I was up at dawn this morning and ummed and ahhed about visiting Portland Bird Observatory again, especially after seeing the Red-breasted Flycatcher in the garden there yesterday. However having looked outside and seeing just sea fog and a fine drizzle coming down, I decided to wait an hour or so and have a walk around my own little patch.
It wasn't a bad walk in the end, once the fog had lifted, and there were quite a few highlights to be seen:
Meadow Pipit - 10+ around the horse paddocks
Grey Wagtail - 1 along Wakeham Railway Cuttings
Stonechat - 2 fem/juv and a male at eastern end of Bumpers Lane
Blackcap - 1 calling in Wakeham Meadow
Chiffchaff - 1 Wakeham Meadow, 1 Butterfly Reserve and 2 Broadcroft Quarry Lane
Goldcrest - 1 Wakeham Meadow
Redpoll - 3 heading south over Broadcroft Quarry Lane (My first this year)
Linnet - 70+ at eastern end of Bumpers Lane
Siskin - 10 fly-overs of 2/3 birds at different times along my walk.
Goldfinch - 30+ Wakeham Railway Cuttings (east)
Birds Recorded:
Kestrel
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
10+ Meadow Pipit
1 Grey Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
3 Stonechat
Blackbird
1 Blackcap
4 Chiffchaff
1 Goldcrest
Long-tailed Tit
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
3 Redpoll
70+ Linnet
10 Siskin
30+ Goldfinch
Dunnocks
Two juv/fem Stonechats
A male Stonechat
Two of the..............
...............four Chiffchaffs seen this morning
Just over 70 Linnet over Bumpers Lane.
Here are a few of them and a lone Goldfinch perched on a leafless Sycamore.
A closer shot and a........
..............bit closer still
This Goldcrest was busy feeding in a Cypress Tree on the edge of Wakeham Meadow
1 Speckled Wood
8 Red Admiral
1 Painted Lady
Just the one Speckled Wood seen
I managed one shot of this Painted Lady with its wings open, but.........
..........as soon as I moved closer it shut them!!
Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae)
A Honey Bee on Ivy and a.........
..............Honey Bee on me. Absolutely harmless unless you annoyed it.
And of course my favourite bee at this time of year goes........
Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
A Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
I'm glad to be corrected, but I think this.............
...............is a Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
A Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
6 Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) all form succinea
Of the three forms of............
.................Harlequin Ladybirds...........
..............this form succinea seems to be the only one around now.
Garden Snail (Cornu aspersa)
White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
Black Slug (Arion ater)
................White-lipped Banded Snails (Cepaea hortensis) and.........
...........Black Slugs (Arion ater).
Plants:
Franchet's Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster franchetii)
According to my plant app this is Franchet's Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster franchetii) and......
...........also goes by the name of Orange Cotoneaster
Ted:
Ted having a good look across Silklake Quarry. No Foxes here today Ted!
Ships:
