25 Sep 23

Wakeham Railway Cuttings, Perryfield Quarry Butterfly Reserve, Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church, Penn's Weare, Penn's Copse, Rufus Castle and Portland Museum

It was a change of scenery today and a long overdue visit to Penns Wood, which proved to be a good decision, as not only did I come across a Goldcrest but also my first Firecrest this Autumn.

A couple of Chiffchaffs was the best I could do on the warbler front, with one at the Butterfly Reserve and another close to St Andrew's Church. A Yellow Wagtail flew south over Wakeham Railway Cuttings.

Other highlights were the incredible numbers of Red Admirals, which were on nearly every Ivy bush I walked passed. Other butterflies of note were 3 Painted Lady's and a Comma.

If I was concerned that there weren't many Ivy Bees about, well my walk today proved otherwise, with hundreds seen.

Mammals Recorded:
2 Grey Squirrel


Birds Recorded:
1 Kestrel
1 Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
1 Yellow Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
2 Chiffchaff
1 Goldcrest
1 Firecrest
Long-tailed Tit
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch

A Black-headed Gulls alights at Church Ope Cove

I just managed to capture this Goldcrest on camera as it was feeding in the Sycamores at Penns Wood. Sadly the Firecrest wasn't as obliging.


Reptiles Recorded:
Wall Lizard

A Wall Lizard in the grounds of St Andrews Church

And if you move very slowly, you can even get up close and personal.

Another Wall Lizard, this time at Rufus Castle

Butterflies Recorded:
Large White
Small White
Green-veined White
100+ Red Admiral
3 Painted Lady
1 Comma

This Ivy clad Sycamore in Penns Wood was covered in Red Admirals and a Comma

I thought yesterday was impressive with the number of Red Admirals I found.......

..............today there were hundreds.

Here two Red Admirals rest up on a branch.

In amongst the hundreds of Red Admirals seen today, were these three Painted Lady's. Normally Painted Lady's are pretty difficult to get close to.

..................However it seems these three were........

...............the exception to my failings in the past.

Here is the Comma which was in Penns Wood

Bees Recorded:
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Common Carder Bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum)
Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
100+ Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae)

At the moment the Honey Bees are well and truly...........

............outnumbered by these Ivy Bees

There were hundreds about all collecting pollen and nectar from the Ivy flowers

Just a few Ivy Bees on and around this Ivy bush. There were many more along my walk.

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

No German Wasps seen today, but there were plenty of Common Wasps (Vespula vulgaris)

Hoverflies Recorded:
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Plain-faced Dronefly (Eristalis arbustorum)
Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)
Hornet Plumehorn (Volucella zonaria)

Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Plain-faced Dronefly (Eristalis arbustorum)

A Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

And a Hornet Plumehorn (Volucella zonaria)

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

There were dozens and dozens of Harlequin Ladybirds - form succineas...........

..........in and around.......

.............. the Ivy

I have come across several that look very pale like this one.........

...........but this individual is right at the other of the scale!!!

It appears that this Harlequin Ladybird - form spectabilis, is a bit of a find in amongst the hundreds of the form succinea. There is a 3rd form of Harlequin Ladybird which is form - conspicua. Not one I have seen on Portland. More on Harlequins here.


Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Common Field Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus)

The weather is still pretty good for this Common Field Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus) and many others on Penns Weare

Spiders Recorded:
Copper Sun-jumper (Heliophanus cupreus) - possibly

When I was editing one of my photos, I noticed this very small spider on the far left of the frame. It is pretty difficult to ID, but I wouldn't mind guessing that it is a Copper Sun-jumper (Heliophanus cupreus) or something very similar.

Ted:

Yes Ted I can see you

Ships Today:

This is the British Fishing Boat NN7 "Saint George" on its way back to Portland Harbour again. More on this vessel Here.