17 Aug 22

Wakeham

5:20pm and a Hobby was in hot pursuit of a House Martin over the back garden and heading towards Penns Wood. Not sure who got there first!!

Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church, Penn's Weare, Penn's Copse and Bumpers Lane

In what I thought would be cooler conditions, I decided to have a walk through Penns Wood, down to Penn's Copse and then return home via Bumpers Lane. It was cooler, but the humidity was through the roof.

However, it was worth the walk as I came across a potential Vestal Cuckoo Bumblebee (Bombus vestalis) in the grounds of St Andrew's Church. It's not a bumblebee I have ever come across before, so I shall have get it confirmed first. Fingers crossed!!!

Birds Recorded:
1 Fulmar

Herring Gull

Wood Pigeon

Collared Dove

Dunnock

Robin

Wren

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Jackdaw

2 Raven

House Sparrow

Chaffinch

Linnet

Goldfinch

As I was looking south over Church Ope Cove this immature Fulmar flew straight at me and.............

.........then disappeared up the coastline.

Its always nice to see a Robin. This one seems to have set up camp around St Andrew's Church

A pair of Ravens on Rufus Castle

Reptiles Recorded:
Wall Lizard

There were several Wall Lizards about. Most of them were in the grounds of St Andrew's Church

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:
1 Common Darter
2 hawker sp.

In the church grounds were 2 hawkers sps. and this Common Darter.

Butterflies Recorded:
Large White
Small White
Wall Brown
Speckled Wood
Meadow Brown
Red Admiral
Common Blue
Chalk Hill Blue

A Small White on a Buddleia

A Wall Brown which........

........let me get in close.

Meadow Brown

A male Chalk Hill Blue and..........

............a pair. The female Chalk Hill Blue is on the left

Moths Recorded:
Hummingbird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum)
Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana)

A Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana) in the church grounds. The Hummingbird Hawk-moth was visiting the flower pots, as it made its way up Wakeham.

Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum)
Vestal Cuckoo Bumblebee (Bombus vestalis)

My first thought when I saw this bee that it might well be a Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum). But this individual doesn't have a long face. The next candidate would be a Vestal Cuckoo Bumblebee (Bombus vestalis). If confirmed it would be my first ever. It is also known as the Southern Cuckoo Bumblebee. More on this bee Here.

Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)


Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)
Wasp Plumehorn (Volucella inanis)

There were several Dead Head Hoverflies on the Japanese Spindle flowers in Penns Wood.

And there were a few Wasp Plumehorns about as well.

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Bloody-nosed Beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa)

And this is how this beetle gets its name. It isn't blood you can see, but a distasteful blood-red liquid, which it secretes from its mouth when threatened. Little did this flightless beetle know that he wasn't in any danger.

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Common Field Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus)

A Common Field Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus)

Lacewings and Scorpionflies Recorded:
lacewing sp.


Spiders Recorded:
Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus)

A Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus)

Plants:
Carline Thistle (Carlina vulgaris)
apple tree sp.

Carline Thistle and a........

............close-up of the flower-heads. More on this thistle Here.

An "apple" tree and its had.........

a pretty good year, by the looks of it.

General Shots:

The grass in the grounds of St Andrew's Church are pretty parched, but the trees and bushes around it, seem to be doing pretty well, despite weeks without rain.


Ted:

Spot the dog!!

He's loving this walk, though by the time we got to Bumpers Lane he was feeling the humidity too.

Of all the place to find a cat, but there was one in The Cuttings Quarry and didn't Ted know it!!! Fortunately the cat was a bit smarter and was gone well before Ted arrived on the scene.


Ships Today:

This is the German Sailing Vessel "Schalli" on its way from Southampton to Weymouth. More on this vessel Here.

This is the British Sailing Vessel "Trilleen Solo Sailor" on its way from Portland to an unknown destination. More on this vessel Here.