Wow, what a difference a bit of warm sunshine can do, there was still a cool southerly wind, but in the sheltered spots it was almost T-shirt weather.
There were some great highlights to with:
Rock Pipit - A male singing on the beach
Black Redstart - A female sat in a tree on the beach
Chiffchaff - Two at the back of the cove (one singing), one in the next tree along from where the female Black Redstart was sat, two in Penns Weare (one singing) and one singing along The Mermaid Track.
2 Goldcrest - Two in Penns Wood
2 Firecrest - Two at the back of the cove.
Other highlights were:
Wall Lizards - Five seen in various sunny spots.
Peacock butterflies - Two at the back of the cove
Small Tortoiseshell - One in the northwest corner of the cove.
Bees and hoverflies - Many on the Alexanders and Hebes.
Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
1 Rock Pipit
2 Pied Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
1 Black Redstart
Blackbird
6 Chiffchaff
2 Goldcrest
2 Firecrest
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
1 Raven
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Rock Pipit - A male singing on the beach
Black Redstart - A female sat in a tree on the beach
Chiffchaff - Two at the back of the cove (one singing), one in the next tree along from where the female Black Redstart was sat, two in Penns Weare (one singing) and one singing along The Mermaid Track.
2 Goldcrest - Two in Penns Wood
2 Firecrest - Two at the back of the cove.
Other highlights were:
Wall Lizards - Five seen in various sunny spots.
Peacock butterflies - Two at the back of the cove
Small Tortoiseshell - One in the northwest corner of the cove.
Bees and hoverflies - Many on the Alexanders and Hebes.
Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
1 Rock Pipit
2 Pied Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
1 Black Redstart
Blackbird
6 Chiffchaff
2 Goldcrest
2 Firecrest
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
1 Raven
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
A Dunnock.
There were so many Robins singing from a range of.......
.........different perches.
I did manage to zoom in on her a bit.
A male Blackbird in Penns Wood
And my first actual migrant Chiffchaffs.
This one and the one above were both at the back of the cove, with one of them singing from time to time.
Also about at the back of the cove were two Firecrests, which unlike this Goldcrest in Penns Wood evaded my camera.
It's not often you can get a half decent shot of a Wren. 99.9% of the time they are skulking in the bushes.
Reptiles Recorded:
5 Wall Lizards
I'm not an expert on Wall Lizards, but I suspect this is a female and the two below are......
...........males.......
..........maybe!!!
Butterflies Recorded:
2 Peacock
1 Small Tortoiseshell
I just missed photographing a Small Tortoiseshell on the Hebes, but managed this Peacock instead.
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Chocolate Mining Bee (Andrena scotica)
Two Buff-tailed Bumblebees on the Hebes.
Hoverflies Recorded:
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
Hairy-eyed Flower Fly (Syrphus torvus)
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Plain-faced Dronefly (Eristalis arbustorum)
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Plain-faced Dronefly (Eristalis arbustorum)
Common Dronefly
Hairy-eyed Flower Flies
A Plain-faced Dronefly
Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Kelp Fly (Coelopa frigida)
Plants:
Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum)
Russian Comfrey (Symphytum x Uplandicum)
Common Field Speedwell (Veronica persica)
Lots of Alexanders and in flower as well.
And the Russian Comfrey is now.........
............starting to flower in Penns Wood.
Common Field Speedwell. A very common plant............
............ which flowers throughout the year. More on this plant Here.
And an unripe Blackberry from last Autumn. I'm surprised it hasn't been eaten.
General Shots:
Looking north into the cove
And looking south.
Penns Copse with Rufus Castle rising above it.
................here are some in a friends garden. Why are people so ruthless!!!
Ted:
After Ted's big adventure the other day, he seems to be back to his normal self. Its amazing what a treat can do.
