It was another very warm day. But, despite the sunny conditions, there are still very few insects about, especially butterflies, hoverflies and beetles.
Just two male Common Whitethroats seen and heard, but it was all quite with the Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs.
However it was all gloom and doom, when a female Buffish Mining Bee (Andrena nigroaenea) landed right next to me in the meadow. My first ever.
Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
2 Swift
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
2 Common Whitethroat
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
One of the two Swifts over Wakeham. Hopefully a pair staying on the island.
Common Whitethroat
Nothing like a good old dust bath to get rid of those mites
A male Chaffinch
Butterflies Recorded:
1 Orange-tip
4 Large White
1 Speckled Wood
2 Small Blue
4 Common Blue
Small Blue
A male Common Blue
Cocksfoot Moth (Glyphipterix simpliciella)
There are still quite a few.........
............Cocksfoot Moths about
Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
#1 - Buffish Mining Bee (Andrena nigroaenea)
#2 - bee sp
Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
#1 - Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)
#2 - cranefly sp.
#1 - Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)
#2 - cranefly sp.
#3 - fly sp.
#1 - Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)
#2 - cranefly sp.
#3 - fly sp.
Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Rustic Sailor Beetle (Cantharis rustica)
There are very few beetles about, so it was good to come across this Rustic Sailor Beetle (Cantharis rustica)
Dark Bush-cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera) nymph
Plants:
Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra)
Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris)
Common Vetch (Vicia sativa)
Cut-leaved Cranesbill (Geranium dissectum)
Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis)
Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum)
Meadow Buttercup (Ranunculus arvensis)
Wall Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster horizontalis)
Wild Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
Yellow-rattle (Rhinanthus minor)
An Ash tree.................
..........and a close up of its leaves. More on Ash Here.
On the left an Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis) and on the right Yellow-rattle (Rhinanthus minor).
This is Common Vetch (Vicia sativa)............
..........and a close-up of the flowers.
Ted trying to keep a low profile. I'm not sure what he's spotted, but he was keeping very still.
Ted having a buzz.