Old Quarry Lane and Wakeham Meadow, Lower Horse Paddock, Broadcroft Quarry Lane, Bumpers Lane and Mermaid Track
Weekends are nearly always busy with visitors to the island, so today I gave the cove a miss. It did mean I was going to miss out on the Ivy Bees, but they'll be there next week.
The main highlight today was a real odd one, with a Grey Squirrel in the Brambles just north-east of the Lower Horse Paddock. I can surmise that it is a youngster looking for a Winter retreat. Not sure if the Brambles are quite what he's looking for.
Around the Old Quarry Lane were both Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs, whilst in the Lower Horse Paddock today just a single Wheatear.
Along Penn's Weare there was a steady procession of hirundines and a lone Swift.
Here are a few images from today:
Weekends are nearly always busy with visitors to the island, so today I gave the cove a miss. It did mean I was going to miss out on the Ivy Bees, but they'll be there next week.
The main highlight today was a real odd one, with a Grey Squirrel in the Brambles just north-east of the Lower Horse Paddock. I can surmise that it is a youngster looking for a Winter retreat. Not sure if the Brambles are quite what he's looking for.
Around the Old Quarry Lane were both Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs, whilst in the Lower Horse Paddock today just a single Wheatear.
Along Penn's Weare there was a steady procession of hirundines and a lone Swift.
Here are a few images from today:
Most of the morning and early afternoon the clouds kept bubbling up over Wakeham, fortunately the rain stayed away.
It has been suggested that this is a faded male faded Bombus lapidarius (Red-tailed Bumblebee)
And the oddity of the day - A Grey Squirrel which I very nearly overlooked as it sat on a Portland stone
There are no mature trees for a good 200 metres, so I expect this could be a youngster on its travels.
This was not so clever though as he looks over The Cuttings with a sheer drop in front of him.
Mammals Recorded: Grey Squirrel and Bunny
Birds Recorded: Buzzard, Kestrel, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, 1 Swift, Sand Martin, House Martin, Swallow, Grey Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, 1 Wheatear, Blackbird, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet and Goldfinch
Butterflies Recorded: Large White, Small White, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Common Blue and Chalk Hill Blue
Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), White-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) and a possible Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
Hoverflies Recorded: Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax) and Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
Ships Today
This is Cypriot Container Ship "BG Diamond" on its way from Southampton to Dublin. More on this vessel Here.
This is the Container ship "Budapest Bridge, flying the flag of Hong Kong. It is on its way from London to Norfolk (USA). More on this vessel Here.
This is the British Offshore Supply Ship "Ocean Osprey" on Fishery Patrol in Weymouth Bay. More on this vessel Here.
This is the British Destroyer "HMS Dragon" on its way from Portsmouth to an unknown destination. More on this vessel Here.
Aircraft today
This is the North American SNJ-5 Texan flying around Portland this morning. More on this aircraft Here.