8 Feb 20

Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church and Church Ope Cove Wood

A bright sunny day and quite mild. The lull before the storm, as tomorrow Storm Ciara will be hitting the UK, with wind gusts expected to reach 80mph along the coast. More Here.

At least for the time being it was nice and it was great to find 3 Firecrests in Penns Wood, along with dozens of Chaffinches and Goldfinches.

Also about were 7 Wall Lizards in the grounds of St Andrew's Church soaking up the sun.

On the Hebes and Japonica, along my walk, there were Early BumblebeesHoney BeesMigrant HoverfliesMarmalade Hoverfly and an early Tapered Dronefly.

Along the pathway at the back of the cove a Common Shieldbug was on an Alexanders

Here are a few images from today:

A great comparison, a juvenile Wall Lizard next to 2 Garden Snails

An adult

And a Wall Lizard going through a moult.

A very brown individual.

And one that has lost its tail.

All together there were 7 Wall Lizards in the grounds of  St Andrew's Church

A few Honey Bees were out today, especially on the Hebes.

And I was a bit surprised to see this Tapered Dronefly on the Japonica in Penns Wood. At this time of year you are more likely to see Common Droneflies (Eristalis tenax) than Tapered Droneflies (Eristalis pertinax). The latter normally appear between March and November, peaking in May and August.

A Common Green Shieldbug

Birds Recorded: Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 3 Firecrest, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch

Reptiles Recorded: 7 Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis)

Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) and Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)

Hoverflies Recorded: Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), Migrant Hoverfly (Meliscaeva auricollis) and Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)

Bugs and Beetles Recorded: 1 Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)

Snails and Slugs Recorded: Garden Snail  (Cornu aspersa)

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On this day..........
2019
Today's Sightings Here.

2018
Today's Sightings Here.