This evening
This evening as the temperature started to drop, there were considerably more insects on the wing. There was Small White, a Comma, 2 Holly Blues, a possible Potter Wasp sp., a Sand Wasp sp., a Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina), a Ruby-tailed Wasp (Chrysis sp.) and a Blue-tailed Damselfly.
Also a female Chaffinch above my head on the Cherry Tree, an ichneumon wasp sp. a Melanostoma scalare hoverfly and lots of Marmalade Hoverflies.
The star of the evening went to a male Sparrowhawk, who flew hedge height, over our next door neighbours head as he was gardening and crashed into one of his hedges before coming out with an unfortunate House Sparrow.
When I lived in Swindon there was a Whitebeam opposite the house which was a beacon for all sorts of bird species. By the looks of it I have found an insect equivalent with the old Cherry Tree at the bottom of the garden in Wakekam here.
Also a female Chaffinch above my head on the Cherry Tree, an ichneumon wasp sp. a Melanostoma scalare hoverfly and lots of Marmalade Hoverflies.
The star of the evening went to a male Sparrowhawk, who flew hedge height, over our next door neighbours head as he was gardening and crashed into one of his hedges before coming out with an unfortunate House Sparrow.
When I lived in Swindon there was a Whitebeam opposite the house which was a beacon for all sorts of bird species. By the looks of it I have found an insect equivalent with the old Cherry Tree at the bottom of the garden in Wakekam here.
A female Chaffinch. a pretty non-descript bird.
An ichneumon wasp sp. ......
......another one to ID.
And finally a Melanostoma scalare a very common UK hoverfly
Blue-tailed Damselfly
Blue-tailed Damselfly a very elegant Damselfly.
A Common Green Shieldbug
A Sand Wasp - Ectemnius sp.
Possibly a Potter Wasp (Ancistrocerus parietum) - More on this wasp Here
This afternoon
A very hot day, so spent most of it in the back garden. Amazing wildlife you get to see when you're just sat there. I hadn't realised we had so many Goldfinches, there has always been the male on the neighbours aerial singing away and another on the Sycamore at the back of the garden, but today there were 15 flying around, with a lot of youngsters. So I can only surmise that once they have fledged they form a large flock (a charm) with youngsters from other families joining in. Safety in neighbours I guess.
A pair of Linnets landed on the Sycamore when the Goldfinches had left and the male then burst into song, with a lot softer song than that of the "high-pitched" version of the Goldfinch. When the Goldfinches had done there flying lessons around the block and returned to the Sycamore, the Linnets flew off.
Other sightings today were a Swift over the roof-tops, a Chiffchaff singing away in the neighbours tree, a falcon screeching, but unfortunately I couldn't locate it and a leucistic Wood Pigeon, either that or it was coated in fine Portland Dust!
A few butterflies in the garden with a Speckled Wood and a Meadow Brown. And another Humming-bird Hawk-moth which sadly didn't stay. I can't wait for the neighbours Buddleia to bloom as I think it will be quite attracted to it.
A lot of bees about with Common Carder, Red-tailed, Leafcutter (I think, I'm beginning to have doubts now) and a really tiny bee I found feeding on Speedwell in the Courtyard. At just under centimetre it had a very distinct blue sheen. It turns out its a Blue Mason Bee (Osmia caerulescens). Also another Eupeodes luniger (Moon-marked Field-hoverfly) and a Swollen-thighed Beetle.
Birds recorded from the back garden today were: falcon sp., Herring Gull, 2 Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Swift, Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Chiffchaff, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, 2 Linnet, 15 Goldfinch and a Greenfinch.
An adult Goldfinch............
..........and a juvenile, lacking all the red, white and black markings around the head.
A male Goldfinch preening whilst others are chattering away close-by.
Sadly no video of the male Linnet singing. Here's one courtesy of Xeno-canto
A Dunnock peers out from the brambles next to me.
A Common Carder on the right. Not sure what the bee is to the left it as they share a Thistle head.
I've been saying that this is a Leafcutter Bee, but is it!!
Blue Mason Bee (Osmia caerulescens). More on this Bee Here
Eupeodes luniger (Moon-marked Field-hoverfly)
Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)