20 May 23

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadow, Easton Railway Cuttings, Wakeham Railway Cuttings, Bumpers Lane and Lower Horse Paddock.

At long last it looks like we might have some settled weather for a week or so. After yesterdays torrential rain and thunderstorms, it was a totally different day today, with lots of sunshine and a bit of warmth.

With a majority of the Spring migrants here now, apart from the odd Swallow passing overhead, my main focus has now switched to butterflies, especially now that it has warmed up. Today I recorded 8 species, which is the most I have had in one day this year.

There were a few more beetles about and a new one for me in the shape of a Mottled Dingy-brown Click Beetle (Agrypnus murinus)

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
1 Swallow
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
1 Song Thrush
1 Garden Warbler
2 Common Whitethroat
3 Blackcap
3 Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch

A Common Whitethroat in Easton Railway Cuttings.

Butterflies Recorded:

1 Dingy Skipper
3 Orange-tip
4 Large White
1 Wall Brown
2 Speckled Wood
1 Peacock
5 Small Blue
2 Common Blue

My first Dingy Skipper of the year

A Speckled Wood

A pair of mating Small Blues

A male.........

...........Common Blue.

Moths Recorded:
Silver Y (Autographa gamma)

Cocksfoot Moth (Glyphipterix simpliciella)

A Silver Y (Autographa gamma)

There were dozens of these.......

............. Cocksfoot Moths flying about this afternoon.

Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum)
Ashy Mining Bee (Andrena cineraria)

This small pool in the Lower Horse Paddock is.........

...........a magnet to these local Honey Bees.

It's not that obvious, but I suspect they are collecting water for the hive.

Here is another Honey Bee on Ragwort

This is an Ashy Mining Bee (Andrena cineraria)

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


Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)


Bugs and Beetles Recorded:

Red-headed Cardinal Beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis)

Lesser Thick-legged Flower Beetle (Ischnomera cyanea)

Mottled Dingy-brown Click Beetle (Agrypnus murinus)

A Red-headed Cardinal Beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis)

Lesser Thick-legged Flower Beetle (Ischnomera cyanea)

This is a Mottled Dingy-brown Click Beetle (Agrypnus murinus), which I came across close to Bumpers Lane.

Ants Recorded:
Small Black Ant (Lasius niger)


Froghoppers Recorded:
Common Froghopper (Philaenus spumarius)


Ted:

Ted feeling the heat. At least he's found a bit of shelter.

Sadly he has succumbed to those dreaded ticks, the first in 8 years. They've all been removed, but to stop him licking his legs, he has a couple of blue bandages fitted. So it will be daily checks after walks now, to make sure he is tick free. Poor Ted. 😢

Ships Today:

This is French Ro-Ro Cargo Ship "MN Pelican" on its way from Poole to Bilbao (Spain). More on this vessel Here.

This is the Portuguese Container Ship "Pantonio" on its way from Cork to Southampton. More on this vessel Here.

This is the British Oil Products Tanker "Raleigh Fisher" anchored out in Weymouth Bay. 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 Portuguese Container Ship "JSP Rover" on its way from Rotterdam to Dublin. More on this vessel Here.