Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Wildlife Site and Wakeham Meadows
It was a bit of a grey cloudy day today, but still very mild. Main highlights were at least 9 Blackcaps, 5 Chiffchaffs and a Goldcrest along the lane, wildlife site and meadow.
The oddity of the day was that I didn't find a single Harlequin Ladybird!!
Mammals Recorded: Grey Squirrel
Birds Recorded: 1 Kestrel Herring Gull Wood Pigeon Collared Dove Pied Wagtail Blackbird 9 Blackcap 5 Chiffchaff 1 Goldcrest Great Tit Blue Tit Wren Magpie Carrion Crow Jackdaw Starling House Sparrow Chaffinch Goldfinch
One of the 8 Blackcaps to pass through this afternoon. When I doubled they had all moved on.
A Chiffchaff avoids the plastic waste from the building site next to the meadow.
This Sycamore tree is a lot cleaner
A Goldfinch tucks into a Teasel
Butterflies Recorded: 4 Large White 2 Speckled Wood 10 Red Admiral
Bumpers Lane, The Cuttings, The Mermaid Track, Wakeham Railway Cuttings, Wakeham Meadows and Old Quarry Lane
It felt like Summer had come back to Portland today, with wall to wall blue skies and warm sunshine. Main highlight was a Spotted Flycatchers in the privately owned Wildlife Site next to Wakeham Meadows.
Mammals Recorded: Grey Squirrel
Birds Recorded: Herring Gull Wood Pigeon Collared Dove Dunnock Robin Blackbird 8 Chiffchaff 2 Spotted Flycatcher Long-tailed Tit Great Tit Blue Tit Wren Magpie Carrion Crow Jackdaw Raven Starling Rosy Starling House Sparrow Chaffinch Goldfinch
A Robin in the wildlife site.
Also in the wildlife site was this juvenile Blackbird tucking into the Cotoneasters and.....
Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded: Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
A Common Wasp
Hoverflies Recorded: Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
A Common Dronefly on blackberries
Bugs and Beetles Recorded: Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina) Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) - form succinea
2 Spot Ladybird (Adalia bipunctata)
A Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)
A Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) - form succinea and..........
............another, plus.........
..........an almost spotless individual.
The standard form of 2 Spot Ladybird (Adalia bipunctata)
Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded: Common Field Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus)
A Common Field Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus).
Ted:
It looks like Ted knows where he's going
Ships Today:
This is the Panamanian Container Ship "HMM Gdansk" on its way from Antwerp to Tanger (Morocco). More on this vessel here.
This is the British Minesweeper "M34 - HMS Middleton" on its from San Juan, Puerto Rico to an unknown destination via Portland. More on this vessel here and here.
This is the British Offshore Ship "SD Victoria" on its way from Portland Harbour to an unknown destination. More on this vessel here.
Aircraft Today:
This is the privately owned Van's RV-6, registration G-RVL over Portland today. There are a few photos of this aircraft here.
Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadows, Wakeham Railway Cuttings, Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church, Church Ope Cove, Penn's Weare,Penn's Copse, Rufus Castle, The Cuttings and Bumpers Lane
With the tail end of Storm Agnes still around today, it wasn't the most pleasant of days to go for a walk. At least the rain held off until I got home, but what struck me was just how humid it was and that was with no sun, but just a full cloud cover.
Main highlight today went to the two Pied Flycatchers in Old Quarry Lane. I saw a male fly from a Sycamore on my left and straight into the woods just north of Wakeham Railway Cuttings. The second, a slightly more drab bird came out of the same Sycamore but went up and over wood. Despite heading around to the railway cuttings, there was no sign of either.
Other highlights were a pair of Grey Wagtails along the railway cuttings and at least 5 Chiffchaff calling from various locations, including one bird which was tagging along with 15 Long-tailed Tits in Bumpers Lane. Also noted was a Goldcrest on Penns Weare.
Mammals Recorded: 3 Grey Squirrel
Birds Recorded: 1 Buzzard, 2 Kestrel Herring Gull Wood Pigeon Collared Dove 2 Grey Wagtail Dunnock Robin Blackbird 5 Chiffchaff 1 Goldcrest 2 Pied Flycatcher 15 Long-tailed Tit Great Tit Blue Tit Wren Magpie Carrion Crow Jackdaw 2 Raven Starling House Sparrow Chaffinch Linnet Goldfinch
One of the two Kestrels hovering over Bumpers Lane
A Raven on top of Rufus Castle
Butterflies Recorded: 3 Large White 1 Speckled Wood 8 Red Admiral 1 Painted Lady
A Red Admiral and a Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) - form succinea on a variegated Ivy
It was hard work finding any Ivy Bees(Colletes hederae) today. It was pretty windy and most of the Ivy Bees were collecting pollen and nectar inside the Ivy Bushes.
Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded: Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
German Wasp (Vespula germanica)
It was a short visit to the very busy Common Wasps nest in Wakeham Meadow.
And a German Wasp (Vespula germanica) on the Ivy
Hoverflies Recorded: Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax) Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)
A Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)
Bugs and Beetles Recorded: Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) - form succinea Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) - form spectabilis
Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) - form succinea
Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) - form spectabilis
Mites Recorded:
Fuchsia Gall Mites (Aculops fuchsiae)
Alongside Wakeham Railway Cuttings the footpath runs through a local Caravan Park owned by a friend of mine. As were chatting away, she showed me her Fuchsias which have been attacked by Fuchsia Gall Mites (Aculops fuchsiae). This mite only appeared on our shores in 2007 and is pretty damaging. More on this mite here and here.
Plants:
Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum)
Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum) in flower.
Ted:
Poor Ted he was attacked by another dog on our walk. No harm done but it was traumatic for him.
Ships Today:
Unfortunately I have no information...........
..........on this vessel, which was making its way up Portland's east coastline towards Portland Harbour/Weymouth Harbour.
As I was in the area I thought I would stop and have a look to see what was about. There were a few highlights, the first being a hen Pheasant, which took off from the top of the cliffs and then glided down to East Weares. Next was a Yellow Wagtail calling as it headed south down the island and also noted were 3 individual Chiffchaffs calling from the bushes south of Fancy Farm.
Also south of Fancy Farm were two finch flocks, the first were 23 Linnet and the second was around 30+ Goldfinch.
And another Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) with a pollen sac
The Ivy Bees (Colletes hederae) were outnumbered by the Honey Bees today.
Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded: Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
Hoverflies Recorded: Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
A Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
Bugs and Beetles Recorded: Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) - form succinea
The Ivy bushes were alive again today with Harlequin Ladybirds. However the form I could find was succinea
Slugs and Snails Recorded:
White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
Nothing out of the ordinary a White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis) on a Sycamore leaf...
...........except it was almost 3 metres up from the ground. That must have taken awhile to get there!!
Plants: Ivy Broomrape (Orobanche hederae) Common Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris)
apple sp.
An Ivy Broomrape (Orobanche hederae) a parasitic plant that flowers from May to July. More on this plant here.
This is Common Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris) and also goes.........
..........by the name of Yellow Toadflax and Butter-and-eggs
Nice red apples
Ahh, it looks like it's suffering from apple scab. More on this fungal disease here.
General Shots:
The view looking south with Fancy Farm directly behind me.
Ted:
Yes I can see you Ted.
Ships Today:
This is the Maltese Chemical/Oil Products Ship "Monjasa" tied up in Portland Harbour. More on this vessel here.
This is the General Cargo Ship "BBC Destiny" flying the flag of Antigua Barbuda. It is presently anchored up in Weymouth Bay. More on this vessel here.
