Another very warm sunny day, which saw me and Ted take a lunchtime walk around the butterfly reserve.
Main highlights were 10 Swifts screaming overhead, a fly-by Grey Wagtail heading north and a Willow Warbler calling on the reserve
There were quite a few species of butterflies seen and yet again there were amazing numbers of Gatekeepers. It has been a good Summer for them.
Here are a few images and a video from today:
Swifts are notoriously difficult to track and get in focus. This was my best effort today.
A Common Blue
Large Skipper
A Six-Spot Burnet Moth about to take off.
This is a very worn Downland Conch (Aethes tesserana) and one I have seen before in this area.
An Ichneumon wasp sp.
Ted on the look out for something to chase.
He's a funny dog. I couldn't upload all of the video, as Blogger only allows up to 100MB video files. So sadly here is a much shortened clip of Ted walking back and forwards over his drink and then scooping some of it out with his paw, before drinking it.
Mammals Recorded: 1 Bunny
Birds Recorded: Buzzard, Kestrel, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, 10 Swift, 1 Grey Wagtail, Dunnock, Willow Warbler, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, 3 Raven, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet and Goldfinch
Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded: Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta)
Butterflies Recorded: Small Skipper, Lulworth Skipper, Large Skipper, Large White, Small White, Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Marbled White, Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma, Small Blue, Common Blue and Chalk Hill Blue
Moths Recorded: Six-Spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae) and a Downland Conch (Aethes tesserana)
Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) and White-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum)
Ichneumon Wasps Recorded: Ichneumon sp.
Hoverflies Recorded: Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Bugs and Beetles Recorded: Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis) and Common Red Soldier Beetles (Rhagonycha fulva)
Birds Recorded: Buzzard, Kestrel, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, 10 Swift, 1 Grey Wagtail, Dunnock, Willow Warbler, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, 3 Raven, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet and Goldfinch
Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded: Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta)
Butterflies Recorded: Small Skipper, Lulworth Skipper, Large Skipper, Large White, Small White, Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Marbled White, Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma, Small Blue, Common Blue and Chalk Hill Blue
Moths Recorded: Six-Spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae) and a Downland Conch (Aethes tesserana)
Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) and White-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum)
Ichneumon Wasps Recorded: Ichneumon sp.
Hoverflies Recorded: Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Bugs and Beetles Recorded: Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis) and Common Red Soldier Beetles (Rhagonycha fulva)
Wakeham
Late afternoon and a Willow Warbler flew into my neighbours tree.
Ships Today
Aircraft Today
Initially this aircraft was XE704 on 112 Squadron in the mid 1950's and then became an instructional airframe in Halton, Bucks, in 1963, as 7788M. It was later sold back to Hawkers who converted for the Chilean Air Force as a T.72 in 1972, before it eventually retired in April 1995 and placed in the National Aerospace Museum in Chile.
Its service didn't end there though, as it was sold to Brazil in 2001, who used it as a flight test chase plane, with the civilian ID of PP-XHH.
In September 2018 it was seen at RAF Scampton where it was given a big makeover and carried out air tests in June this year. So today I'm presuming it is still undergoing tests when it flew over Portland. More on this aircraft Here and a few images Here.