I must have missed something when they gave out the weather forecast for today. It was for rain to move away during the morning and for cloud cover for the rest of the day. Instead we got wall to wall blue sky and steam coming off the wet roads and pavements as the heat of sun shone down on us.
What it meant though, was that there were lots of butterflies on the wing, with numbers I haven't seen so far this Summer. And in amongst them was a pristine Painted Lady. No sign of any Large Tortoiseshells yet!!
And I have another new moth for my Portland Moth List. This time a Plum Fruit Moth (Grapholita funebrana), with two found at Church Ope Cove.
Birds Recorded:
Sparrowhawk, Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Linnet and Goldfinch
Reptiles Recorded:
Wall Lizard
Butterflies Recorded:
Lulworth Skipper, Large Skipper, Large White, Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Marbled White, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Comma and Common Blue
Moths Recorded:
Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) and Marsham's Nomad Bee (Nomada marshamella)
Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta), Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris), Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria), Pellucid Hoverfly (Volucella pellucens) and a hoverfly sp.
Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Broad Centurian (Chloromyia formosa)
Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)
Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Dark Bush-cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera), Roesel's Bush-cricket (Metrioptera roeselii) and a Common Green Grasshopper (Omocestus viridulus)
Slugs and Snails Recorded:
White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
Plants:
Ted:
Local Photos:
Ships Today:
This is the cargo ship "Moseltal" flying the flag of Antigua Barbuda. It is on its way from Ridham Lock to Leixoes (Portugal). More on this vessel Here.
This is the Panamanian Vehicles Carrier "Schelde Highway" on its way from Zeebrugge to Dublin. More on this vessel Here.
This is the Container Ship "Bilbao Bridge" flying the flag of Hong Kong. It is on its way from Halifax (Canada) to Rotterdam (Holland). More on this vessel Here.
This is the Bulk Carrier "Tanais Flyer" flying the flag of Belize. It is on its way from Tyne to Portland Harbour. More on this vessel Here.
This is the British Yacht "Aragorn Elessar" on its way from Weymouth to an unknown destination. More on this vessel Here.
Birds Recorded:
Sparrowhawk, Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Linnet and Goldfinch
Reptiles Recorded:
Wall Lizard
Wall Lizard
Wall Lizard
Lulworth Skipper, Large Skipper, Large White, Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Marbled White, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Comma and Common Blue
There were a lot of butterflies today. This is a Lulworth Skipper.
And the slightly bigger Large Skipper.
Here's another Large Skipper
This is a very pale looking female Large White
A very worn Speckled Wood
This Speckled Wood is in slightly better condition.
Meadow Brown
And a pristine Painted Lady......
......And another shot of it.
There were a few Commas about today
This one was on the Buddleia in the church grounds
Moth 1 - Privet Tortrix (Clepsis consimilana)
Moth 2 - Sulphur Pearl (Sitochroa palealis)
Moth 3 & 4 - Plum Fruit Moths (Grapholita funebrana)
Moth 1 - A Privet Tortrix (Clepsis consimilana)
Moth 2 - A Sulphur Pearl (Sitochroa palealis)
Moth 3 - Plum Fruit Moth (Grapholita funebrana)
Moth 4 - And another Plum Fruit Moth (Grapholita funebrana)
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) and Marsham's Nomad Bee (Nomada marshamella)
I'm not 100% sure but I think this is a male Common Carder.
A worker Buff-tailed Bumblebee
This very large bee is a queen White-tailed Bumblebee
This very small cuckoo bee is a Marsham's Nomad Bee (Nomada marshamella)..........
........Not an easy bee to photograph, but Im pretty pleased with these two photos.
Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta), Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris), Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria), Pellucid Hoverfly (Volucella pellucens) and a hoverfly sp.
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris)
Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria)
Not that easy to photograph hoverflies in flight.
I don't think I did too bad with this Pellucid Hoverfly (Volucella pellucens)
hoverfly sp.
Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Broad Centurian (Chloromyia formosa)
Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)
Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Dark Bush-cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera), Roesel's Bush-cricket (Metrioptera roeselii) and a Common Green Grasshopper (Omocestus viridulus)
Dark Bush-cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera)
Dark Bush-cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera)
A Roesel's Bush-cricket (Metrioptera roeselii)
A Common Green Grasshopper (Omocestus viridulus)
Slugs and Snails Recorded:
White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) with Rufus Castle as a backdrop
Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris)
And a close-up of the Common Ragwort flowers
A new plant for me..........
..........here are its leaves and......
.........this is its flower head. And I haven't a clue as to what it is. I think I'm going to have to wait until it's in full flower.
A few Blackberries are starting to appear.
I think he wants me to hurry up
It looks like I might have to get a bigger bottle of water.
The Archway at Rufus Castle
Church Ope Cove with a lot of seaweed washed up on the beach.
Sea view from behind the cove beach huts.
Ships Today:
This is the French Ro-Ro Cargo Ship "MN Pelican" on its way from Poole to Bilbao (Spain). More on this Vessel Here.
This is the Yacht "Constance" flying the flag of the Cayman Islands. Here it is crossing The Races before..........
...........making its way into Weymouth from Dartmouth to Weymouth. More on this vessel Here.
