It was a quick visit to the caravan this afternoon, to make sure everything was okay for guests arriving tomorrow, followed by my usual walk through the farm, past Tidmoor Cove and Lynch Cove before heading back to the car at the caravan.
Since my last walk here, 6 days ago, the main track from the farm to the top of the hill has exploded with grass, nettles and brambles. I did think it would have been trampled down by walkers, but it appears I was very wrong. So it was a very stingy and prickly 100 metre walk up the hill in shorts and sandals. Hmm.
There were quite a few bird highlights with:
Reed Warbler - A lone bird singing in the reed bed at the back of Tidmoor Cove
Cetti's Warbler - A male singing between Tidmoor Cove and Lynch Cove.
Garden Warbler - A lone bird singing in the wood at the back of Tidmoor Cove.
Common Whitethroats - Parents feeding 3 well grown juveniles between Tidmoor Cove and Lynch Cove.
Blackcap - One close to Furzedown Farm and two in the wood at the back of Tidmoor Cove.
Chiffchaff - One singing close to Furzedown Farm and three singing in the wood at the back of Tidmoor Cove.
Birds Recorded:
2 Oystercatcher
Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
1 Pied Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
1 Reed Warbler
1 Cetti's Warbler
1 Garden Warbler
5 Common Whitethroat
3 Blackcap
4 Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
A Common Whitethroat
One of the four Chiffchaffs..............
..............singing along my walk
Butterflies Recorded:
1 Small Skipper
4 Large Skipper
5 Large White
3 Small White
4 Green-veined White
2 Speckled Wood
4 Small Heath
30+ Meadow Brown
6 Marbled White
2 Comma
A Large Skipper on a Blackberry flower and........
..............a close-up of another one.
A Small Heath
A Marbled White
And one of the two Commas seen at Tidmoor Cove
2 Six-Spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae)
Just two Six-Spot Burnet moths seen along my walk.
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
A Honey Bee on an umbellifer sp.
Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Dagger Fly (Empis sp.)
A dagger fly sp.
Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)
Lesser Thick-legged Flower Beetle (Ischnomera cyanea)
Plants:
Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea)
Pink Sorrel (Oxalis articulata)
My first Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea) of the Summer
This is Pink Sorrel (Oxalis articulata) and here is a.........
...........close-up of the flowers. Not a plant I have seem before.
General Shots:
Ted:
Follow the lead and there is a Ted at the end of it. Somewhere!!
Ted running back to me as I started to walk down the hill to Tidmoor Cove
He certainly knows where he's going.
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Wakeham:
In the new flower beds in the back garden there was a Brown-footed Leafcutter Bee (Megachile versicolor) which is a first for me on Portland. More on this bee Here.
There was also a Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea).
The new flower bed
Below are a few photos and a video of the Brown-footed Leafcutter Bee (Megachile versicolor)
A Dead Head Hoverfly