Port and Wey: 6 Jun 24

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Wildlife Site, Easton Railway Cuttings and Wakeham Meadows

Back on the local patch this morning with my main highlight being two new invertebrates for my Portland Lists. The first was a shieldbug (Rhopalus subrufus) followed by a Jet-black Parasite Fly (Zophomyia temula)

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

A female Common Whitethroat in amongst the valerian collecting food for her youngsters in the Cuttings.

Reptiles Recorded:
1 Slow-worm

An adult Slow-worm.

Butterflies Recorded:
4 Dingy Skipper
2 Small Skipper
2 Green-veined White
2 Speckled Wood
5 Meadow Brown
5 Small Blue
3 Common Blue

A Dingy Skipper and............

............another one. Both in the Cuttings.

A Small Skipper

A Speckled Wood

And a Meadow Brown

And a couple of photos of a.........

........Small Blue in the Cuttings.

And a male Common Blue.

Moths Recorded:
Cocksfoot Moth (Glyphipterix simpliciella)
Silver Y (Autographa gamma)

A Cocksfoot Moth (Glyphipterix simpliciella) on an Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)

Bees Recorded:
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)

Buffish Mining Bee (Andrena nigroaenea)
Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

A Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)

A Buffish Mining Bee (Andrena nigroaenea)

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

An Ichneumon wasp sp...............

............having a preen before taking off. (In slow-motion)

Hoverflies Recorded:
Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris)

A Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris) - form bulborum

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

Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)

Broad Centurian (Chloromyia formosa)
Jet-black Parasite Fly (Zophomyia temula)

#1 - fly sp.

#2 - fly sp.

#3 - fly sp.

#4 - fly sp.

A male Broad Centurian (Chloromyia formosa)

A Jet-black Parasite Fly (Zophomyia temula). My first ever. More on this fly here.

#1 - fly sp.

#2 - fly sp.

#3 - fly sp.

#4 - fly sp.

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Lesser Thick-legged Flower Beetle (Ischnomera cyanea)
Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)
Shieldbug (Rhopalus subrufus)

Flanking this Broad Centurian (Chloromyia formosa) are two male Swollen-thighed Beetles (Oedemera nobilis)

And my first ever Shieldbug (Rhopalus subrufus). More on this bug here and here.

Plants:

Red Valerian (Centranthus ruber)

White Valerian (Centranthus ruber alba)

Oxeye Daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare)

Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena)

Hedge Bedstraw (Galium album)

This waste rock and soil has been left in a pile next to Wakeham Meadow. Over the past......

..............few years, it has started transform into a really good habitat for plants. Hopefully........

............it will look something like this in the Cuttings with an assortment of Red Valerian (Centranthus ruber), White Valerian (Centranthus ruber alba), Oxeye Daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare) and many other plants.