Another dry sunny start to the day and having avoided Church Ope Cove for a few weeks it was time to have a look and see what I had been missing.
The most noticeable difference was how green everything was, especially the number of nettles. I don't think I've ever seen so many. As for the invertebrates, there is definitely a reduction in numbers. This cold wet May has delayed the emergence/appearance of many insects.
Highlight today was coming across a hundred or so 1st instar caterpillars of the Lackey Moth which due to their location I incorrectly presumed were the caterpillars of the Large Tortoiseshell. Another caterpillar I came across was a 6-Spot Burnet moth.
And another first for the year was a Blue-tailed Damselfly in one of the gardens at the bottom of Wakeham, just before Penns Wood.
Just two warblers today a Blackcap in Penns Wood and a Lesser Whitethroat in Penn's Weare.
Here are a few images and a video from today:
A very lush green Pennsylvania Castle Wood
With the sun out it was lizard time, with dozens of Wall Lizards basking in the sun.
I even managed to get up close and personal to one.
With the slightly milder weather there are a few more Common Blues beginning to appear.
A nomad bee.
And a rubbish photo of it again showing its abdomen. Just got to work out which species it is now.
Another nomad bee, which was slightly smaller than the one above, if that's anything to go by.
At first I thought I was looking at a large spiders "web", but the clue was to the left of it......
.............a hundred or Lackey Moth caterpillars.
1st instar Lackey Moth caterpillars on the Isle of Portland
And the caterpillar of a Six-spot Burnet moth.
A year or so back I wouldn't have had a clue as to what this is. It's the larvae stage of a Bloody-nosed Beetle.
I appreciate it's a fly, but.....
And a female Copper Sun-jumper.
A spider which is quite widespread.
Birds Recorded: Herring Gull, 2 Swallow, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Blackcap, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, 1 Raven, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch
Reptiles Recorded: Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis)
Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded: Blue-tailed Damselfly
Butterflies Recorded: Large White, Small White, Speckled Wood and Common Blue
Moths Recorded: 1 Carnation Tortrix (Cacoecimorpha pronubana) and Green-longhorn Moths (Adela reaumurella)
Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), Orange-tip Mining Bee (Andrena haemorrhoa), Chocolate Mining Bee (Andrena scotica), Yellow-legged Mining Bees (Andrena flavipe) and nomad bees sp.
Hoverflies Recorded: Spring Epistrophe (Epistrophe eligans)
Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded: Celery fly (Euleia heraclei) and Greenbottle sp.
Bugs and Beetles Recorded: Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina) and a Bloody-nosed Beetle larvae (Timarcha tenebricosa)
Spiders Recorded: Copper Sun-jumper (Heliophanus cupreus)
Caterpillars Recorded: Lackey Moth and 6-Spot Burnet
Reptiles Recorded: Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis)
Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded: Blue-tailed Damselfly
Butterflies Recorded: Large White, Small White, Speckled Wood and Common Blue
Moths Recorded: 1 Carnation Tortrix (Cacoecimorpha pronubana) and Green-longhorn Moths (Adela reaumurella)
Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), Orange-tip Mining Bee (Andrena haemorrhoa), Chocolate Mining Bee (Andrena scotica), Yellow-legged Mining Bees (Andrena flavipe) and nomad bees sp.
Hoverflies Recorded: Spring Epistrophe (Epistrophe eligans)
Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded: Celery fly (Euleia heraclei) and Greenbottle sp.
Bugs and Beetles Recorded: Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina) and a Bloody-nosed Beetle larvae (Timarcha tenebricosa)
Spiders Recorded: Copper Sun-jumper (Heliophanus cupreus)
Caterpillars Recorded: Lackey Moth and 6-Spot Burnet
Ships Today
This is the Panamanian Container Ship "HMM Copenhagen" on its way from Singapore to Rotterdam. More on this vessel Here.
This is the British Fishing Boat "Boy Lynham" fishing just off Portland's east coast. More on this vessel Here.