A glorious afternoon with wall to wall blue sky. Another walk around my local patch and a bit of a raptor day with singles of Peregrine Falcon, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Common Buzzard.
At the top of Penn's Wood I came across the Continental Coal Tit again. I have been asked to see if it has a ring by Martin Cade from the Portland Bird Observatory, but this individual is proving to be extremely difficult to see in amongst the dense leafy canopy. I'll keep trying though.
Other birds noted were singles of Common Whitethroat in Penns Weare and Bumpers Lane. Also in Bumpers a Blackcap.
More butterflies about today mainly Large & Small Whites, a few Orange-tips, 1 Peacock and 2 Holly Blues.
The sun certainly brought out the bees, hoverflies, flies and a few Green-longhorn moths. And for the second day running more new insects for my ever-growing Portland List, with new additions being: Kite-tailed Robberfly (Machimus atricapillus), a Flavous Nomad Bee (Nomada flava), the hoverfly (Xylota segnis)
Here are a few images from this afternoon:
This is a new one for me a Flavous Nomad Bee, Nomada flava. I hadn't realised there were so many. Nomad bees are cuckoo bees, which lay their eggs in other bee nest, usually Andrena bees.
And finally there used to be a track on the right which took you alongside this quarry. Instead you have to climb down a 6 foot embankment. As for the quarry its being filled in by the mounds which are in the old Stone Firms works in Bumpers Lane, being removed for the new housing estate there.
Birds Recorded: 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Buzzard, 1 Peregrine Falcon, 1 Kestrel, Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, 2 Swallow, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 2 Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Continental Coal Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, 1 Raven, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet and Goldfinch.
Also recorded: Kite-tailed Robberfly (Machimus atricapillus), Celery fly (Euleia heraclei), Flesh Fly (Sarcophaga sp.) and Soldier Beetle (Cantharis rustica).
Ichneumon wasp sp.
The Fleet
Well that was a bit annoying, the auxiliary engine on Tiki has seized up, so it looks like I'll be looking for a replacement. At least I got really close to a pair of Little Terns resting on the next mooring point up from Tiki's. Out in the Fleet a dozen more Little Terns and a handful of Sandwich Terns.
A heart stopping moment was when the larger gulls were harassing a large grey bird over Chesil Beach. An Osprey!!, sadly not just a Grey Heron making its way up The Fleet.
A few images and a video from early this morning:
A Little Tern on a mooring in the Fleet.
Other birds noted were singles of Common Whitethroat in Penns Weare and Bumpers Lane. Also in Bumpers a Blackcap.
More butterflies about today mainly Large & Small Whites, a few Orange-tips, 1 Peacock and 2 Holly Blues.
The sun certainly brought out the bees, hoverflies, flies and a few Green-longhorn moths. And for the second day running more new insects for my ever-growing Portland List, with new additions being: Kite-tailed Robberfly (Machimus atricapillus), a Flavous Nomad Bee (Nomada flava), the hoverfly (Xylota segnis)
Here are a few images from this afternoon:
Peregrine Falcon
Kestrel
Sparrowhawk
Wall Lizards
A male Orange-tip
Green-longhorn moths
Ashy or Grey Mining Bee (Andrena cineraria)
An Ichneumon wasp sp..............
.........most likely an Anomaloninae, Heteropelma sp........
..........and another view.
And another Ichneumon wasp sp.. Most likely a Pimplinae, Tromatobia sp
And a third Ichneumon wasp sp. though it does look very similar to the one above.
Dead Head Fly (Myathropa florea)
Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
Hoverfly - Epistrophe eligans
A male Epistrophe eligans in flight.
A female Long Hoverfly, Sphaerophoria scripta
A male Xylota segnis.
I believe this is a Kite-tailed Robberfly (Machimus atricapillus) and a St Marks Fly which it has just caught.
Celery fly (Euleia heraclei)
Flesh Fly (Sarcophaga sp.)
A Soldier Beetle (Cantharis rustica)
Birds Recorded: 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Buzzard, 1 Peregrine Falcon, 1 Kestrel, Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, 2 Swallow, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 2 Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Continental Coal Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, 1 Raven, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet and Goldfinch.
Also recorded: Kite-tailed Robberfly (Machimus atricapillus), Celery fly (Euleia heraclei), Flesh Fly (Sarcophaga sp.) and Soldier Beetle (Cantharis rustica).
Bees
Mining Bee (Andrena scotica)
Grey Mining Bee (Andrena cineraria)
Early Mining Bee (Andrena haemorrhoa)
Yellow-legged Mining-bee (Andrena flavipes)
Flavous Nomad Bee (Nomada flava)
Ichneumon wasp sp. Flavous Nomad Bee (Nomada flava)
Ichneumon wasp sp.
Butterflies
Large Whites
Small Whites
1 Peacock
5 Orange-tip
2 Holly Blue
Hoverflies:
Epistrophe eligans
Episyrphus balteatus (Marmalade Hoverfly)
Melanostoma scalare (Chequered Hoverfly)
Myathropa florea (Dead Head Fly)
Syrphus torvus
Sphaerophoria scripta (Long Hoverfly)
Sphaerophoria scripta (Long Hoverfly)
Xylota segnis
The Fleet
Well that was a bit annoying, the auxiliary engine on Tiki has seized up, so it looks like I'll be looking for a replacement. At least I got really close to a pair of Little Terns resting on the next mooring point up from Tiki's. Out in the Fleet a dozen more Little Terns and a handful of Sandwich Terns.
A heart stopping moment was when the larger gulls were harassing a large grey bird over Chesil Beach. An Osprey!!, sadly not just a Grey Heron making its way up The Fleet.
A few images and a video from early this morning:
A pair of Little Terns
One of the adults, possibly the female as the male was bring her food.
A Little Tern on a mooring in the Fleet.
A really shaky video of a male Little Tern bring a sandeel to the female. I should have videoed this from Tiki and not the tender!!
A wannabee Osprey which turned out to be a Grey Heron.
Portland in the background
Looking west up The Fleet.