It was a day spent in the garden, painting fences, which haven't been touched up for a number of years now. It was actually quite a satisfying job, especially when I stepped back to see the end result. Just don't tell Dawn I enjoyed painting, otherwise I will be tasked with painting indoors, which I absolutely hate.
Still no frogs or toads seen this year, but I did come across a Palmate Newt in the "Tractor Tyre" Pond. So at least there are newts in both ponds, but where are the other two amphibians!!
Just two Large White butterflies seen and three Narcissus Bulb Fly's. The latter being the only hoverflies noted.
Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Dunnock
Blackbird
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch
1 Greenfinch
Amphibians Recorded:
Palmate Newt
A Palmate Newt in the "Tractor Tyre" pond
1 Azure Damselfly
A male Azure Damselfly
2 Large White
Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
A Honey Bee gathering water from the "Bath" pond.
Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
wasp sp.
A very small wasp was flying around the Cherry Tree, but didn't land.
Hoverflies Recorded:
3 Narcissus Bulb Fly's (Merodon equestris)
Hoverflies Recorded:
3 Narcissus Bulb Fly's (Merodon equestris)
#1 - Narcissus Bulb Fly
#2 - Narcissus Bulb Fly
#3 - Narcissus Bulb Fly
Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)
#2 - fly sp.
#3 - fly sp.
#4 - fly sp.
#1 - Phania funesta
#1 - And another Phania funesta. It is believed to be a parasite of Shieldbugs.
#2 - fly sp.
#3 - fly sp.
#4 - fly sp.
The garden still looks like a jungle. You can just about make Ted out in the long grass.
This is Piper PA-32-300 Cherokee Six "2-PETE" flying north over Portland. I couldn't find any flight details for this aircraft, which I suspect took off from the Channel Islands. There is a close-up photo of "Pete" here.