Port and Wey: 11 May 19

Wakeham Wood, Perryfield Quarry Butterfly Reserve, Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church, Penns Copse, Rufus Castle and Mermaid Track

Another beautiful sunny morning and a few warblers about at the following locations: Wakeham Wood - 1 Blackcap and 1 Common Whitethroat, Perryfield Quarry Butterfly Reserve - 1 Common Whitethroat, Penns Wood - 1 Blackcap, St Andrew's Church - 1 Blackcap, Church Ope Cove - 1 Chiffchaff, Mermaid Track - 1 Blackcap, 1 Common Whitethroat and 1 Chiffchaff.

Also noted were several Green-longhorn moths and 4 Carnation Tortrix with most seen in Penns Copse and along the Southwest Coast path leading up the Mermaid Track

I had my first Wall Lizard for quite sometime, a single adult in the grounds of the church.

Also my first Small Blue of the year in Penns Copse.

As I was walking up towards the Mermaid Track a Fulmar flew south.

Here are a few images from this morning:

The grounds of St Andrew's Church

A Wall Lizard out in the warm morning sunshine.

The track leading into Penns Copse, with Rufus Castle towering above.

Along the track leading into the copse a very small blue butterfly landed next to me. At first, because of its size, I thought it was a Small Blue, but the markings are wrong so I'm pretty sure this is a Common Blue.

Still a few Green-longhorn moths about

A Fulmar heads south down the island.

A Panoramic view from above Church Ope Cove

This is Ivy Broomrape, Orobanche hederae and was on the side of the steps leading up to Rufus Castle. With the mild winter we had it is out about a month early than last year. This plant has no chlorophyll and is totally reliant on ivy to survive. More on this parasitic plant Here.

This Whitebeam (Sorbus aria).........

............and is well in bloom at the top of Penns Wood.

On the 8 May HERE I came across an Echium pininana in Penns Wood. Now I know where it came from. These are on the opposite side to where a found a 1 metre high plant. The plant I found on the 8 May will leaf this year and in its second year will flower like these.

Birds Recorded: 1 Fulmar, 1 Buzzard, Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 3 Common Whitethroat, 4 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch.

Reptiles Recorded: 1 Wall Lizard

Butterflies Recorded: 1 Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)

Moths Recorded: Several Green-longhorn (Adela reaumurella) and 4 Carnation Tortrix (Cacoecimorpha pronubana)

Bees Recorded: Small Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum), Ashy Mining Bee (Andrena cineraria) and a probable Gooden's Nomad Bee (Nomada goodeniana)

Hoverflies Recorded: Syrphus sp.

Ferrybridge

This afternoon I dropped into Ferrybridge to see the Little Terns and they are certainly back with several pairs sat on the buoys and more over their breeding site. On the mudflats a single Whimbrel and several Dunlin.