Port and Wey: June 2023

30 Jun 23

Wakeham

I was beaten by the weather today, as the rain just got heavier and heavier as the day wore on.

So here are a few highlights from this day over the past 6 years.

2022

A Grass Snake I came across in a pond at Upton Heath

2021

A male Adder I stood on at Verne High Angle Battery. I'm glad to say we were both unharmed.

2020

Not much different from today

2019

On this day I put the moth trap out and had a decent haul of 51 moths of 15 species, including this rare migrant, a Dusky Peacock (Macaria signaria)

2018

A Grayling at Tout Quarry

2017

A Peregrine Falcon with a feral pigeon it caught close to RSPB Radipole Lake

29 Jun 23

Wakeham

The Purple Loosestrife in the new flower bed, is proving to be a big hit with the bees, with five species visiting it this afternoon.

The new flower bed in the back garden, with both the Purple Loosestrife (left) and the Everlasting Sweet Peas attracting a lot of bees and a few hoverflies.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
2 Swallow
Dunnock
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:
6 Azure Damselfly

Azure Damselflies with....

.....a pair mating and another male close-by.

Butterflies Recorded:
1 Small White

Bees Recorded:
2 Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
1 Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
3 White-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum)
5 Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum)
1 Brown-footed Leafcutter Bee (Megachile versicolor)

#1 - bee sp.

#2 - bee sp.

White-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum)

Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum)

And another Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum)

A Brown-footed Leafcutter Bee (Megachile versicolor)

#1 - A bee sp. and........

#2 - .....an even smaller bee sp.

Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

#1 - hoverfly sp.

Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

#1 - hoverfly sp.

#1 - hoverfly sp.

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Semaphore Fly (Poecilobothrus nobilitatus)

28 Jun 23

Portland Royal Naval Cemetery

Today I had another walk past the Royal Naval Cemetery Here and then a return walk back from the Dockyard Fence here. My last walk here was on 23 Jun 23, and it certainly wasn't as overgrown as it was now. The path to the fence was the worst, but just about navigable.

Main highlights were a Blackcap and Chiffchaff both singing, plus lots of micro-moths.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull

Wood Pigeon

Dunnock

Blackbird

Song Thrush

1 Blackcap

1 Chiffchaff

Great Tit

Blue Tit

Wren

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Chaffinch

Goldfinch

Greenfinch

This male Blackcap was singing away until he spotted me.

Butterflies Recorded:
1 Large Skipper
3 Speckled Wood
4 Meadow Brown
5 Marbled White

A Large Skipper

And a Meadow Brown

Moths Recorded:

10+ Common Marble (Celypha lacunana)

#1 - moth sp.

Common Marble (Celypha lacunana)

Common Marble (Celypha lacunana). Thank you to Ed Wilson for the ID.

#1 - moth sp.

Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum)

A Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) and.....

........though the buff colour on the tail is not that clear, I think this is one as well

A Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)

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

Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

A Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
#1 - Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)

#2 - beetle sp.

#1 - A male Swollen-thighed Beetle

#2 - beetle sp.

#2 - As above but scurrying across my arm. One to ID later.

Plants:
#1 - Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis)

#2 - bracken sp.

#3 - Hart's-tongue Fern (Asplenium scolopendrium)

#1 - A Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis)

#2 - A bracken sp. and.......

#3 - ....just below it is Hart's-tongue Fern (Asplenium scolopendrium)

General Shots:

A very murky Portland Harbour and sadly the weather didn't improve

Ted:

Yep Ted, there's no way through the dockyard fence

Aircraft Today:

A Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey on Portland's HeliOps pad.

And here it is taking off.

Ships Today:

This is the Norwegian LPG Tanker "Clipper Neptun" on its way from Gdansk (Poland) to Weymouth Bay. More on this vessel Here.

This is the Liberian Container Ship "Mona Lisa" anchored up in Portland Harbour. More on this vessel Here.

The red and white ship is the British Cable Layer "CS Sovereign" tied up in Portland Harbour. More on this vessel Here.

This is the British Offshore Supply Ship "Island Crown" tied up in Portland Harbour. More on this vessel Here.

This grey vessel is the British Replenishment Ship A136 "RFA Tidespring". More on this vessel Here.

And this is one of the lifeboat capsules from........

................"RFA Tidespring". More on this type of capsule Here.

And a "Rig" !!

27 Jun 23

Lower Horse Paddock

Well that was a short walk, as my camera decided that it didn't have a SD card fitted, even though there was one inserted!!

So it was just a walk in the Lower Horse paddock and a few photos (Before it gave up on me) of House Martins catching insects over the field and alongside the Sycamore Trees.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
6 House Martin
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch

Below are a few of my efforts at photographing House Martins in flight.