My first walk of the year and a slightly extended one to get my year list going. Main highlight was a Chiffchaff in Penns Wood again.
Other notable sightings in the warm sunshine, were the number of hoverflies and bees about, with a few Meliscaeva auricollis hoverflies, Marmalade Hoverflies, several Eupeodes sps. hoverflies, a Honey Bee, a White-tailed Bumblebee and a mystery butterfly. I say mystery, because as I was walking up the steps from the cove, the shadow of a butterfly went across the steps in front of me, but as I turned whatever it was had flown away.
Another new insect for me was an Empoasca vitis. This leaf hopper is usually found on deciduous trees in summer and evergreens in winter.
Here are the birds recorded today, in the order I saw them with a few locations: 1 Collared Dove, Carrion Crow, Herring Gull, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Robin, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Wood Pigeon, Wren, Blackbird, 3 Goldcrest (Penns Wood), 1 Song Thrush, Great Black-backed Gull, Magpie, Kestrel, 1 Gannet, Long-tailed Tit, 9 Rock Pipit (Church Ope Cove), Cormorant, 1 Pied Wagtail (Church Ope Cove), and 1 Chiffchaff (Penns Wood). 25 species to get me going.
Here are a few images.
A Great Black-backed Gull in the Recycling Centre at Broadcroft Quarry..........
........and close-by a Magpie has a bath.
Overlooking Bumpers Lane Quarry one of the resident Kestrels.
Along The Cuttings this patch of plants was host to several hoverflies.
This was one of them, a Marmalade hoverfly.
Its scientific name is Episyrphus balteatus
An Eupeodes sp
Hoverfly - Meliscaeva auricollis
A new Robin has appeared along the steps below Rufus Castle.
Church Cove bathed in sunshine.
Its that Herring Gull again, patrolling the waters edge.
One of the 9 Rock Pipits here today feeding on the thousands of Kelp Flies here.
The warm sunshine was enough to energise this White-tailed Bumblebee into coming out of hibernation.
One of the Honey Bees from yesterday was back on the Hebes behind the huts.
In the sunlight there were hundreds of flying insects, flies, hoverflies and also this leaf hopper which looks pretty good for an Empoasca vitis or something very similar. More on this Leaf Hopper here.
Ships today.
Note: I thought I'd have another look to see where Fredericia was going and it looks like it has been refuelling other ships in the English Channel Here.
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On this day..........
2018Today's Sightings Here