9 Oct 21

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadow, Lower Horse Paddock, Broadcroft Quarry Lane and Broadcroft Butterfly Reserve

It was another beautiful warm sunny day, with 6 different species of butterflies recorded, which isn't bad for October. On the the other hand though, there were fewer Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps about, with just 5 Chiffs and a single Blackcap.

On their way south, 20+ House Martins and 10+ Swallows stopped briefly over the Horse paddock for a quick "bite", before heading down the island.

In one of the smaller horse paddocks alongside the lane there was an impressive flock of Linnets. There is a video further down the page. Feel free to count them!!

Mammals Recorded:
5 Bunnies


Birds Recorded:
Kestrel
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
20+ House Martin
10+ Swallow
Meadow Pipit
Pied Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
2 Stonechat
Blackbird
1 Blackcap
5 Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
Chaffinch
Linnet
3 Siskin
Goldfinch

A juvenile Pied Wagtail, with that pale yellow colouration around its face.

A very songful Robin in the butterfly reserve.

Also in the reserve were a pair of Stonechats. This male is sporting a ring on its right leg.

A short video of the male Stonechat attempting to catch flies, by just opening his beak and hoping one will fly in. In the background is a Robin singing and a flock of Linnets passing by.

A lovely pose by the female Stonechat

There was a huge flock of Starlings in the paddock. I did try and count them, plus look for any juvenile Rosy-coloured Starlings. I failed on both accounts, but there are still a few Rosy's about.

Here are just a few Linnets in quite a large flock

Here's a short video of the Linnets in flight before they landed in the field. Feel free to count them. I might later.

Butterflies Recorded:
Large White
Speckled Wood
1 Small Heath
Red Admiral
1 Comma
1 Small Copper

A Small Heath

A Red Admiral on Ivy

A slightly worn Small Copper

Moths Recorded:
Rusty Dot Pearl (Udea ferrugalis)

This was my first attempt at photographing this Rusty Dot Pearl........

.........and then with a bit of delicate bit of leaf moving I finally managed a better shot, albeit with my thumb alongside it

Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum)

Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)

Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae)

This is a Common Carder Bumblebee. I did wonder at first, as to whether it might have been a Tree Bumblebee, but they have a white tip to the tail, not orange.

There are still lots of Ivy Bees about and as long as there are Ivy flowers and the weather holds, they will be around for a bit longer.


Wasps Recorded:
wasp sp


Ichneumon Wasps Recorded:
Ichneumon stramentor

An Ichneumon stramentor doing a bit of..........

...........grooming.

In fact it was grooming for such a long time I thought it was worth videoing it.

Hoverflies Recorded:
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
Plain-faced Dronefly (Eristalis arbustorum)
The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus)

The Footballer

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:

Cranefly (Tipula paludosa)

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis)
Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)

This is a Harlequin Ladybird and with those 4 red spots it is the form - spectabilis

This pupae was on the Brambles below the Harlequin Ladybird above!! More on Harlequins Here.

I was nearly caught out here, as this insect flew past my head and landed on this leaf...

...It wasn't until it climbed up onto the outer leaf, that I realised it was a Common Green Shieldbug.

This is another Common Green Shieldbug and is at a stage in its development, known as the final instar nymph.

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Dark Bush-cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera)

This a female Dark Bush-cricket minus a leg.

Spiders Recorded:
Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus)

Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)

A Garden Spider tucked up under a nettle leaf

This is a Nursery Web Spider

Ted:

Go Ted go.