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.