Yet again it was another day where rain was forecast but never materialised. So with the weather remaining dry it was off to the west side of Portland to see what was about.
Highlights were a Redwing and Chiffchaff in Barleycrates Lane, followed by a couple of Stonechats alongside the ploughed fields.
There were more Chiffchaffs along the West Cliffs and then the main highlights were a male Pied Flycatcher, a female Common Redstart, a male and 2 female Black Redstarts, a lone Willow Warbler and a couple more Chiffchaffs, all alongside a field and a small Copse by Reap Lane.
At Avalanche Bump there was male Blackcap and 4 Chiffchaffs, plus 5 Grey Squirrels.
And finally at the copse at Thumb Lane there was a pair of Blackcaps and 3 more Chiffchaffs.
Other things of note was my first Orange-tip butterfly of the year and a Speckled Wood. My list of butterflies this year has reached 9 so far, with Orange-tip, Large White, Small White, Speckled Wood, Red Admiral, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma and Holly Blue.
There were quite a few Honey Bees about and Buff-tailed Bumblebees, plus a Common Wasp and an
Mammals Recorded:
5 Grey SquirrelBirds Recorded:
Fulmar
Buzzard
Kestrel
Pheasant
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Wood Pigeon
Skylark
Meadow Pipit
Dunnock
Robin
Stonechat
1 Common Redstart
3 Black Redstart
Blackbird
1 Redwing
3 Blackcap
10+ Chiffchaff
1 Willow Warbler
1 Pied Flycatcher
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Butterflies Recorded:
1 Orange-tip
1 Speckled Wood
Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Wasps Recorded:
Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
Ichneumon Wasps Recorded:
Ichneumon sp.
Hoverflies Recorded:
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Muscid Fly sp.
Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Two 7-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata)
1 Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)
Plants:
General Shots:
Reap Lane, and the field and copse, where there was the male Pied Flycatcher, a female Common Redstart, a male and 2 female Black Redstarts, a lone Willow Warbler and a couple of Chiffchaffs.
Ted:
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Wood Pigeon
Skylark
Meadow Pipit
Dunnock
Robin
Stonechat
1 Common Redstart
3 Black Redstart
Blackbird
1 Redwing
3 Blackcap
10+ Chiffchaff
1 Willow Warbler
1 Pied Flycatcher
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
A male Kestrel comes into..........
...........land on the West Cliffs
One of the many Pheasants on Portland.
Here is its mate.
And there's no getting away from the Robins, they are everywhere.
A few record shots of a male Black Redstart.....
.........a female Black Redstart...........
............and another female Black Redstart.
A bit of a surprise was this Redwing along Barleycrates Lane.
A male Blackcap at Thumb Lane and.......
.............a female here as well.
One on many Chiffchaffs I saw today
A record shot of the Pied Flycatcher
And an equally poor video of it as well.
1 Orange-tip
1 Speckled Wood
My second Speckled Wood of the year
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
A busy Honey Bee on an Alexanders
Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
Ichneumon Wasps Recorded:
Ichneumon sp.
It looks familiar but I cant put a name to it. For the moment at least it is a Ichneumon sp.
Hoverflies Recorded:
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Muscid Fly sp.
Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Two 7-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata)
1 Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)
I came across two 7-Spot Ladybirds today
And a Common Green Shieldbug
Plants:
Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna)
A carpet of Lesser Celandine
And a close-up of them.
Ted:
If Ted isn't running past me, he's..........
............disappearing up the track without me.