30 Aug 22

Sweethill Farm and Top Fields

A change of scenery today with a trip to Sweethill Farm and the surroundings tracks, fields and bushes.

Main highlights were 20+ Sand Martin, 30+ House Martin, 100+ Swallow, 5 Pied Wagtail, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 17 Wheatear, 1 Common Whitethroat and 3 Chiffchaff/Willow Warbler

With the exceptionally warm weather I wasn't too surprised to find some early emerged Ivy Bees of the Autumn.

In past years I have seen them first on:

19 Sep 17

15 Sep 18

10 Sep 19

2 Sep 20

2 Sep 21

Birds Recorded:
1 Sparrowhawk
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
20+ Sand Martin
30+ House Martin
100+ Swallow
5 Pied Wagtail
2 Yellow Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
17 Wheatear
Blackbird
1 Common Whitethroat
3 Chiffchaff/Willow Warbler
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch

A distant shot of one of the 17 Wheatear I came across.

And another one.

Plus this one, which literally flew up onto the wall next to me!!

Butterflies Recorded:
Large White
Small White
Speckled Wood

Small Heath
Meadow Brown

Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum)
Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae)

And my first Ivy Bee for this Autumn. This species was first seen in the British Isles in Dorset in 2001, having arrived from continental Europe and is solely dependant on Ivy flowers. It is what I call a "seasonal" bee and is "normally found between September and the end of October / start of November, depending on the amount of Ivy still in flower.

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

A Common Wasp and 2 Small Black Ants (Lasius niger)

Hoverflies Recorded:
Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)


Ants Recorded:
Small Black Ant (Lasius niger)


Plants:

Ivy (Hedera helix)
Common Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris).

This Ivy was the only one I found in flower along my walk and it was covered in hoverflies, flies and bees including a few Ivy Bees.

Common Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris). Also known as Yellow Toadflax and Butter-and-eggs

Ted:

Despite the brisk North-easterly it was pretty warm, as Ted found out. At least there was plenty of shade and a supply of water along our walk.

Ships Today:

This is the British F239 Frigate "HMS Richmond" on its way from Plymouth to Stavanger (Norway). More on HMS Richmond Here and Here.

This is the Dutch General Cargo Ship "Arklow Viking" on its way from Limerick to Southampton. More on this vessel Here.

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Wakeham

The Fife Canary was on the bird feeder this morning. Later I set up the Trail Camera overlooking the "Bath" Pond to see if anything visited it during the night. The answer was yes, two cats and a Fox.

Fife Canary and a House Sparrow.

A Fox having a drink from the "Bath" Pond in the back garden