Still pretty windy, but in the shelter in Penns Wood down to the cove it was pleasantly warm, that was until you got back up into Wakeham and then that strong westerly hit you again.
A few highlights today with 2 Blackcaps singing along the Mermaid Track and a Lesser Whitethroat in Penns Weare.
Here are a few images and videos from today:
Maybe there is a good reason for that. The grounds are like the Serengeti, where Lions hunt for their prey. Here in the church grounds its not Lions but dragonflies looking for a meal. And I wouldn't be surprised if this Marbled White was on the menu, but has had a few narrow escapes. I know dragonflies will eat any manner of flying insects, but I must admit I have seen them chase more Marbled Whites than anything else.
Well the day started off sunny, but as I type this, so the clouds are building up from the west. Penns Wood has never looked so green and with more rain forecast this evening and overnight, it is going to remain green for quite awhile yet.
Where a few rays of sun are able to get through the canopy, there is always a good chance of finding a Speckled Wood.
From the wood is what down to the grounds of St Andrews Church, where it was very sheltered and very warm.
In the grounds I came across 2 Commas, 3 Large Whites, a Ringlet and a Meadow Brown.
Not a lot of flying by the Commas, perhaps they have just emerged and are still warming up.
Its not often you see Marbled Whites in the church grounds, I don't recall seeing them there before.
On the umbellifers were plenty of invertebrates including this Sawfly. Not sure of the species for this one though
And an Ichneumon Wasp sp. comes into land, next to this..............
.............male Swollen-thighed Beetle.
Still not that many Common Red Soldier Beetles about. I would have thought by now every umbellifer would be covered with them.
I nearly got caught out by this bug.
It looks like a Dock Bug, but the markings and its very small size had me confused. But it is a Dock Bug, and a nymph, not a youngster of this species I have come across before. But now I know.
And another nymph, this time a 4th instar Common Green Shieldbug
From the church grounds it was down the narrow steps and if the sun is out, as it was this morning, there is always...........
................a good chance of spotting a Wall Lizard on the wall, where else!! Looks like this one has been in the wars with its stumpy tail end.
A slight change of route as there were so many people going up and down the steps, it was getting a bit out of hand as to where we supposed to pass, yet maintain the 2 meter distancing rule. So it was easier to go down the track on the south facing slopes and avoid the mayhem behind me.
Down the track I came across this Meadow Brown and a.........
..........colourful fly a Scoliocentra villosa
And Church Cove where on the beach and in amongst the huts I came across........
...........another stumpy Wall Lizard. He's going to have grow a new one quick, otherwise he's in big trouble. Also around the huts I came across two juvenile Slow-worms.
These Californian Poppies (Eschscholzia californica) are really colourful and have been out in flower for a good 4 weeks or more.
When I first came across them the flowers had Swollen-thighed Beetles for company, but 4 weeks on and its..........
.............Great Green Bush Cricket nymphs (Tettigonia viridissima). This one is a male and photo above a female.
From the cove it was up the steps to.........
.............Penns Weare. I love taking this photo of the Biting Stonecrop (Sedum acre) and Rufus Castle as a backdrop.
As I made my way through Penn's Copse I came across this Hornet Mimic Hoverfly. However this individual appeared to be very small and if size is anything to go by, then this is most likely to be a Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis) and not its cousin the Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria)
It is one of the Gasteruption species and........
.............is one of the Carrot Wasps,.........
.................either Gasteruption assectator or Gasteruption minutum
I'm pretty sure this is a Brown-banded Carder Bee, Bombus humilis. And just like the Hornet Mimic Hoverfly from earlier, I only managed the one shot before this disappeared as well.
The Cuttings Quarry and..........
..........my first Small Copper of the year. Also in the old quarry were dozens of Skippers and a few Marbled Whites.
This is obviously the time of year, when the 4th instar nymphs of the Common Green Shieldbug appear. With this one in the quarry as well.
The Mermaid Track and our last leg home.
Along here was this tatty Ringlet and........
............several........
................Skippers.
In the distance is Ted.
Something has got his nose going.
I waited to see what he was going do, but whatever it was Ted lost interest in it and jumped back off the wall.
Birds Recorded: Oystercatcher, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Raven, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch
Reptiles Recorded: Wall Lizard and Slow-worms
Butterflies Recorded: Small Skipper, Lulworth Skipper, Large Skipper, Large White, Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Marbled White, Red Admiral, Comma and Small Copper
Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), Brown-banded Carder Bee (Bombus humilis) and Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
Wasps Recorded: Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
Ichneumon Wasps Recorded: Amblyteles armatorius, Carrot Wasp (Gasteruption assectator or Gasteruption minutum) and an Ichneumon Wasp sp.
Hoverflies Recorded: Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta), Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis), and Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded: Scoliocentra villosa
Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded: Great Green Bush Cricket nymph (Tettigonia viridissima)
Bugs and Beetles Recorded: Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus), Common Green Shieldbug nymph (Palomena prasina), Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis) and Common Red Soldier Beetles (Rhagonycha fulva)
Ships Today
