13 Sep 23

Old Quarry Lane and Wakeham Meadows

It was an earlier walk down Quarry Lane to the meadows today. And although there was a lot to see, I still haven't found any Ivy Bees yet!

On the Autumn migration front, I came across two Blackcaps, 3 Chiffchaffs calling and overhead a very vocal Tree Pipit.

And I managed to add another insect to my Portland List, a Canestrini's Harvestman (Opilio canestrinii).

Birds Recorded:
1 Sparrowhawk
1 Buzzard
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
1 Tree Pipit
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
2 Blackcap (1 fem/juv and 1 other calling but not seen)
3 Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
3 Raven
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch

Both this Sparrowhawk and..........

..............Common Buzzard were circling overhead.

Butterflies Recorded:
5 Large White
3 Speckled Wood
10 Red Admiral
1 Common Blue

There were a few Speckled Woods about, but the majority of butterflies seen were.......

.............Red Admirals along with.........

.................a few scruffy ones.

Moths Recorded:
1 Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella)
1 Silver Y (Autographa gamma)


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

A Common Carder Bee about to land on this Old Man’s Beard (Clematis vitalba). A plant which also goes by the name of Travellers’ Joy and Wild Clematis.

Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)

With the Common Wasp nest close-by, there were lots of them...........

..............close-by, especially on the Ivy.

Hoverflies Recorded:
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Plain-faced Dronefly (Eristalis arbustorum)
Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)
Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta)
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

A Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

A Plain-faced Dronefly (Eristalis arbustorum)

And a Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:

#1 - cranefly sp.
#2 - fly sp.
#3 - fly sp.
#4 - fly sp.

#1 - cranefly sp.

#2 - fly sp.

#3 - fly sp.

#4 - fly sp.

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) - form succinea
Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) - form spectabilis

A Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) - form succinea

And another

One more

And last one.

And a Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) - form spectabilis

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Common Field Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus)
Long Winged Cone-head (Conocephalus fuscus)

A Common Field Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus)

I'm pretty sure this is a female Long Winged Cone-head (Conocephalus fuscus).

Slugs and Snails Recorded:
White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

A White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis) tucked up inside a Sycamore leaf

Spiders Recorded:
1 Nurseryweb Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)


Harvestmen Recorded:
Canestrini's Harvestman (Opilio canestrinii)

A new species for my Portland List. This is a Canestrini's Harvestman (Opilio canestrinii), which apparently is an invasive species to our shores. More on this harvestman here.

Ted:

Ted enjoying a good run again