16 May 24

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadows and Wakeham Wildlife Site

After four good walks over the past two days, it was back to a short one today, to give my left leg a rest.

Highlight this afternoon went to my first Painted Lady of the year, which I came across in the meadow, where there were also 5 Red Admirals.


Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
8 Swift
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
Song Thrush
1 Common Whitethroat
1 Blackcap
1 Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch

One of the 8 Swifts over Wakeham

And this male............

............Common Whitethroat.......

..............has taken up residence in the meadow

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:
Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)

It doesn't seem to matter where I walk, I just keep on finding female Azure Damselflies.

Butterflies Recorded:
Large White
5 Red Admiral
1 Painted Lady

A Red Admiral

And my first..............

...................Painted Lady of the year.

Moths Recorded:

micro moth sp.

When I say this is small............

.......believe me it is small. It is certainly one of the smallest micro moths I have come across. Probably just 8-9mm in length and there were hundreds of them flying around the Sycamores and undergrowth..


Bees Recorded:
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Common Carder Bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum)

Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

Early Mining Bee (Andrena haemorrhoa)

A Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)

And a Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

An Early Mining Bee (Andrena haemorrhoa)

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

A Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)

Hoverflies Recorded:
Spring Epistrophe (Epistrophe eligans)

Cheilosia sp.

A Spring Epistrophe (Epistrophe eligans)

I think this is one...........

...........of the Cheilosia sps

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Cranefly (Tipula lunata)

I think this is a new Cranefly for my Portland list - a Tipula lunata

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:

50+ Dock Bugs (Coreus marginatus)

I don't think I've ever seen so.............

..............many Dock Bugs. There were a good 50 or more on this one plant!!

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
2 Great Green Bush Cricket (Tettigonia viridissima)

A Great Green Bush Cricket (Tettigonia viridissima) nymph and.........

..........another. Both sat in Meadow Buttercup (Ranunculus arvensis)

Plants:

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)

There are absolutely masses of.............

...............Red Clover in the meadow.

Ted and Theo:

Go Ted go.

Now you see him.......

........now you don't.