23 Jun 24

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadows and Wakeham Wildlife Site

I decided I would have a two day break from the garden restoration and took Ted for a walk around my Summer local patch again

Main highlights were two House Martins overhead and a/the Chiffchaff singing from "all" of the Sycamore trees around the meadow. If you didn't know any different you could easily have believed their were at least six bird!!

A couple of sad notes and that was not only finding a dead House Sparrow on the footpath adjacent to the meadow, but also a dead Common Shrew, just a few feet away. As both had just been left there, my assumption would be a cat, which often catch, kill and walk away without consuming their prey. Sadly for a large majority of cats it's just a test of their own hunting skills and not for filling their bellies or for young.

Also noted was just one Marbled White in the meadows, where yesterday there were three. I was expecting to see more today, but with a large unidentified Dragonfly flying about, I guess that was the reason!!

Mammals Recorded:
1 Common Shrew (deceased)

A sad sight a Common Shrew. Presumed killed by a cat.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
2 House Martin
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
1 Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch

This male Great Tit was giving me and Ted a bit of scolding as we walked passed a Buddleia. Most likely youngsters were about.

Just a few away from the Common Shrew was this dead juvenile House Sparrow. I have my suspicions as noted above.

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:
1 Dragonfly sp.

Butterflies Recorded:
1 Small Skipper
12+ Meadow Brown
1 Marbled White
5 Common Blue

A pristine looking Small Skipper

Just the one Marbled White see today in the meadow.

Moths Recorded:
1 Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana)
1 Silver Y (Autographa gamma)

2 Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)

1 #1 - moth sp.

A Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana)

And a very difficult to photograph Silver Y (Autographa gamma)

Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)

#1 - moth sp.

Bees Recorded:
Common Carder Bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum)
Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

A Common Carder Bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum) on Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra)

And a Honey Bee  (Apis mellifera) on Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris)

Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
Ichneumon Wasp sp.

Here are..........

................three different views.......

.............of my mystery Ichneumon Wasp sp

Hoverflies Recorded:

Mimic Bee Hoverfly (Volucella bombylans)

Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)
Superb Ant-hill Hoverfly (Xanthogramma pedissequum)

A Mimic Bee Hoverfly (Volucella bombylans) - variety plumata

A Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

And a Superb Ant-hill Hoverfly (Xanthogramma pedissequum)

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
1 Dagger Fly (Empis tessellata)

Broad Centurian (Chloromyia formosa)

Greenbottle (Lucilia sp.)

Cluster Fly (Pollenia sp.)

A Broad Centurian (Chloromyia formosa)

A Greenbottle (Lucilia sp.) and bottom right a Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)

A Cluster Fly (Pollenia sp.)

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:

30+ Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)
40+ Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)

1 Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata)

A Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)

And a Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata)

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:

Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)

#1 - grasshopper sp.

#2 - grasshopper sp.

A Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)

#1 - grasshopper sp.

#2 - grasshopper sp.

Plants:
Bramble (Rubus fruticosusa)
Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra)
Dog Rose (Rosa canina)
Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis)
Provence Rose (Rosa gallica)

Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris)
White Clover (Trifolium repens)

Ted:

Ted doesn't mind walking in the sun as long as there's plenty of shade and a drink along the way.

Ships Today:

This is the British Oil Products Tanker "Whitchampion" on its way from Fawley to Plymouth. More on this vessel here.

22 Jun 24

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadows and Wakeham Wildlife Site

It was time for a break from working in the back garden for the past 4 days, and time to see what was happening in the lane, meadow and wildlife site.

Well I'm pleased to say that at long last the first Marbled Whites have appeared. Though of course they could have emerged 4 days ago; we will never know.

The only downer was that, try as I could, I could not get a decent photo of any them as all three were continually on the wing.

And I found myself a new moth for my Portland moth list. A Satin Grass-moth (Crambus perlella) I came across in the meadow.


Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Dunnock
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch


Butterflies Recorded:
20+ Meadow Brown
3 Marbled White
4 Common Blue

There were plenty of Meadow Browns............

...............about in the warm breeze.

And my first Marbled White of the year. Hopefully a few more photos this year when they actually land!!

And a Common Blue which I had hoped would open it wings.  However this........

..... ground beetle (See beetles  & bugs below), scared it off as it charged under the vetch.

Moths Recorded:
2 Silver Y (Autographa gamma)

1 Mother Shipton moth (Callistege mi)

1 Satin Grass-moth (Crambus perlella)

Here is the Mother Shipton moth on..........

................the flower-head of a Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra).

And the same Mother Shipton showing a damaged wing.

 A Satin Grass-moth (Crambus perlella) in the meadow. My first on the island.

Bees Recorded:
Common Carder Bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum)

White-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum)
Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

A Common Carder Bumblebee on Common Knapweed

To be honest I'm not totally sure which species of bumblebee this is. I couldn't see any buff colouration on the tail, so could this be a White-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) or it is actually a Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris). What's throwing me on both accounts is the buff colour on the thorax and lemon yellow on the abdomen.

Phew an easy one. A Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) on a Dog Rose (Rosa canina)

Hoverflies Recorded:
Broad-banded Hopper Wolf (Gorytes laticinctus)
Stripe-winged Drone Fly (Eristalis horticola)
Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

Here are a couple of photos of...........

............a Broad-banded Hopper Wolf (Gorytes laticinctus)

Here are a..........

..............few photos of a...........

...................Stripe-winged Drone Fly (Eristalis horticola). And here is.........

...........the very similar looking Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea). And just....

..............to add to the confusion between hoverfly species this another Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea), which looks totally different to the one above.

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
#1 - fly sp.

#2 - fly sp.

#3 - fly sp.

#4 - Painted Graphfly (Graphomya maculata)

#1 - fly sp. My app suggest a Blow Fly (Calliphora sp.)

#2 - fly sp.  My app suggest a Flesh Fly ( Metopia sp.)

#3 - fly sp. My app suggest a Cluster Fly (Pollenia sp.)

#4 - A male Painted Graphfly (Graphomya maculata)

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)
Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)
#1 - beetle sp.

#2 - beetle sp.

A male Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis) on Common Knapweed

#1 - beetle sp. a Smooth Hawk's-beard (Crepis capillaris)

#2 - beetle sp.

#2 - beetle sp.

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)

A Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)

Plants:
Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra)

Smooth Hawk's-beard (Crepis capillaris)

Common Carrot (Daucus carota).
Provence Rose (Rosa gallica)

This is..................

...................Smooth Hawk's-beard (Crepis capillaris)

According to my app...........

...........this is a Common Carrot (Daucus carota). Here is a...........

..........close-up of the flower-heads.

I really do like.......

..........this Provence Rose (Rosa gallica) in the meadow.

General Shots:

The entrance to Old Quarry Lane

And the lane which very soon.........

..........will have machinery visiting this new housing development by a local business man.

Ted:

He's there somewhere.

In the shade again.

And of course hiding behind the grass in the meadow.

Aircraft Today:

This is the Socata TB-20 Trinidad privately owned aircraft, Registration N5ZY on its way over.....

.............Portland before heading back to Henstridge Airfield, Somerset here. More on this aircraft here, here, here, and here.