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
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
Large White
Small White
Meadow Brown
Gatekeeper
Red Admiral
Common Blue
Chalk Hill Blue
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)
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum)
Chocolate Mining Bee (Andrena scotica)
Wasps Recorded:
2 wasps sp.
Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Flies sp.
Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Common Green Shieldbug nymphs (Palomena prasina)
Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)
I'm not sure if this is a natural colour change as these Swollen-thighed Beetle get older, but like this female here and.......
Here's another male Swollen-thighed Beetle, which seems to be going through a similar transition from green to gold.
Plants:
Scenic Shots:
Ted:
Ships Today:
This is the Bermudan Passenger Ship "Ventura" on its way from Southampton to Weymouth Bay. More on this vessel Here.
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)
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)
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 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.
............this male, but they appear to be more golden in colour.
Slugs and Snails Recorded:
White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
Garden Snail (Cornu aspersa)
Froghoppers Recorded:
Common Froghopper (Philaenus spumarius)
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.
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:
