Early morning and there was definitely that Autumn feel to it, especially with a few small flocks of finches over the Cottage. Mainly Linnets, but also Goldfinches and Chaffinches on the move.
Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church, Penns Weare, Penns Copse, Rufus Castle, The Cuttings Quarry and The Mermaid Track.
Another breezy day, but at least the sun came out late morning. On the migrant front not a lot, there were a couple of Chiffchaffs calling behind the cove and overhead there were up to 10 Swallows.
The juvenile Sparrowhawk was being very noisy and seems to have found the perfect spot to make himself heard, using the bridge over the gorge in the grounds of Pennsylvania castle.
A sea watch revealed 1 Gannet far out to sea.
A few butterflies about, especially Painted Lady's with at least 10 seen if not more. There were a few Large Whites, a couple of Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns, 1 Comma in the grounds of St Andrew's Church and a few Chalk Hill Blues and Common Blues along the Mermaid Track and Cuttings Quarry.
I have sorted out the difference between the Lesser Hornet Hoverfly and Hornet Mimic Hoverfly, with both feeding on the Hemp Agrimony in the church grounds.
And a new fly for me on Portland a Yellow-banded Conops (Conops quadrifasciatus) which I came across at Rufus Castle.
Here are a few images from this morning:
This juvenile Sparrowhawk has found a great place to beg for food. It is on the Pennsylvania Castle bridge crossing a gorge, which in turn is reverberating its high pitch calls.
It's not just the hoverflies, bees and butterflies that like the Hemp Agrimony but also this Common Green Shieldbug.
The view south over Church Ope Cove from Penns Weare. On the horizon the yacht "Karma" heads towards The Bill.
Good to see more of these Bloody-nosed Beetles out and about. When the weather was really hot there were very few seen trundling along the paths.
Birds Recorded: Gannet, Sparrowhawk, Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, 10+ Swallow, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch.
Reptiles Recorded: Wall Lizard
Butterflies Recorded: Large White, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, 10+ Painted Lady, 1 Comma, Common Blue and Chalk Hill Blue
Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) and Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
Wasps Recorded: Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
Flies Recorded: Yellow-banded Conops (Conops quadrifasciatus)
Hoverflies Recorded: Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), Dead Head Fly (Myathropa florea), Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria), Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis), Pellucid Hoverfly (Volucella pellucens), Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax) and Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax)
Bugs and Beetles Recorded: 1 Bloody-nosed Beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa) and a Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)
The Hood
A spot of fishing with my daughter, son-in-law and grandson this afternoon on Star. And we didn't do too bad with Noah my Grandson bringing in 2 Mackerel on his first drop. His Dad, me, Laura and David did okay and Dawn, well she caught two monster Mackerel, which the photo below doesn't do any justice to. A lot of small ones were caught and safely returned to fight another day.
Also noted on our trip was a Painted Lady heading towards Portland having crossed over the bay.
This is the Crude Oil Tanker "Sti Lauren" flying the flag of the Marshall Islands. It is just coming into Weymouth Bay from Le Havre, France. More on this vessel Here.
A few butterflies about, especially Painted Lady's with at least 10 seen if not more. There were a few Large Whites, a couple of Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns, 1 Comma in the grounds of St Andrew's Church and a few Chalk Hill Blues and Common Blues along the Mermaid Track and Cuttings Quarry.
I have sorted out the difference between the Lesser Hornet Hoverfly and Hornet Mimic Hoverfly, with both feeding on the Hemp Agrimony in the church grounds.
And a new fly for me on Portland a Yellow-banded Conops (Conops quadrifasciatus) which I came across at Rufus Castle.
Here are a few images from this morning:
I know now that this is a Lesser Hornet Mimic Hoverfly and this is........
..........its larger relative the Hornet Mimic Hoverfly.
A smart looking hoverfly the Pellucid Hoverfly.
It was a good day for Painted Lady's, they were everywhere.
Not a Gatekeeper (even though it has two spots on each wing) but a Meadow Brown.
A very large Queen Red-tailed Bumblebee lands on the path in front of in Penns Copse.
Now I know why, she has a nest under that leaf.
A Wall Lizard at Rufus Castle, minus a bit of his tail.
And finally a few photos of what I initially thought was a nomad bee.
However it transpires that it is a Conopid Fly.
And is a Conops quadrifasciatus.
A first for me and my 3rd Conopid species on Portland.
Birds Recorded: Gannet, Sparrowhawk, Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, 10+ Swallow, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch.
Reptiles Recorded: Wall Lizard
Butterflies Recorded: Large White, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, 10+ Painted Lady, 1 Comma, Common Blue and Chalk Hill Blue
Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) and Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
Wasps Recorded: Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
Flies Recorded: Yellow-banded Conops (Conops quadrifasciatus)
Hoverflies Recorded: Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), Dead Head Fly (Myathropa florea), Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria), Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis), Pellucid Hoverfly (Volucella pellucens), Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax) and Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax)
Bugs and Beetles Recorded: 1 Bloody-nosed Beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa) and a Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)
The Hood
A spot of fishing with my daughter, son-in-law and grandson this afternoon on Star. And we didn't do too bad with Noah my Grandson bringing in 2 Mackerel on his first drop. His Dad, me, Laura and David did okay and Dawn, well she caught two monster Mackerel, which the photo below doesn't do any justice to. A lot of small ones were caught and safely returned to fight another day.
Also noted on our trip was a Painted Lady heading towards Portland having crossed over the bay.
The top two fish went a good 1lb 8oz each, probably more.
And when we got home Ted brought this empty Marmite jar into the kitchen from the recycling box outside. A second earlier he was actually carrying the jar by the lid. Who doesn't like Marmite then!!
Ships Today
This is the Dutch yacht "Karma" on its way out of Portland Harbour to an unknown destination.
There is quite a swell along the east coast of Portland. More on this vessel Here.
As Sti Lauren came into the bay so the Border Force Patrol Boat headed out into the English Channel.