Port and Wey: 15 Jul 23

Bumpers Lane, The Mermaid Track, Wakeham Railway Cuttings, Wakeham Meadows and Old Quarry Lane

With squally showers and wind speeds gusting at over 40mph, it wasn't the best of weathers for a walk, but I did manage to find a few sheltered spots to keep dry.

There were a few highlights, with a Common Darter, a single Clouded Yellow, a Hummingbird Hawk-moth and two Pellucid Flies. Plus a possible female Broad-banded Hopper Wolf (Gorytes laticinctus).

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
4 House Martin
6 Swallow
Dunnock
Blackbird
Long-tailed Tit
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch

Reptiles Recorded:
2 Slow-worm

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:
1 Common Darter

Below are a few photos and a video of the female Common Darter along Wakeham Railway Cuttings

Butterflies Recorded:
2 Small Skipper
5 Large White
4 Small White
2 Green-veined White
1 Clouded Yellow
15+ Meadow Brown
15+ Gatekeeper
4 Marbled White
3 Red Admiral
4 Common Blue
2 Chalk Hill Blue

A Meadow Brown

And another Meadow Brown

Not a Meadow Brown but a Gatekeeper

A Marbled White

A male Common Blue

And another male Common Blue

And last but not least a male Chalk Hill Blue

Moths Recorded:
Hummingbird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum)
Silver Y (Autographa gamma)
Six-Spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae)

Below are a few photos and a video of the Hummingbird Hawk-moth along the railway cuttings

A Hummingbird Hawk-moth along Wakeham Railway Cuttings

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

#1 - bee sp.

A male Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)

#1 - A bee sp.

Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
wasp sp (Vespula sp.)

Broad-banded Hopper Wolf (Gorytes laticinctus) - Possibly

The photos below are what I think is a female Broad-banded Hopper Wolf (Gorytes laticinctus) laying eggs. More on this Sand Wasp Here.

Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)
Pied Plumehorn (Volucella pellucens)

Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

A Pied Plumehorn (Volucella pellucens).

And another Pied Plumehorn (Volucella pellucens)

Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Thick-headed Fly (Sicus ferrugineus)
Red Spotted Parasite Fly (Eriothrix rufomaculata)

A Thick-headed Fly (Sicus ferrugineus)

And another Thick-headed Fly (Sicus ferrugineus) and.........

.......a head on view.

Two Red Spotted Parasite Flies (Eriothrix rufomaculata)

Red Spotted Parasite Fly (Eriothrix rufomaculata)

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

Common Red Soldier Beetles (Rhagonycha fulva)

On the left a female Swollen-thighed Beetle and on the right a Common Red Soldier Beetle

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Great Green Bush Cricket (Tettigonia viridissima)
Dark Bush-cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera)
Roesel's Bush-cricket (Metrioptera roeselii)
Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)

Plants:
Wild Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

Hemp Agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum)