Wakeham Wood, Wakeham Railway Cuttings, Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church, Church Ope Cove, Penns Weare, Penns Copse, Rufus Castle, Bumpers Lane, Broadcroft Quarry Lane and Lower Horse Paddock
It was a fine sunny morning when I set off and soon after I got back the rain began to fall. Before I left the Cottage there was an interesting visitor in the porch. Somehow a Toad had managed to squeeze itself under the front door.
Once I had found the Toad a new home in the back garden, I set off again. Not many birds about, but I did manage 2 Firecrests. Here's a breakdown of what I found and where:
Wakeham Wood - 3 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 1 Firecrest
Penns Wood - 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Goldcrest and 1 Firecrest
St Andrew's Church grounds - 3 Chiffchaff
Church Ope Cove - 8 Rock Pipit and 3 Swallows
Rufus Castle - 30 Linnets heading south.
Bumpers Lane - 1 Chiffchaff
Also noted were a dozen or so Red Admirals with 8 on one Ivy in Penns Copse and along Broadcroft Quarry Lane a Common Darter was making its way along the bushes.
Here are a few images from today:
The Common Toad which I transferred from inside the house to the veggie patch in the back garden.
First stop was Wakeham Wood and good to see that there are at least 3 Chiffchaffs still here.
........Ivy Bees.
Also on the Ivy was this Dark Bush-cricket and.....
..........a Garden Spider with a "package" next to her.
In Penns Wood we've had an outbreak of Harlequin Ladybirds where there were at least 20 of the form - succinea
10 of the form - conspicua
And 4 of the form - spectabilis
On the beach at the cove still 8 Rock Pipits searching out the Kelp Flies.
In this Ivy in Penns Weare there are 6 Red Admirals, but can you find them. There were 8 when I arrived
A close up of one of the Red Admirals.
In Bumpers Lane a Chiffchaff.
The local Kestrel keeps its beady eye out for a meal at the back of Wakeham
Mammals Recorded: 2 Grey Squirrel
Birds Recorded: 1 Kestrel, Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, 3 Swallow, Meadow Pipit, 8 Rock Pipit, 3 Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 1 Blackcap, 8 Chiffchaff, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Firecrest, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, 30 Linnet and Goldfinch
Butterflies Recorded: 5 Large White, 2 Speckled Wood and 12 Red Admiral
Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) and Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae)
Wasps Recorded: German Wasp (Vespula germanica) and Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded: Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)
Hoverflies Recorded: Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea), The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus), Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax), Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax), Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) and Syrphus sp.
Flies Recorded: Kelp Fly (Coelopa frigida)
Bugs and Beetles Recorded: 20+ Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis, form - succinea), 11+ Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis, form - conspicua) and 4 Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis, form - spectabilis)
Grasshoppers and Crickets Recorded: Dark Bush-cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera)
Spiders Recorded: Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus)
Ships Today
This is the Maltese Tanker "Skaw Provider" which I photographed coming into Weymouth Bay and then............
