31 Jul 21

Old Quarry Lane and Wakeham Meadow

Well I didn't time that very well for my walk. I knew there were showers about, but when I left the cottage it was in bright sunshine. I only managed to get to the meadow before a big black cloud appeared to the west and 20 minutes later it was raining.

However I did have a few highlights, with my first Small Copper of the year, coming across 2 Painted Lady's and watching a Common Darter "darting" up and down Old Quarry Lane. The only disappointment being, I wasn't able to photograph any of them.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
5 House Martin
4 Swallow
Dunnock
Blackbird
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch

Reptiles Recorded:
7 Slow-worm

Under one of the boards along Old Quarry Lane were these 3 Slow-worms plus another 2.

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:
Common Darter

Butterflies Recorded:
Large White
Small White
Meadow Brown
Gatekeeper
2 Painted Lady
Small Copper

Butterflies were hard to find today, even though I did come across my first Small Copper of the year, plus 2 Painted Lady's. Here is a Gatekeeper, hunkered down in the grass as the rain began to fall.


Moths Recorded:
Garden Grass-veneers (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
Straw-barred Pearl (Pyrausta despicata)

There were several Garden Grass-veneers in the meadow plus this...........

................Straw-barred Pearl (Pyrausta despicata)

Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum)
Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum)

A worker Red-tailed Bumblebee

This is only the second Tree Bumblebee I have seen this year.

Hoverflies Recorded:

Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

Thick-legged hoverfly (Syritta pipiens)

Spotted Meliscaeva (Meliscaeva auricollis)

Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta)

Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

Thick-legged hoverfly (Syritta pipiens)

I'm not 100% certain but I think this is..........

............a Spotted Meliscaeva (Meliscaeva auricollis)

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Flies sp.

Fly sp.

Fly sps.

Fly sps.

Fly sp.

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Common Red Soldier Beetles (Rhagonycha fulva)
Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)

A female Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)

Ted:

I don't think Ted was too impressed by the rain and was waiting..........

......for me patiently to take him home

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

2020
Today's Sightings Here

2019
Today's Sightings Here

2018
Today's Sightings Here.

2017
Today' Sightings Here.

30 Jul 21

Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church, Church Ope Cove, Penn's Weare, Penn's Copse, Rufus Castle and the Museum

Well Storm Evert (pronounced Avert) hit our shores in the early hours of this morning with gusts in excess of 40mph. Fortunately it was dry when Ted and I had our walk, and with the wind coming from the South-west there was a fair bit of shelter along the eastern side of Portland

Despite the gale force winds it was still pretty mild and I was amazed to find 9 butterfly species and 7 species of hoverfly, one of which is a new species for me on Portland.

In Penns Wood there was a Blackcap calling.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Blackbird
1 Blackcap
Carrion Crow
Raven
House Sparrow
Goldfinch

Just a few of the Herring Gulls a hundred metres or so off the beach.

Butterflies Recorded:
Small Skipper

Lulworth Skipper
Large White

Small White
Meadow Brown
Gatekeeper
Red Admiral
Common Blue
Chalk Hill Blue

I wasn't quite sure if this was a Lulworth Skipper or not.

And then I saw the "crescent" just inside its folded wings to confirm it.

A Small White

Red Admiral

A Common Blue, which...........

........decided to show off its other side.

Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)

Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum)

Chocolate Mining Bee (Andrena scotica) 

I wasn't sure at first, that this might be a male White-tailed Bumblebee, but.........

.........further research has revealed that this is in fact a male Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)

Chocolate Mining Bee (Andrena scotica) 

Wasps Recorded:
2 wasps sp.

Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta)
Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)
Mimic Bee Hoverfly (Volucella plumata)
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
Superb Ant-hill Hoverfly (Xanthogramma pedissequum)

Gold-spotted Meligramma (Meligramma euchromum)

A Common Dronefly and...............

........another.

This is a Dead Head Hoverfly

And a new hoverfly for my Portland list. This is a........

....................Gold-spotted Meligramma (Meligramma euchromum)

Superb Ant-hill Hoverfly (Xanthogramma pedissequum)

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Flies sp.


Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Common Green Shieldbug nymphs (Palomena prasina)
Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)

A Common Green Shieldbug 3rd instar nymph

And another. Both on Mint leaves behind the beach huts.

I'm not sure if this is a natural colour change as these Swollen-thighed Beetle get older, but like this female here and.......

............this male, but they appear to be more golden in colour.

Here's another male Swollen-thighed Beetle, which seems to be going through a similar transition from green to gold.

Slugs and Snails Recorded:
White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
Garden Snail (Cornu aspersa)


Froghoppers Recorded:
Common Froghopper (Philaenus spumarius)

Well looking at this chart Here, I'm guessing this is one of many variants of the Common Froghopper.

Plants:

Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa). Also known as Sloe

Montbretia (Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora)

Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica)

Japanese Spindle Tree (Euonymus japonicus) 

The Blackthorn or Sloe as it's often called, is now bearing fruit

Montbretia (Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora). More on this flower Here.

This is Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica)

Japanese Spindle Tree (Euonymus japonicus) just starting to come out in flower in Penns Wood

Scenic Shots:

Penn's Weare looking south

The sea at Church Ope Cove.

Ted:

Watch out Ted, there's another Ted right on your heels.

It's been awhile since Ted has done one of his buzzes. But then the weather has been pretty hot up until now.

Ships Today:

This is the Bermudan Passenger Ship "Ventura" on its way from Southampton to Weymouth Bay. More on this vessel Here.

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

2020
Today's Sightings Here

2019
Today's Sightings Here

2018
Today's Sightings Here.

2017
Today' Sightings Here.

29 Jul 21

Sweethill Farm, Top Fields, Wallsend Cove and Southwell Business Park

It was another breezy day today and going by the forecast for tomorrow morning, it is going to get a lot worse with an amber warning which reads: "Storm Evert will bring a swathe of very strong winds with coastal gales and severe gales along the South coast during the early hours of Friday". Time to batten down the hatches.

Highlights today were 100's of Swallows covering the Top Fields and a lone Wheatear in one of the horse paddocks at Sweethill Farm. 

Despite the wind there were good numbers of butterflies which included 4 Painted Lady's and a good 10 or so Wall Browns.

Birds Recorded:
1 Gannet
1 Kestrel
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Wood Pigeon
100+ Swallow
2 Pied Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
1 Wheatear
Blackbird
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Raven
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch

A female/juvenile Wheatear in the horse paddocks

Here is a short video of it feeding in one of the horse paddocks.

It was quite noticeable that all the Jackdaws and Carrion Crows in this field were sticking close to Barley Field on the left, for protection from the strong wind blowing across the fields.

This Raven didn't seem to bothered by the strength of the wind.

It's not often you get an opportunity to photograph birds close up. This Goldfinch landed conveniently on the bush right next to me.

There I was sorting my backpack out and Ted was really pulling on the lead. When I turned round to see why, there in the field next to us was this chicken. Thank goodness Ted was on his lead.

Butterflies Recorded:
Small Skipper
Large Skipper
Large White
10+ Wall Brown
Meadow Brown
50+ Gatekeeper
15+ Marbled White
1 Red Admiral
4 Painted Lady
Common Blue
Chalk Hill Blue

A Large Skipper

There were a good few Wall Brown's out today.

And another basking in the sun.

There are still good numbers of Gatekeepers about.

This one is looking a bit worn, whereas...........

..........this one has just emerged and is pumping its wings up with blood.

I was just thinking that I hadn't seen too many Marbled Whites about, when as I turned right on my last leg of my walk, there was a meadow full of them.

Every time I went to take a photograph of this Red Admiral, it took off as I approached it. So how did I photograph it in the end. Well I just stood still and it landed at my feet. I couldn't believe my luck!!

There I was photographing this male Common Blue, when I suddenly realised it.........

........was paired up with a female below it.

Along with the Common Blues were a few Chalk Hill Blues.

Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)


Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta)
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Eristalis sp

A Common Dronefly

Just as a precaution I always take a record shot of most things I photograph, just in case they fly off before I get a chance to move in closer to them. Well I'm glad I did, as on my next step forward I plonked my boot right on top of one of the trailing stems of this bramble and this Eristalis sp. was gone.

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Flies sp.


Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
10-spot Ladybird (Adalia decempunctata)
Common Red Soldier Beetles (Rhagonycha fulva)
Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)

Well this could be very confusing, but taking it stage by stage, the first thing is, this is a Ladybird, which is still waiting to "colour" up. Even though thee appears to be only 7 spots, I'm pretty sure this is a 10-spot Ladybird (Adalia decempunctata). The remaining spots could appear later as it colours up or as in the case of  this particular species it could have fewer.


Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Grasshoppers sp.


Slugs and Snails Recorded:
White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
Garden Snail (Cornu aspersa)

A Garden Snail

Caterpillars Recorded:
Cinnabar moth

I have yet to see a Cinnabar Moth on Portland, yet there are plenty......

............of caterpillars about.

Scenic Shot

On top of the hill is the Round House, formerly known as Blacknor Fort. More on the fort Here.

Ted:

I had hoped to have managed at least 4 individual shots of Ted and then placed them on one photo. However safety first as there was a 150 foot drop behind me, so I couldn't get back any further.

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

2020
Today's Sightings Here

2019
Today's Sightings Here

2018
Today's Sightings Here.

2017
Today' Sightings Here.