30 Jul 24

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadows and Wakeham Wildlife Site

After a very hot day, where the temperature hit 26.5°C in the shade, it took until 7:30pm before Ted and I could have a comfortable walk across the road.

The main highlights were 100+ Swifts, 10+ House Martins and a handful of Swallows which passed overhead from late afternoon into the evening

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull

Wood Pigeon

Collared Dove

100+ Swift

10+ House Martin

5 Swallow

Dunnock

Wren

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Jackdaw

Starling

House Sparrow

Chaffinch

Goldfinch

There were at least 60 Swifts overhead during the late afternoon...........

................. and later in the evening a further 40, plus House Martins and Swallows.

Two Swifts slightly closer to where I was stood.

A Goldfinch singing in the evening sun.

Butterflies Recorded:
1 Gatekeeper
1 Common Blue

A male Common Blue

Moths Recorded:

4 Silver Y (Autographa gamma)

1 Six-Spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae) - deceased
1 Diamond-backed Moth (Plutella xylostella)
1 Straw Conch (Cochylimorpha straminea)

1 Triple-stripe Piercer (Grapholita compositella)
1 Yellow-spotted Tortrix (Pseudargyrotoza conwagana)

A deceased Six-Spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae) on Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris). The cause of death unknown!!

A Diamond-backed Moth (Plutella xylostella)

A Straw Conch (Cochylimorpha straminea)

This is a Triple-stripe Piercer (Grapholita compositella)

And my first Yellow-spotted Tortrix (Pseudargyrotoza conwagana) for the year.

Bees Recorded:
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Common Carder bee (Bombus pascuorum)
Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

A Common Carder bee (Bombus pascuorum)

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

With slightly cooler conditions at 7:52pm, the Common Wasps (Vespula vulgaris) were very active around their nest.

Hoverflies Recorded:

1 Slender Melanostoma (Melanostoma scalare)

The only hoverfly I came across was this Slender Melanostoma (Melanostoma scalare), which also goes by the name of Long-winged Duskyface.

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Lesser Golden Knapweed Fly (Chaetorellia jaceae)

A Lesser Golden Knapweed Fly (Chaetorellia jaceae) on a Lesser Burdock (Arctium minus)

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Long-legged Plant Bug (Phytocoris varipes)

Cover Black Knee (Plagiognathus arbustorum)
Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)

This is a Long-legged Plant Bug (Phytocoris varipes) and new bug for my Portland List.

This is the plant bug Plagiognathus arbustorum. It has no common name but in Finland it is known as katvemustapolvi, which in English translates to Cover Black Knee.

A Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:

Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)

Caterpillars Recorded:
Cinnabar moth

The Cinnabar moth caterpillars is still about in good numbers on the Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris).

Ted

Ted is certainly enjoying these late evening walks.