Port and Wey: 4 Jun 25

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Wildlife Site and Wakeham Meadows

Well the weather forecast was for the rain to stop early afternoon, the sun to come out and the possibility of a few showers for the remainder of the day. Well if there was any rain this morning, we didn't get, and as for showers they were non-existent as well. So it was wall to wall sunshine, with a stiff south-westerly again!!

Highlights today were both the Chiffchaff and Common Whitethroat still singing, as per Monday, with the latter a bit closer to the wildlife site today.

There was one dragonfly sp. in the meadow, which was joined by two others. Annoyingly they never stopped flying, so id'ing them was pretty difficult.

Today also saw my first Marbled White butterfly and a Six-spot Burnet Moth for this Summer. Unfortunately the Burnet was very camera shy.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
1 Common Whitethroat
1 Chiffchaff
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Goldfinch

Escapees, Ferals, Possibles Etc.
Feral pigeon

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:
3 dragonflies sp.

Unfortunately the dragonflies flying up and down this path here, would just not land. So it was a case of firing off a few rounds on the camera, in the hope of at least capturing one of them on "film". My first effort was this one on the far right of this particular photo, which I have enlarged below.

Not brilliant, but at least it shows that it is a hawker sp.

A bit better. Possibly a female Southern Hawker.

A different hawker sp.

And one that got just a bit too close.

And a video of the hawkers in and around the meadow.

Butterflies Recorded:
3 Large White
2 Small White
1 Green-veined White
4 Speckled Wood
6 Meadow Brown
1 Marbled White
2 Small Blue
6 Common Blue

A female Green-veined White - spring brood

A Speckled Wood

A Meadow Brown

And my first Marbled White this Summer. This one in Wakeham Meadow.

A female Small Blue

A male Common Blue

Moths Recorded:

Six-Spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae)

1 Rusty Dot Pearl (Udea ferrugalis)

1 Hook-streaked Grass-veneer (Crambus lathoniellus)

1 moth sp.

My first Rusty Dot Pearl (Udea ferrugalis) for the year

A close-up of a Hook-streaked Grass-veneer (Crambus lathoniellus)

Well it appears I have found this moth again, and just like all the others I have come across at this time of year, I have as yet not gone beyond Endothenia sp. At least my Obsidentify app has narrowed it down this year to two species. Bordered Marble (Endothenia marginana) and Teasel Marble (Endothenia gentianaeana). Further investigation is required!!

And a moth which unfortunately will remain as a moth sp.

Bees Recorded:
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Common Furrow-bee (Lasioglossum calceatum)
Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)
Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)

Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)

A Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)

And a worker Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)

Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

Mimic Bee Hoverfly (Volucella bombylans)

Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

Epistrophe sp.

Cheilosia sp.

Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

A Mimic Bee Hoverfly (Volucella bombylans) - form bombylans. This is...

.........another one. This mimic bee also goes by the name of Bumblebee Plumehorn.

A Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

An Epistrophe sp.

And a Cheilosia sp.

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Greenbottle (Lucilia sp.)
Red Spotted Parasite Fly (Eriothrix rufomaculata)

Thick-headed Fly (Sicus ferrugineus)

Dagger Fly (Empis tessellata)
Semaphore Fly (Poecilobothrus nobilitatus)

I actually thought this Thick-headed Fly (Sicus ferrugineus) was dead. I took a photo of it and then went to pick it up and it flew off. It was just resting in the sun until I came along and spoilt its day.

A Dagger Fly (Empis tessellata)

A male Semaphore Fly (Poecilobothrus nobilitatus)

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
30+ Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)

1 Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus)
1 Trivial Plant Bug (Closterotomus trivialis)

Two male Swollen-thighed Beetles (Oedemera nobilis) and..........

.............another male.

And this odd looking bug is..................

.................a Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus)

Trivial Plant Bug (Closterotomus trivialis)

And today's mystery bug is a ??? nymph!!

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Dark Bush-cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera) - nymph

A Dark Bush-cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera) - nymph

Plants:
Bramble (Rubus fruticosusa)
Buddleia (Buddleja davidii)
Common Daisy (Bellis perennis)
Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra)
Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris)
Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris)
Dog Rose (Rosa canina)
Elder (Sambucus nigra)
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum)
Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum)
Meadow Buttercup (Ranunculus arvensis)
Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)
Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)
Wild Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
Yellow-rattle (Rhinanthus minor)

Provence Rose (Rosa gallica)

poppy sp.