11 Nov 21

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadow, Wakeham Railway Cuttings, Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church, Church Ope Cove, Church Ope Cove Wood, Penn's Weare, Penn's Copse, Rufus Castle and the Museum

Well the walk began in very gloomy conditions, but ended in glorious sunshine. Even though the weather was good, unfortunately the bird watching wasn't that brilliant, with the only highlights being 15 Rock Pipits and 2 Pied Wagtails at the cove.

Other than the pipits and wagtails at the cove, it did appear that we had an influx of Blackbirds with 15+ seen along my walk.  

I didn't see or hear any Firecrests, Goldcrests or Chiffchaffs. On that front, it has gone very quiet.

The sunshine however, did see a few invertebrates out and along with a single Red Admiral, 2 species of bumblebee, 4 species of hoverfly and several Common Wasps. A full list below

Mammals Recorded:
3 Grey Squirrel

One of the many Grey Squirrels on Portland

Birds Recorded:
Gannet
Kestrel
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
15 Rock Pipit
2 Pied Wagtail
1 Grey Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
15+ Blackbird
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
2 Raven
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
2 Siskin
Goldfinch

A mean looking adult Herring Gull.

Church Ope Cove with Rufus Castle as a backdrop. Not viewable in this photo but this......

...........Kestrel was looking for a meal to the right of the castle.

Looking along the beach and the washed up seaweed is proving to be very popular with the.......

............Rock Pipits.

Here's one on lookout. I'm not surprised with that Kestrel about.

Here's another in hot pursuit of a Kelp Fly.

A Tree Pipit. Oh okay a Rock Pipit pretending to be a Tree Pipit. Though he will have to change the colour of his legs if he wants to look like one.

This Rock Pipit was busy looking for a snack

It wasn't just flies these Rock Pipits were feeding on, but the larvae of the Kelp Fly

I have slowed the video down so that you can see this Rock Pipit catch and deal with the Kelp Fly larvae it caught.

And here is what all the Rock Pipits and this Pied Wagtail are after. Millions of Kelp Flies.

On Rufus Castle two Ravens. The one on the right is a bit camera shy.

And video shy as well.

And this is what remains of the Long-tailed Tits nest at the cove. Now in the open as all the leaves around it have fallen.

Butterflies Recorded:
1 Red Admiral

Just the one butterfly seen today. A Red Admiral by Rufus Castle.

Bees Recorded:
3 Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
1 Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum)

A Buff-tailed Bumblebee on the Hebe at the back of the cove.

Also on the same flowers was this Common Carder Bumblebee

Wasps Recorded:
Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)


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

Vagrant Hoverfly (Eupeodes corollae)
Hornet Plumehorn (Volucella zonaria)

A Marmalade Hoverfly also on the Hebe

A Common Dronefly.

And another Common Dronefly on Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis). This flower also goes by many other names - Kenilworth Ivy, Coliseum Ivy, Oxford Ivy, Mother of Thousands, Pennywort and Wandering Sailor.

I believe this is a Vagrant Hoverfly (Eupeodes corollae)

And another Vagrant Hoverfly on the same Ivy-leaved Toadflax where one of the Common Droneflies was earlier.

I know the sun was out but in mid-November, a Hornet Plumehorn

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


Plants:

Pyracantha

Blackberry

This is one impressive Pyracantha "tree".

Can you believe there are still Blackberry flowers in bloom.

Fungi Recorded:

Field Mushroom (Agaricus campestris)
Dog Sick Slime Mould (Mucilago crustacea).
Scarlet Waxcap (Hygrocybe coccinea)

Now 6 days ago there were just a few Field Mushrooms.

Today they are springing up all over the lawn in the grounds of Pennsylvania Castle

Well this fungi, which looks like tapioca on skewers, is definitely one I haven't come across before. And with further investigation it turns out it's called Dog Sick Slime Mould (Mucilago crustacea). I reckon my Tapioca Slime Mould sounds a little better. More on this Slime Mould Here.

This Scarlet Waxcap is the last one remaining from the six I came across by Wakeham Meadows a few days ago. By the looks of it, something is having a good nibble at it.

Lichen Recorded:

This lichen is on the dead branches of a Wall Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster horizontalis). As to what species I have no idea.

And this lichen is on the branch of a Sycamore, and another one I need to ID.

General Shots:

Portland Museum in the sunlight this time.

Ted:

Now had Ted been on the other side of the path, I'm sure there would have been more of him.

Ships Today:

This is the Liberian Container Ship "HMM Hanbada" on its way from Yantian (China) to Rotterdam. More on this vessel Here.

This is the Bulk Carrier "Shandong De Tai" flying the flag of the Marshall Islands. It is on its way from Portland Harbour to possibly Seica (Portugal). More on this vessel Here.

This is HMS Hurworth (M39) just off Portland early afternoon. More on this vessel Here and Here.

This is the British Fishing Boat "Molly Jane (WH3)" heading back to Portland/Weymouth.