21 Aug 23

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

Now that was a good walk with quite a few Autumn migrants noted:

House Martin - Several over Wakeham

Swallow - 4 over the Mermaid Track

Common Whitethroat - 1 in Bumpers Lane

Blackcap - A male in Wakeham Meadows

Chiffchaff - 1 seen close to Wakeham Meadows

Willow Warbler - 3 seen close to Wakeham Meadows

Chiffchaff/ Willow Warbler - Several heard but not seen

Pied Flycatcher - A juvenile seen close to Wakeham Meadows

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull

Wood Pigeon

Collared Dove

House Martin

Swallow

Pied Wagtail

Dunnock

Robin

Blackbird

Common Whitethroat

Blackcap

Chiffchaff

Willow Warbler

Pied Flycatcher

Great Tit

Blue Tit

Wren

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Jackdaw

2 Raven

Starling

House Sparrow

Chaffinch

Linnet

Goldfinch

A Willow Warbler and.......

.............another one close to Wakeham Meadow

This juvenile? Pied Flycatcher was a nice surprise in.......

.......same area as the Willow Warblers above. I've only ever seen Spotted Flycatchers at this location before in past Autumns, so this was a good tick for this spot close to Wakeham Meadows.

Reptiles Recorded:
Wall Lizard

Just the one Wall Lizard seen along my walk.

Butterflies Recorded:
Large White
Small White
Green-veined White
1 Wall Brown
2 Speckled Wood
4 Meadow Brown
3 Red Admiral
1 Comma
Common Blue
Chalk Hill Blue

A Speckled Wood

A male Common Blue

And a male Chalk Hill Blue

Moths Recorded:

Jersey Tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria)

Privet Tortrix (Clepsis consimilana)

Straw Conch (Cochylimorpha straminea)

My first Jersey Tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria) of the year

A Privet Tortrix (Clepsis consimilana)

And an out of focus Straw Conch (Cochylimorpha straminea)

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

Two male Red-tailed Bumblebees. This one is on an umbellifer sp. and......

.........this faded individual is on a Carline Thistle (Carlina vulgaris)

Hoverflies Recorded:
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)
Hornet Plumehorn (Volucella zonaria)
Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta)
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

Here are two.......

..............Common Droneflies.

And here are two Dead Head Hoverflies. This pristine looking individual and....

..........a very pale one.

And a Hornet Plumehorn (Volucella zonaria)

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Roesel's Bush-cricket (Metrioptera roeselii)

Ted:

What are you doing Ted.

Ahh he's spotted some climbers in the Cuttings. Thank goodness he didn't bark at them!!!

Ships Today:

This is the Portuguese Container Ship "Nordic Hamburg" on its way from Belfast to Hamburg. More on this vessel here.