Well the weather started off bright and sunny, but slowly but surely the clouds out in the Channel moved in to leave a cloudy and gloomy afternoon.
Main highlights before the sun disappeared, were the Firecrest and Siskin still in Penns Wood and a Chiffchaff at the back of the cove.
On the beach were several visitors with dogs running loose, and all I could find was a lone Rock Pipit and the "resident" male Pied Wagtail.
Overhead there were 4 Ravens all heading south.
Still no butterflies, but lots more Honey Bees, Buff-tailed Bumblebees, hoverflies and flies seen today.
Having seen a Bloody-nosed Beetle yesterday on the steps up to Rufus Castle, today as predicted, I came across one on Penn's Weare. A second was on the wall overlooking the Weare's at Rufus Castle. A first for the year was a 7-Spot ladybird in the grounds of St Andrew's Church.
Birds Recorded:
Cormorant
Kestrel
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
1 Rock Pipit
1 Pied Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
1 Chiffchaff
1 Firecrest
Long-tailed Tit
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
4 Raven
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
1 Siskin
Goldfinch
A pair of Herring Gulls on one of the ledges under Rufus Castle. A potential nesting site maybe.
An adult Great Black-backed Gull
The silhouette of a Carrion Crow
And one of the four Ravens flying south across the cove.
A Goldfinch in Penns Wood.
Reptiles Recorded:
Wall Lizard
Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
A Honey Bee (bottom) has a Common Dronefly for company on this Alexanders
And a Buff-tailed Bumblebee in amongst the Russian Comfrey
Hoverflies Recorded:
Hairy-eyed Syrphus (Syrphus torvus)
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
A Hairy-eyed Syrphus hoverfly
A Common Dronefly also on an Alexanders
And another one on a Dandelion flower for a change
A Chequered Hoverfly and...............
...........another one. Thank you to my good friend Ed Wilson for the ID.
Kelp Fly (Coelopa frigida)
Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)
Muscid Flies sp.
flies sp.
Just below the Hairy-eyed Syrphus hoverfly is a female Yellow Dung Fly and a small fly sp.
In the centre of these flies is a muscid sp. fly
Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
1 7-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata)
2 Bloody-nosed Beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa)
My first 7-Spot Ladybird of the year
And as predicted a Blood-nosed Beetle on Penn's Weare.
Plants:
Primrose (Primula vulgaris)
Primroses
General Shots:
My "back garden". The woods at the back of Church Ope Cove
Ted:
Ted posing again.
Deja vu , if you saw yesterday's post
Ships Today:
This is the South Korean Vehicles Carrier "Glovis Comet" on its way from Vigo (Spain) to Zeebrugge (Belgium). More on this vessel Here.
This is the British Oil Products Tanker "Whitchallenger" on its way from Liverpool to Southampton. More on this vessel Here.
This is the Danish Container Ship "Cap San Lorenzo" on its way from Antwerp (Belgium) to Santos (Brazil). More on this vessel Here.
This is the British PO9 Fishing Boat "Freya May" just south of the cove.