Port and Wey: 3 Jul 24

Wakeham

It was another busy day in the back garden, cutting back lots of Ivy which is threatening to take over. It's going to be a lot of trips to the local tip to get rid of it all.

It was a very windy day and mostly cloudy, but there was still quite a bit to see when I took time off for a drink.

Mammals Recorded:
1 Brown Rat

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

As I was clearing the ground under the Cherry Tee, this Woodpigeon was sat on the branch above me. It looked like it was keeping one eye on me and the other on the cherry in front of it.

Amphibians Recorded:
2 Palmate Newt

Having topped up the "Tractor Tyre" pond, I think the Palmate Newts...........

.............were quite pleased with the extra volume of water to swim about in.

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:
1 Azure Damselfly

This male Azure Damselfly............

..........was busy doing a bit of self grooming.

Butterflies Recorded:
1 Large White

Bees Recorded:

Common Carder Bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum)
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
White-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum)
Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

bee sp.

A Common Carder Bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum) on Purple Loosestrife

Possibly a Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), but I can't quite make out the buff in the tail!!

A White-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum)

And a Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

I'm not sure what species of bee this is. It.......

.............certainly has a gingery thorax and a very dark abdomen.

Hoverflies Recorded:
6 Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
1 Pied Hoverfly (Scaeva pyrastri)

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:

Broad Centurian (Chloromyia formosa)

Semaphore Fly (Poecilobothrus nobilitatus)

#1 - fly sp.

#2 Greenbottle (Lucilia sp.)

#3 - Flesh fly sp.

#4 - fly sp.

#5 - cranefly sp.

A Broad Centurian (Chloromyia formosa)

This is a............

..........male Semaphore Fly (Poecilobothrus nobilitatus)

#1 - This fly was close to the Semaphore fly and was identical in size. I have no idea what it is though.

#2 - Greenbottle (Lucilia sp.)

#3 - Flesh fly sp.

#4 - fly sp.

#5 - cranefly sp.

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
7-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata)
Rough-Haired Lagria Beetle (Lagria hirta)

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)

This odd coloured grasshopper is I believe a Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus). Not all grasshoppers are green and this particular species does have many variations in colour. I will check. More on this grasshopper here.

Ants Recorded:
Small Black Ant (Lasius niger)