Port and Wey: 15 Sep 25

RSPB Radipole Lake

Whilst Ted was having a short back and sides at the groom room, I spent a good 80 minutes walking around the Buddleia Loop at Radipole.

Main highlight was that it wasn't raining; though a couple dark clouds threatened to do so, but moved swiftly on in that gale force westerly.

On the bird front I recorded at least 6 Chiffchaffs and 2 Blackcaps around the loop, and on the water a good 30+ Gadwall, Shoveler, Mallard and an odd looking duck, which had I seen it before editing my photos, I would have taken a better photo of it.

And my odd looking duck is a drake Garganey moulting. I did have my suspicions, but to be honest I had it in my head that Garganey are quite large. Well I got that wrong, so thank you to Ed Wilson for putting that notion out of my head. So my first Garganey this year.

In one spot here, there were up to 8 dragonflies "hunting" for flying insects. Very difficult to photograph and equally difficult to ID as well, though one of them looks like a

Surprise of the morning was a single Ivy Bee on Hemp Agrimony. Not a plant which Ivy Bees normally visit.

And what about the wasps, I must have counted a good 50+ Common Wasps, along with a few German Wasps and Digger Wasps.

Birds Recorded:
3 Mute Swan
Mallard
Gadwall

1 Garganey
Shoveler
Moorhen
30+ Coot
Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
4 Robin
3 Cetti's Warbler
2 Blackcap
6 Chiffchaff
8 Long-tailed Tit
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Chaffinch
Goldfinch

A pair of Mute Swans

Mallard, Gadwall, Shoveler, Moorhen, Coots and on the far left a small..........

........duck. Which is a drake Garganey. See notes above.

A drake Gadwall and............

..............three more drakes and two ducks.

And here are two drake Gadwall either side of a very vocal female.

The visible Gadwall are all drakes with a duck hidden behind the second male.

Three ducks and one drake Shoveler.

More Shovelers in flight.

An adult Moorhen sticking close to the reedbeds.

Well I never knew that!! A group of Coots, like the ones here are called.............

..........a cover, a raft, a commotion, or a swarm. Other terms include a fleet, a shoal, or even a codgery.

This Blue Tit was following a flock of 8 Long-tailed Tits and a couple of Great Tits

Escapees, Ferals, Possibles Etc.

2 Feral pigeon

This feral pigeon has a "cauliflower" cere. This is either down to avian pox, respiratory disease or hopefully with this bird, just down to old age; when the cere grows bigger as they near 10 years old.

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:
1 Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta

7 hawkers sp.

A Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta

Butterflies Recorded:
8 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
1 Painted Lady Vanessa cardui

A Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria

On this Buddleia Buddleja davidii....................................

................. is a Painted Lady Vanessa cardui

Moths Recorded:
2 unidentified micro moths

Bees Recorded:
5 Honey Bee Apis mellifera

6 Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
1 Ivy Bee Colletes hederae

A Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum on Common Hawkweed Hieracium vulgatum

On this Hemp Agrimony Eupatorium cannabinum is an Ivy Bee Colletes hederae. This is not a flower it usually visits for nectar by all accounts. Normally if Ivy flowers are in short supply they will feed on other late-blooming flowers from the daisy family (Asteraceae), such as Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris, Chicory Cichorium intybus and Common Dandelion Taraxacum officinale. Well there's a first time for everything.

Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
50+ Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
2 German Wasp Vespula germanica
2 Digger Wasp Ectemnius sp.

There were a lot of Common Wasps Vespula vulgaris about..............

............compared to just a couple of German Wasps Vespula germanica seen.

This is a Digger Wasp Ectemnius sp. and............

.................here is a short video of it.

And here is another Digger Wasp

Hoverflies Recorded:
Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
The Footballer Helophilus pendulus

A Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax

The Footballer Helophilus pendulus

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

A Blue Blowfly Calliphora vicina

Plants:
Black Bryony Dioscorea communisa
Bramble Rubus fruticosusa

Buddleia Buddleja davidii

Common Hawkweed Hieracium vulgatum
Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris
Dog Rose Rosa canina
Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna
Hemp Agrimony Eupatorium cannabinum

Hop Humulus lupulus
Ivy Hedera helix
Large Bindweed Calystegia silvatica

Sea Aster Aster tripolium