3 Jun 20

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

No highlights today as the rain just got heavier and heavier as I headed off to the cove via Penns wood. At least it eased off by the time I got to the beach. No warblers were heard or seen on the walk. To wet!!

Here are my sightings and a few images:

Penns Wood looking very lush as the heavens opened.

At least Ted has his waterproof jacket on. 

With so much rain there wasn't much to see in Penns Wood or the church grounds. However by the time I got the cove it had eased off a bit. Here are a pair of Dock Bugs mating. Looks like someone has thrown a bucket of water of them. 😀

 Also in the same area at the back of the cove was this Hairy Shieldbug and this........

.............brightly coloured Broad Centurian fly. Unfortunately I was a bit too hasty in photographing it and........

..........the second shot wasn't much better.

Just below the south facing slopes I came across this Muscidae fly. With so many in this family it might take awhile to identify the exact species.

The Dog-roses are now in flower at the cove and a few Swollen-thighed Beetles have taken up residents.

On the south facing slope at the cove was this Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) 

My first of the year.

Also on the slope was this Saint John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) now in flower. It is sometimes...........

.........known as Perforate St John's-wort or Common St John's Wort More on this plant Here.

Unsurprisingly the wet weather saw many Garden Snails out in the damp grass, especially on Penn's Weare.

Also on the Weare was this White-tailed bumblebee. In fact this was the only bee I saw on my walk.

From the cove I made my way up the steps towards Rufus Castle. Near the top I came across this 7-spot Ladybird on a clump of nettles. I hadn't realised it at the time, but when I was editing this image later, I noticed a larvae, of the same species, just behind the nettle on the right.

Not only that but there was also a 7-spot Ladybird pupae close by

Next stop and The Cuttings Quarry. And if you look very carefully you can just make out Ted at the back.

In the quarry I came across another snail, this one I need to check for the species.

And the final leg of my walk was along the Mermaid Track, where there.....

........were several Ivy Broomrape (Orobanche hederae)

And the not so clean Ted, who was absolutely filthy. Thank goodness for the jacket, otherwise I dread to think what he would look like.

Birds Recorded: 1 Cormorant, Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow and Chaffinch

Bees Recorded: 1 White-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum)

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded: Broad Centurian (Chloromyia formosa) and a Muscidae sp

Bugs and Beetles Recorded: 7-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata), Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis), Hairy Shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum) and 4 Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus)

Slugs and Snails Recorded: Garden Snail (Cornu aspersa) and a snail sp.

Ships Today

One of the local fishing boats "Red Rose" makes its way back to Portland Harbour

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

2019
Today's Sightings Here.

2018
Today's Sightings Here.

2017
Today' Sightings Here.