wood on Cosmos, and a Celery fly. The latter the first one I have recorded since April 2023!!


Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
3 Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
3 Siskin
Goldfinch

Here are a few photos and videos of the "resident Robin in the back garden. Its amazing how a few live Mealworms can tempt it to come pretty close.

Escapees, Ferals, Possibles Etc.
Feral pigeon


Butterflies Recorded:
1 Speckled Wood

Mid October and a Speckled Wood still flying about. Here it is on a Common Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus). A flower that is also known as Mexican Aster. If there was ever a flower I would recommend for a garden, it would be this one. The number of bees, hoverflies and butterflies I have had on this plant has and still is pretty impressive.

Bees Recorded:

Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
White-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum)

Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)

A Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) leaves this Passion Flower (Passiflora sp.) for another close-by.

Another Honey Bee, plus another fully laden individual which decided not to join it. Also on the petals are a few fruit flies sp.

I think there is just enough of thin buff band between the white tail and the black of the abdomen to separate this Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris).............

............... from the very similar White-tailed Bumblebee (B. lucorum).

And a Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum) on a Common Cosmos

Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
2 Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
1 Parasitic Wasp sp.

A parasitic wasp sp.

Hoverflies Recorded:
1 Migrant Hoverfly (Meliscaeva auricollis)

This is...........

...........a Migrant Hoverfly (Meliscaeva auricollis)

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
1 Celery fly (Euleia heraclei)

#1 - fly sp.

#2 - fly sp.

#3 - fly sp.

This is an aberrant Orange-brown morph............

.........Celery fly (Euleia heraclei). This is the first..............

................one I have seen since April 2023.

#1 - fly sp

#1 - fly sp

#2 - fly sp

#3 - fly sp

#3 - fly sp

Slugs and Snails Recorded:

Great Pond Snail (Lymnaea stagnalis)

A Great Pond Snail (Lymnaea stagnalis) in the "Tractor Tyre" pond

Leafhoppers Recorded:

20+ Leafhopper (Empoasca vitis)

A Leafhopper (Empoasca vitis)

Leafminers:
leafminer sp.

An Oak Leaf Miner on the leaves of my Cheshire Oak tree. More on these leaf miners here and here.

Caterpillars Recorded:

Large White

The Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) are getting a right bashing.........

.............as dozens of........

..........Cabbage White caterpillars munch their way through them.

Ted:

Ted giving me the eye, with the Trail Camera behind him, set up for this week.

Yes Ted, that's your seat.

14 Oct 24

Thumb Lane and Avalanche Hump

It was a change of scenery today and a very pleasing one with my first Yellow-browed Warbler of the Autumn, followed by a lone Redwing. Also seen were around 20 Chiffchaffs

Mammals Recorded:
5 Grey Squirrel


Birds Recorded:
1 Pheasant
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
2 Collared Dove
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird

1 Redwing
20+ Chiffchaff
1 Yellow-browed Warbler
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
5 Siskin
Goldfinch

A Pheasant makes a run for it when he saw me and Ted walking alongside one of the horse paddocks it was in.

Below are just a few of the Chiffchaffs at Thumb Lane and Avalanche Hump. Sadly no photo of the Yellow-browed Warbler, which was in amongst them.

Butterflies Recorded:
6 Red Admiral

Despite a light drizzle there were at least six Red Admirals flying about.

Moths Recorded:
1 Diamond-backed Moth (Plutella xylostella)
1 Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella)

A  Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella)

Bees Recorded:
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)


General Shots:

The southern edge of the copse at Thumb Lane

13 Oct 24

Wakeham

In the back garden today and there were a few migrants passing through, with 50+ Wood Pigeon, 2 Skylark, a Chiffchaff and a Siskin.

While I was stood in the back garden a Sparrowhawk sped pass me and put up three Wood Pigeons sat in the neighbours Hazel tree.

There were no butterflies seen, but I did record 3 Buff-tailed Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), 2 Common Carder Bees (Bombus pascuorum), 2 Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), a single Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris) and a lone Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Birds Recorded:
1 Sparrowhawk
Herring Gull
50+ Wood Pigeon
2 Skylark
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
1 Chiffchaff
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
1 Siskin
Goldfinch


Escapees, Ferals, Possibles Etc.
Feral pigeon


Bees Recorded:
3 Buff-tailed Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris)
2 Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
2 Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

A Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) on one of the last remaining Passion Flowers (Passiflora sp.)

A Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum) in a Nasturtium flower (Tropaeolum majus). And on the petal to the left,  a caterpillar of the Large White butterfly.

A Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) leaving a Common Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus). Here it........

........is again on another Common Cosmos, with a fruit fly sp. on the left.

Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
1 Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)


Hoverflies Recorded:
1 Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

It wasn't particularly warm this afternoon and it was very cloudy, so coming across this Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax) was a bit surprising.

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
#1 - fly sp.

#2 - midge possibly Chironomus plumosus

#3 - Fruit fly sp.

#1 - fly sp.

#2 - This is a midge possibly Chironomus plumosus

#3 - I think this...........

...........is one of the fruit fly species.

Caterpillars Recorded:

Large White butterfly

The Nasturtium leaves (Tropaeolum majus) are disappearing fast as these Large Whites munch their way through them.

Plants:

The wildflower "meadow" is doing well.

There are dozens of figs on the Fig Tree (Ficus carica). One of these days I will attempt to try one.

Ted:

Was it something I said Ted!!

12 Oct 24

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadow and Wakeham Wildlife Site

An afternoon walk on my local patch turned into an hours search for a Radde's Warbler, seen in the Buddleias next to the meadow, 50 minutes before I had arrived. 

It did show again and as you can see from this photo, that was how close I got to see it. The chap on the right is actually pointing at it. I was that close!!

And this is its call, which alerted the finder earlier on.

Birds Recorded:
1 Sparrowhawk

1 Buzzard

2 Kestrel

Herring Gull

Wood Pigeon

Meadow Pipit

Pied Wagtail

Dunnock

Robin

Blackbird

5 Chiffchaff

1 Radde's Warbler - I missed seeing it by 5 seconds 😢

Great Tit

Blue Tit

Wren

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Jackdaw

Starling

House Sparrow

Chaffinch

Linnet

Goldfinch

Below are a pair of Kestrels overlooking Wakeham Meadow

Escapees, Ferals, Possibles Etc.
Feral pigeon


Butterflies Recorded:
2 Large White
2 Red Admiral
1 Painted Lady

A Painted Lady resting Old Man’s Beard (Clematis vitalba).

Moths Recorded:

Rusty Dot Pearl (Udea ferrugalis)

Diamond-backed Moth (Plutella xylostella)

A Rusty Dot Pearl (Udea ferrugalis) on the front door as I was leaving the cottage.

A Rusty Dot Pearl (Udea ferrugalis) on the front door as I was leaving the cottage.

Diamond-backed Moth (Plutella xylostella)

Bees Recorded:
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae)

A Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

Below are a few Ivy Bee photos.

Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)


Hoverflies Recorded:
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Many unidentified flies