30 Oct 23

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadows, Wakeham Wildlife Site, Wakeham Railway Cuttings, The Mermaid Track, Bumpers Lane, Broadcroft Quarry Lane, Broadcroft Butterfly Reserve, Higher Horse Paddock and Lower Horse Paddock

I'm glad to say that the aftereffects from my covid and flu jabs, have now passed and it was good to get out for a walk. Not just for me, but also for Ted who was well pleased to get out for a run. As I opened the cottage door, he almost doubled the length of his lead as he burst outside.

After the last couple of days with strong winds and heavy rain, it was quite evident there were fewer leaves on the trees.

The main highlights were:
Meadow Pipit - Two in the butterfly reserve
Grey Wagtail - One in a puddle along the Mermaid Track
Stonechat - A pair in the butterfly reserve
Blackbird - Small groups of Blackbirds noted, with the largest group of five along Wakeham Railway Cuttings.
Song Thrush - One singing (sub-song) in the Gorse on the butterfly reserve.
Chiffchaff - Two along Wakeham Railway Cuttings and three in Broadcroft Quarry Lane


Mammals Recorded:
1 Grey Squirrel

Yes I can see you. A Grey Squirrel in Wakeham Nature Reserve.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
2 Meadow Pipit
1 Grey Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
2 Stonechat
12+ Blackbird
1 Song Thrush
5 Chiffchaff
5 Long-tailed Tit
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch
1 Greenfinch

A juvenile Herring Gull in the Lower Horse Paddock, with a Carrion Crow to its right.

One of the two Meadow Pipits in butterfly reserve

And a female Stonechat in the reserve as well. The male was close-by

And one of the dozen or more Blackbirds seen along my walk.

And one...........

..........two.........

...............three Chiffchaffs along Broadcroft Quarry Lane.

Not many Long-tailed Tits seen today, this was one of just five seen along Wakeham Railway Cuttings.

Butterflies Recorded:
None


Bees Recorded:
None, though there were 4 Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) and 3 Ivy Bees (Colletes hederae) on the Ivy in the back garden when the sun was out and an hour before I left for my walk.

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

And yep the Common Wasp in Wakeham Meadow is still going strong.

Hoverflies Recorded:
None


Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
None


Spiders Recorded:
1 Nurseryweb Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)

And a Nurseryweb Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)

General Shots:

Broadcroft Quarry Lane. This spot here opposite the Inert Recycling Centre, is great for Autumn warblers, tits and crests. Though having said that, I'm still waiting for a Yellow-browed Warbler, Pallas's Warbler and Firecrest to put in an appearance. There's still time!!

Ted:

Another good workout for Ted.

Ships Today:

This is the British Fishing Boat WH709 "The Rumrunner" fishing..................

.......... just off Portland's east coastline. Here is a photo of this vessel from 2009 here.

And my mystery ship today is this RFA vessel with a Merlin sat on its deck. I originally had the helicopter down as a Wildcat, but a big thank you to my good friend Ed Wilson (FoPL), who is not only a great naturalist and brilliant ornithologist, but also a very knowledgeable aircraft enthusiast.