A much cloudier day, but still very muggy and a change of location for my daily walk. This morning saw me back on my local patch taking me through Penns Wood to The Mermaid Track via the church, weare, castle and quarry.
I wasn't expecting to see too many butterflies in the cloudy conditions but was pleasantly surprised to Lulworth Skipper, Large White, Small White, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Marbled White and a Peacock.
A Hornet Mimic Hoverfly was flying about on the steps below Rufus Castle, but didn't stop and I came across a few moths, a Garden Grass-veneer, a Carnation Tortrix and 2 Crescent Plumes (Marasmarcha lunaedactyla) in the grass along the Mermaid Track. The latter new for my Portland Moth List.
Here are a few images from this morning:
A Ringlet
Half a Peacock. Just couldn't get into a spot where I could photograph all of it.
A Meadow Brown
Marbled White
Gatekeeper
And another Gatekeeper
A Carnation Tortrix
And along the Mermaid Track I came across these two.....................
......................moths which are Crescent Plumes and are identifiable by........
............the distinctive moon-shaped creamy-white marking at the cleft in the brownish forewing.
Here is the underside.
Out to sea a Common Buzzard was having a bit of a rough ride as........
..........a Herring Gull plus a couple of others kept mobbing it.
Biting Stonecrop, Sedum acre
Lady's Bedstraw, Galium verum
Common Toadflax, Linaria vulgaris. Also known as Yellow Toadflax and Butter-and-eggs.
Ragwort, Jacobaea vulgaris
Common Hawkweed, Hieracium vulgatum
Yellow-wort, Blackstonia perfoliata
Yellow-wort
Pyramidal Orchid
Wild Marjoram, Origanum vulgare
Hemp Agrimony, Eupatorium cannabinum. Also known as 'Raspberries and Cream'.
Lambs Lettuce, Valerianella locusta. Also known as Corn Salad.
Old Man’s Beard, Clematis vitalba . Also known as Travellers’ Joy and Wild Clematis.
Hedge Bedstraw, Galium album
Viper's Bugloss, Echium vulgare
Bramble, Rubus fruticosusa and a few blackberries starting to form
Blackthorn, Prunus spinosa just coming into fruit. Also known as Sloe.
Birds Recorded: Cormorant, Buzzard, Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Blackcap, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch.
Butterflies Recorded: 1 Lulworth Skipper, 3 Large White, 2 Small White, 6 Ringlet, 3 Meadow Brown, 9 Gatekeeper, 5 Marbled White and a Peacock
Moths Recorded: 1 Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella), 1 Carnation Tortrix (Cacoecimorpha pronubana) and 2 Crescent Plume (Marasmarcha lunaedactyla)
Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum) and Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)