10 May 20

Wakeham Wood, Easton Railway Cuttings, Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church Grounds, Church Ope Cove, Penn's Weare, Penn's Copse, Rufus Castle and Mermaid Track

Another warm sunny start to the day, which eventually gave way to a cloudy, but still warm afternoon, with the temperature in the shade reaching 19.5 °C. However things were about to change and by 3:00pm the northerly wind started to pick up and the temperature dropped.

The amount of warblers singing has fallen with just the following species at these locations:

Penns Wood: 1 Blackcap

Church Ope Cove: 1 Blackcap and 1 male Lesser Whitethroat (No sign of the female from 8 May)

Penn's Weare: 1 Common Whitethroat

Butterflies seen today were Large Whites, Orange-tips, a Peacock, 2 Red Admirals and a Common Blue.

A couple of new species for my Portland invertebrates list . The first was an Ichneumon Wasp Syrphophilus tricinctorius. And the second a possible Meadow Cranesbill Weevil (Zacladus geranii)

Here are a few images and an audio video of the male Lesser Whitethroat from today:

There was no sign of the female Lesser Whitethroat on the slopes at Church Ope Cove today. The male though was..........

.........in good voice, but now sings within the brambles and not out in the open. In fact I only saw it once, when he stuck his head up, very briefly.

You are never to far away from a Wall Lizard when you walk around the cove.

As I walked down the path towards Penns Wood I came across this tiny Ichneumon Wasp. Fortunately there was just enough detail to confirm that is this the species Syrphophilus tricinctorius.

It was just as well I managed one shot, as the next shot, was of it taking off.

A Dead Head Hoverfly

The nymph of a Dark Bush-cricket on a Hawkweed flower.

In fact the flowers also attracted a few Swollen-thighed Beetles and this.......

...........weevil.

There are many British weevil species, so unless it is really obvious, it would be hard to identify them all. The closest I can get to for this one is a Meadow Cranesbill Weevil (Zacladus geranii), but there are other similar looking weevils.

A Nursery Web Spider and.........

...........another. Both at the back of the cove.

Wherever there is Ivy running across the ground, there is always a good chance to find this parasitic plant called an Ivy Broomrape, Orobanche hederae.

Ted can be a bit to inquisitive at times. Here he is watching and listening to a Red-tailed Bumblebee. The command "Leave it" seems to work.

Birds Recorded: 2 Oystercatcher, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 1 Common Whitethroat, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Goldfinch

Reptiles Recorded:
Wall Lizard

Butterflies Recorded:
Large White
Orange-tip
2 Red Admiral
1 Peacock
1 Common Blue

Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
Nomad sp.

Ichneumon Wasps Recorded:
Syrphophilus tricinctorius

Hoverflies Recorded:
Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)
Epistrophe eligans
Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
Syrphus sp.

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Dark Bush-cricket nymphs (Pholidoptera griseoaptera)

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)
Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)
Possible Meadow Cranesbill Weevil (Zacladus geranii)

Spiders Recorded:
2 Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)

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Wakeham

And I nearly forgot to add this, but just after midnight there was a Tawny Owl calling from behind the cottage. Species 47 for my Lockdown Garden Bird List.

My Garden Lockdown List Here

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On this day..........

2019
Today's Sightings Here.

2018
Today's Sightings Here.