31 Aug 21

Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church, Penn's Weare, Penn's Copse, Rufus Castle, Bumpers Lane and Lower Horse Paddock

It was a bit sunnier today and if you found some shelter from the cold northerly wind it was quite pleasant.

Main highlight today was a Pipistrelle-type Bat in Penns Wood. I'm not sure why I happened to look up when I did, but as soon as I pulled my head back, it dropped down from one of the Sycamores and flew off up through the wood. The bat that is, not my head😂😂

Also about were 2 Yellow Wagtails heading south and a Chiffchaff in Penns Wood and another along Bumpers Lane.

Mammals Recorded:

6 Bunnies
Pipistrelle-type bat


Birds Recorded:
1 Cormorant
1 Kestrel
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
2 Yellow Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
2 Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch


Reptiles Recorded:
Slow-worm


Butterflies Recorded:
Large White
Small White
Speckled Wood
Gatekeeper
Red Admiral
Common Blue
Chalk Hill Blue

A Small White

And a very worn Red Admiral

Well I thought the Red Admiral was worn, but this female Common Blue is in tatters.

A male Chalk Hill Blue

And here it is again with its wings wide open.

Moths Recorded:

Cocoon Six-Spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae)

moth sp.

This is the empty cocoon of a Six-Spot Burnet moth

This moth was in the conservatory when I got home

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


Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
hoverfly sp.

A humming hoverfly. Sounds almost like a giant mosquito

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Sieve-winged Snail-killer (Coremacera marginata)

Every now and then, I come across something different.

The first time I came across this fly was back in 2018 and it is one of Marsh Flies, a Sieve-winged Snail-killer (Coremacera marginata).

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)

Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)

Spiders Recorded:
spider sp.

A spider carrying its eggs

Slugs and Snails Recorded:

White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

A rather anaemic looking White-lipped Banded Snail

Plants:

Yellow-wort (Blackstonia perfoliata)

Montbretia

Plant sp.

This Yellow-wort is just coming into flower.

Montbretia seeds

A plant I don't think I have come across before.

Here is a close up of the flowers. I'm not sure whether it was this plant or the one next to it, but there was a minty smell coming from the leaves. An update on this plant. It is a Common Calamint (Clinopodium ascendens). More on this plant Here

General Shots:

And way way across Weymouth Bay is the headland of St Aldhelm's Head viewed from from Penn's Weare. The building in the middle, on top of the headland is St Aldhelm's Chapel Here. More on the Chapel Here and Here

A rocky outcrop, but not any old outcrop, but one of the best places I have found on Portland for Ivy Bees (Colletes hederae). This species was first seen in the British Isles in Dorset in 2001, having arrived from continental Europe and is solely dependant on Ivy flowers. It is what I call a "seasonal" bee and can be found between September and the end of October / start of November, depending on the amount of Ivy still in flower. The Ivy flowers are just about to bloom now, so hopefully they will appear any day soon.

Ted:

Yep, Ted waiting for me as usual.

Looks like he's spotted something or just being nosey.

Yes I'm coming

Ships Today

This is the French Ro-Ro Cargo Ship "MN Pelican" on its way from Bilbao (Spain) to Poole. More on this vessel Here.

And another Ro-Ro Cargo Ship, this time the Maltese Ship "Peregrine" on its way from Dublin to Rotterdam. More on this vessel Here.

This is the British sailing vessel "Silhouette" on its way from Torquay to Portland Harbour. More on this vessel Here.

30 Aug 21

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

It was a much cloudier day than of late and with that north-east wind coming across Weymouth Bay it was a lot cooler as well.

Only real highlights were 2 Chiffchaffs along the Mermaid Track and finding 2 Bloody-nosed Beetles on Penn's Weare.

Birds Recorded:
Sparrowhawk
4 Oystercatcher
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Wood Pigeon
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
2 Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Raven
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch

A one legged Herring Gull.

Ahh perhaps not, as one of its offspring comes steaming in

And the second youngster joins in.

Note: This morning 2 Grey Wagtails flew over the cottage heading south.


Butterflies Recorded:
Large White
Small White
Red Admiral
Common Blue
Chalk Hill Blue

A Common Blue

Moths Recorded:
moth sp.

I do know the name of this moth...........

..........I just cant remember it at the moment.

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

A Common Carder Bumblebee

Wasps Recorded:
wasp sp.


Ichneumon Wasps Recorded:
Ichneumon sp

An Ichneumon sp and an ant above it.

Sawflies Recorded:
sawfly sp

A sawfly sp.

Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
hoverfly sp.

Marmalade Hoverfly

Common Dronefly

A hoverfly sp.

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Kelp Fly (Coelopa frigida)
fly sp.

I have absolutely no idea what this fly is.

And a rear shot showing the black, red and white legs.

Whiteflies Recorded:

Brassica Whitefly (Aleyrodes proletella)

This extremely tiny insect is a Brassica Whitefly

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Bloody-nosed Beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa)

This is a Bloody-nosed Beetle 

And here is another one. You can see how it got its name. More on this beetle Here.

Ants Recorded:
Ant sp.

Above the Ichneumon wasp is an ant sp.

Plants:

Rock Samphire (Crithmum maritimum)

Western Rock Sea-lavender (Limonium britannicum ssp. celticum)

Golden Samphire (Inula crithmoides)

Up against this rock is Rock Samphire, Western Rock Sea-lavender and Golden Samphire.

Rock Samphire just starting to flower

I did think this was Chalk Milkwort, but I was way off the mark.......

.......it is in fact Western Rock Sea-lavender

My mystery plant, but it does look familiar. It is in fact Golden Samphire.

General Shots:

Church Ope Cove

At the top of Penn's Weare looking down to the sea below

Rufus Castle and the archway where the path takes you up to the Portland Museum in Wakeham

Ted:

Well this went totally pear shaped.

I thought I had a good position to photograph Ted running from left to right. Instead Ted clocked me and turned and ran straight towards me. He flies through the air.

Ships Today

This is the Bermudian Passenger Ship "Arcadia" on its way out from Weymouth Bay into the English Channel. More on this vessel Here.

This is the Maltese Tanker "Colorado Star" on its way from Montreal (Canada) to Portland. More on this vessel Here.

This is the British Yacht "Temptress" on its way from Brixham to Portland. More on this vessel Here.