27 May 24

Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church, Church Ope Cove, Penn's Weare, Penn's Copse, Rufus Castle, The Cuttings Quarry and Bumpers Lane.

We are definitely liking this this weather. Wall to wall blue skies, sunny and warm. Well it was warm in the more sheltered spots, as that south-westerly breeze is still taking the edge off the temperature.

Main highlight was a Reed Warbler singing from the bottom of Penns Wood.

Also noted were
Common Whitethroat: Two on Penn's Weare and one along Bumpers Lane
Blackcap: One in Penns Wood
Chiffchaff: One in Penns Wood, one in Penn's Weare and one along Bumpers Lane

Sadly not too many butterflies about with just a Dingy Skipper, my first this year and two Common Blues.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
2 Great Black-backed Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
Song Thrush
1 Reed Warbler
3 Common Whitethroat
1 Blackcap
3 Chiffchaff
6 Long-tailed Tit
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch

A Great Black-backed Gull crossing over the cove

A couple of juvenile..........

.............Long-tailed Tits in Penns Copse.

And another juvenile bird. This time a "white-headed" Goldfinch. Its a shame there wasn't an adult close-by for a comparison. So..............

...........here's one I prepared earlier!!

Reptiles Recorded:
4 Wall Lizard
1 Slow-worm

And here are.........

........a few.........

...............Wall Lizards from today.

And a juvenile Slow-worm.

Butterflies Recorded:
1 Dingy Skipper
2 Common Blue

My first Dingy Skipper for the year.

A female Common Blue and with........

..........her wings open.

And another female Common Blue.

All three butterflies were in The Cuttings Quarry here.

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

Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
Chocolate Mining Bee (Andrena scotica)

Flavous Nomad Bee (Nomada flava)

Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

It was a bit of a Chocolate Mining Bee day today.........

............... with this one.........

.............this one and......

...............this one.

And another andrena. Though which species I'm unsure of.

And this wasp-like insect is in fact a member of the bee family. It is......

...............a Flavous Nomad Bee (Nomada flava)

And a Honey Bee on............

......................Horseshoe Vetch (Hippocrepis comosa)

Hoverflies Recorded:

Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

A Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

And a Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
7-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata)
Common Green Capsid (Lygocoris pabulinus)

A 7-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) and......

.........a side profile of a Common Green Capsid (Lygocoris pabulinus)

Plants:
Common Milkwort (Polygala vulgaris)

Horseshoe Vetch (Hippocrepis comosa)

Hemp Agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum)

Ivy Broomrape (Orobanche hederae)

Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum)

Common Hawkweed (Hieracium vulgatum)

Common Gladiolus (Gladiolus communis)

Common Milkwort (Polygala vulgaris) and Horseshoe Vetch (Hippocrepis comosa)

Common Milkwort (Polygala vulgaris)

Horseshoe Vetch (Hippocrepis comosa)

Hemp Agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum) Also known as 'Raspberries and Cream' in the Pirates Graveyard.

More Ivy Broomrape (Orobanche hederae)

Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum)

Common Hawkweed (Hieracium vulgatum)

In Bumpers Lane was............

............this Common Gladiolus (Gladiolus communis)

General Shots:

The Pirates Graveyard.

Its actually the remains of St Andrew's Church and was...........

..............built in the12th Century. More on this church here. 

The view looking east from the Pirates Graveyard. Sadly vandals have removed a dozen or so stones from the base of the wall. In fact speaking to a local man, he said his friend saw someone throwing the stones down towards the path below.

Church Ope Cove.

And again looking south

More vandalism I'm afraid. This time the sign...........

...........informing the public of possible rockfalls. This sign was at the top of the steps by Rufus Castle. Sadly the vandalism doesn't stop here............

..........but also along Bumpers Lane, where rocks have been removed from under this large stack. A rockfall waiting to happen.

And further along the lane, this apple tree has been stomped on at its base and is now horizontal to the ground. 

Ted

A Happy Ted.

Ships Today:

This is the British Chemical/Oil Products Tanker "Stolt Osprey" on its way from Liverpool to Rotterdam. More on this vessel here.

This is the General Cargo Ship "Celtic Crusader" flying the flag of Antigua & Barbuda. It is on its way from Bromborough to Poole. More on this vessel here.