15 Oct 24

Wakeham

In preparation for my Op on Monday 21 Oct, I have been told to stop taking certain meds, two of which both treat high blood pressure and heart failure. This is my second day, and already I can tell that my breathing is definitely impaired by not taking them. The doctors know best, so I have decided that walks up and down the back garden will have to do, until after the op.

I'm not complaining as I absolutely love my garden, and there is always something to find. Today's highlights were 3 individual Chiffchaffs passing through, along with a party of 3 Siskins, a Speckled Wood on Cosmos, and a Celery fly. The latter the first one I have recorded since April 2023!!


Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
3 Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
3 Siskin
Goldfinch

Here are a few photos and videos of the "resident Robin in the back garden. Its amazing how a few live Mealworms can tempt it to come pretty close.

Escapees, Ferals, Possibles Etc.
Feral pigeon


Butterflies Recorded:
1 Speckled Wood

Mid October and a Speckled Wood still flying about. Here it is on a Common Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus). A flower that is also known as Mexican Aster. If there was ever a flower I would recommend for a garden, it would be this one. The number of bees, hoverflies and butterflies I have had on this plant has and still is pretty impressive.

Bees Recorded:

Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
White-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum)

Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)

A Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) leaves this Passion Flower (Passiflora sp.) for another close-by.

Another Honey Bee, plus another fully laden individual which decided not to join it. Also on the petals are a few fruit flies sp.

I think there is just enough of thin buff band between the white tail and the black of the abdomen to separate this Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris).............

............... from the very similar White-tailed Bumblebee (B. lucorum).

And a Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum) on a Common Cosmos

Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
2 Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
1 Parasitic Wasp sp.

A parasitic wasp sp.

Hoverflies Recorded:
1 Migrant Hoverfly (Meliscaeva auricollis)

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

...........a Migrant Hoverfly (Meliscaeva auricollis)

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
1 Celery fly (Euleia heraclei)

#1 - fly sp.

#2 - fly sp.

#3 - fly sp.

This is an aberrant Orange-brown morph............

.........Celery fly (Euleia heraclei). This is the first..............

................one I have seen since April 2023.

#1 - fly sp

#1 - fly sp

#2 - fly sp

#3 - fly sp

#3 - fly sp

Slugs and Snails Recorded:

Great Pond Snail (Lymnaea stagnalis)

A Great Pond Snail (Lymnaea stagnalis) in the "Tractor Tyre" pond

Leafhoppers Recorded:

20+ Leafhopper (Empoasca vitis)

A Leafhopper (Empoasca vitis)

Leafminers:
leafminer sp.

An Oak Leaf Miner on the leaves of my Cheshire Oak tree. More on these leaf miners here and here.

Caterpillars Recorded:

Large White

The Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) are getting a right bashing.........

.............as dozens of........

..........Cabbage White caterpillars munch their way through them.

Ted:

Ted giving me the eye, with the Trail Camera behind him, set up for this week.

Yes Ted, that's your seat.