22 Aug 25

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Wildlife Site and Wakeham Meadows

It was another early evening walk and despite it being around 6:00pm, I came across 2 Common Blues and a Chalk Hill Blue. And there I was thinking they were done for the Summer.

Other highlights were a Common Whitethroat and a Chiffchaff alongside the meadow, plus the two female Wasp Spiders were still present.

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

This Common Buzzard drifted over Wakeham and then..............

...........disappeared sharpish when the Herring Gulls gave chase.


Escapees, Ferals, Possibles Etc.
Feral pigeon


Butterflies Recorded:
3 Large White Pieris brassicae
2 Small White Pieris rapae
5 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
2 Common Blue Polyommatus icarus
1 Chalk Hill Blue Polyommatus coridon

A Small White Pieris rapae sat on Wild Clematis Clematis vitalba 

There are still quite a few Speckled Woods Pararge aegeria about.

And not having seen any Common Blues Polyommatus icarus for.............

.............a few days I came across two males.

And I also found this Chalk Hill Blue Polyommatus coridon


Moths Recorded
:
2 Hummingbird Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum
1 Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella
1 Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata

And not having seen any Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella I came across one today.

And I also came across another Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata


Bees Recorded
:
Honey Bee Apis mellifera
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius

A male Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius on Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris


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


Hoverflies Recorded:
2 Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
3 Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
1 Dead Head Hoverfly Myathropa florea
1 Syrphus sp.

A Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax

And a Dead Head Hoverfly Myathropa florea on Wild Fennel Foeniculum vulgare

Syrphus sp.


Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded
:
Many unidentified flies
Blue Blowfly Calliphora vicina
Greenbottle Lucilia sp.


Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
2 Dark Bush-cricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera


Spiders Recorded:
1 Wasp Spider Argiope bruennichi

And the Wasp Spiders Argiope bruennichi are both present.............

................in their respective meadows. Though this one did move very quickly to catch this tiny fly.


Plants:
Bramble Rubus fruticosusa
Buddleia Buddleja davidii
Common Knapweed Centaurea nigra
Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris
Common Teasel Dipsacus fullonum
Cotoneaster Cotoneaster sp.
Dog Rose Rosa canina
Greater Burdock Arctium lappa
Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna
Hemp Agrimony Eupatorium cannabinum
Honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum
Ivy Hedera helix
Large Bindweed Calystegia silvatica
Lesser Burdock Arctium minus
Wild Clematis Clematis vitalba 
Red Valerian Centranthus ruber
Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus
Wild Fennel Foeniculum vulgare
Wild Marjoram Origanum vulgare

Ted:

Perfect conditions for Ted to have a buzz.