4 Aug 21

Old Quarry Lane and Wakeham Meadow

So far we have been pretty lucky with the weather and today was very warm and sunny. Certainly being stuck out into the English Channel does have its benefits, especially when you look back towards the mainland and see the mass of white clouds all along the coast and further inland.

So what were highlights today. Well I finally managed to photograph a Small Copper, albeit from a distance and by pure luck I found a Thick-headed Conopid Fly. The female Common Darter is still "darting" up and down Old Quarry Lane.

One lowlight though, and that is someone has removed the fence to the south of the meadow. This can only mean one thing and that is too allow access to the field for groundwork to start. So disappointing and just shows you what money grabbing people there are around. I wonder how many unnecessary houses will be built on it.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull

Wood Pigeon

Collared Dove

House Martin

Swallow

Dunnock

1 Common Whitethroat

1 Blackcap

Great Tit

Blue Tit

Magpie

House Sparrow

Goldfinch

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:
Common Darter

A female Common Darter

Butterflies Recorded:
Small Skipper

Large White

Small White

Meadow Brown

Gatekeeper

Red Admiral

Painted Lady

Small Copper

Common Blue

Chalk Hill Blue

A rather worn Small Skipper

Still a few of these Meadow Brown's about, but not as many as the smaller, but similar looking Gatekeeper

It was nice to be able to photograph a Painted Lady. The ones I have seen lately, along the lane and meadow, have all been fly-bys.

And third time lucky, a Small Copper stopped briefly on the brambles for a photo, albeit from a distance.

A faded female Common Blue

And here is the male.

Moths Recorded:
Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)

Red-clover Case-bearer (Coleophora deauratella)

3 Silver Y (Autographa gamma)

Six-Spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae)

Lesser Yellow Underwing (Noctua comes)

Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)

Silver Y (Autographa gamma)

A very worn Six-Spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae)

When I got home this Lesser Yellow Underwing moth was flitting about in the conservatory

Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)

Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)

Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum)

Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)

A worker Red-tailed Bumblebee

Hmm, an interesting looking bee, which was very dark in colour and very small. The closest I can get is a Common Carder. But looks nothing like the other Common Carders along the lane!!

Ichneumon Wasps Recorded:
Ichneumon sp

An Ichneumon sp

Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta)

Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria)

Bumblebee Plumehorn (Volucella plumata/Volucella bombylans)

Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax)

Plain-faced Dronefly (Eristalis arbustorum)

A Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) coming into land on an umbellifer.

Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria) on the Blackberry flowers

Now this should have been fairly easy to ID. I know its a Bumblebee Plumehorn and there are two types Volucella bombylans and V. plumata. And the way you tell them apart is the colour of the tip on their tails. Orange for V. bombylans and white for V. plumata. So which one is this!!!

Hopefully I have got this right. A Plain-faced Dronefly (Eristalis arbustorum)

And here's another one on Ragwort.

And a Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax)

A male Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta)

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Thick-headed Fly (Sicus ferrugineus)

Yellow Bellied Fly (Sciara hemerobioides)

Parasitic Fly (Eriothrix rufomaculata)

A Thick-headed Fly (Sicus ferrugineus)

And another view of it.

4 Yellow Bellied Flies (Sciara hemerobioides) and a lone Parasitic Fly (Eriothrix rufomaculata)

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Common Red Soldier Beetles (Rhagonycha fulva)

Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)

A female Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Great Green Bush Cricket (Tettigonia viridissima)

Roesel's Bush-cricket (Metrioptera roeselii)

Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)

Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)

Slugs and Snails Recorded:

Garden Snail (Cornu aspersa)

Ants Recorded:

Small Black Ant (Lasius niger)

Plants Recorded:
Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum)

The flowerhead of a Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum)

Other Images:

The wire fence is down and only the posts separate Wakeham Paddock and the tree line to the south where Old Quarry Lane runs. Hmm something is about to happen!!

Ted:

When the days are fairly warm like today, I'm sure Ted appreciates a walk with plenty of shade.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

2020

Today's Sightings Here

2019
Today's Sightings Here

2018
Today's Sightings Here.

2017
Today' Sightings Here.