Port and Wey

5 Sep 19

Portland Bird Observatory Quarry, Hut Fields and Culverwell

Having not checked my phone this morning when I got up and even leaving it at home when I decided to visit the Obs, it was a stroke of luck that when I parked up and walked around to the quarry that I found out there was a Wryneck lurking there somewhere.

Mind you it hadn't been seen for a good hour or more, so I wasn't that hopeful of seeing it. But as luck would have it and a wait of 35 minutes it suddenly appeared in the bushes to my far right and flew into the brambles in front of me. Sadly it reappear again and after another 20 minutes or so I made my way off to the Hut Field.

Also in the Obs Quarry were 3 Chiffchaffs, 2 Common Whitethroat, a Robin, 2 Blackbirds, 1 Robin and 2 Great Tits.

In the Hut Fields were 4 Wheatear with another 2 along the coast path as I headed up the island.

On the rock along the shoreline were 11 Oystercatchers and overhead several Meadow Pipits, and singles of Pied Wagtail and Yellow Wagtail.

Here are a few images from this morning:

The Obs Quarry where there is always a bit of excitement at this time of year.

Today was no exception when a Wryneck pitched up here this morning. Unlike the bird of 2017 Here, this individual was proving to be very elusive, but I did manage a brief view of it as it flew across the quarry from one bramble bush to another. At least I my friend Andy managed a shot of it about half an hour after I left Here and Here.

NOT the Wryneck from today but the one from 6 Sep 17 Here. Certainly the right time of year to see them and this one was also in the Obs Quarry.

Apparently a Chiffchaff with very orange legs.

In the Hut Fields were 4 Wheatears.

This confiding bird let me get quite close for a........

..........nice close-up shot.

While others kept their distance.

And likewise.

A Wheatear stops off in the Hut Fields before heading off across the English Channel

Along the shore-line a great big slab of rock was "home" to.......

.........11 Oystercatchers.

Here are 4 of them and..........

.......another shot of the larger group, with a single bird out of shot.

A party of 11 Oystercatchers

Birds Recorded: Cormorant, Shag, Kestrel, 11 Oystercatcher, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Wryneck, House Martin, Swallow, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, 6 Wheatear, Blackbird, 2 Common Whitethroat, 3 Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Raven, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet and Goldfinch

Butterflies Recorded: Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Speckled Wood, Small Heath, 1 Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Red Admiral and 2 Painted Lady

Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) and Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum)

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded: Dragonfly sp.

Ships Today

On the horizon the is the Cargo Ship "RB Leah" flying the flag of the Marshall Islands.

It is on its way from Ijmuiden, Holland to Sept-Iles, Quebec, Canada.

4 Sep 19

Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church, Church Ope Cove, Penns Weare, Penns Copse, Rufus Castle, The Cuttings Quarry and Mermaid Track

A breezy day, but at least the sun was out. Main highlights were 2 Chiffchaffs in Penns Wood, a Willow Warbler at the back of the cove and a few House Martin and Swallows moving south overhead.

On the beach just 7 Rock Pipits. Also here were several lizards, which I presume are Wall Lizards foraging in amongst the pebbles. I've seen a couple here before but not half way down the beach.

A few butterflies about with 2 Holly Blues in the church grounds, a Small Copper along the Mermaid Track and an interesting sighting of a Small White presumably taking in salt from the washed up seaweed on the beach.

Hoverflies, hundreds of them wherever there were flowering Ivy. On one patch alone I counted at least 50, and on one flower head there was a Dead Head Hoverfly, a Common Drone Fly and a Lesser Hornet Mimic Hoverfly.

Here are a few images from this morning.

Judging by the amount of Kelp Flies flying above their heads, I don't think these Rock Pipits will be leaving the cove anytime soon.

This Rock Pipit appears to have found a great advantage point by sitting close to this rock and picking off the the flies as they pass by.

Is it possible that this is the same Black-headed Gull as the one seen here yesterday!!

A beach lizard. I can't quite work out if its a Wall Lizard or Common Lizard.

Whichever species they are, they love it on the beach. Church Opes version of the Galapagos's Marine Iguana.

These lizards are quite a way out on the beach looking for Kelp Flies.

A Small White on the seaweed

Not a sight I have seen before. A Small White presumably taking in salt from the seaweed.

A Small Copper and one of my favourites. I mean what isn't there to like about those colours.

A Holly Blue, in fact there were two in the church grounds.

So many hoverflies about. Here with have from left to right a Lesser Hornet Mimic Hoverfly, a Common Drone Fly and a Dead Head Hoverfly.

And the Lesser Hornet Mimic Hoverfly

Another hoverfly this time a Pellucid.

And my one and only bug seen today a Dock Bug.

Birds Recorded: 2 Kestrel, 1 Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, House Martin, Swallow, 7 Rock Pipit, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Willow Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Dipper, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch

Reptiles Recorded: 8+ Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis)

Butterflies Recorded: Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Copper, 2 Holly Blue and 1 Common Blue

Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum) and Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)

Wasps Recorded: German Wasp (Vespula germanica) and Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)

Hoverflies Recorded: Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea), Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria), Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis), Pellucid Hoverfly (Volucella pellucens), Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax) and Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax)

Bugs and Beetles Recorded: Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus)

Grasshoppers and Crickets Recorded: Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus) and Common Field Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus)

Ships Today

This is the Italian Cargo ship "Grande Guinea" on its way from Limas, Turkey to Southampton. More on this vessel Here.

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On this day..........

2018
Today's Sightings Here.

2017
Today's Sightings Here.

3 Sep 19

Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church, Church Ope Cove, Penns Weare, Penns Copse and Rufus Castle

My first walk down to the cove this Autumn, via Penns Wood and the church grounds, and great to see my first "flock" of 9 Rock Pipits on the beach searching out Kelp Flies in amongst the washed up seaweed.

Behind the huts a Willow Warbler was the only migrant, other than a small flock of House Martins, seen this morning.

Other highlights were a pair of Shags tussling over a Garfish just off the shoreline. They didn't appear to be too interested in eating it until a Herring Gull spotted them. In their panic one of the Shags dropped it and then very quickly found it, before dispatching it very quickly.

Also seen were dozens of hoverflies on the flowering Ivy just to the side of the steps below the church grounds. Mostly Dead Head Hoverflies, in amongst them were a few Tapered Drone Fly's and a Lesser Mimic Hornet Hoverfly.

Here are a few images and a video from this morning:

The German Wasps are still busy in the grounds of St Andrew's Church. this is their nest in the old Church walls.

Where the Ivy was in flower there were dozens of Dead Head Hoverflies (Myathropa florea) and this..........

.............Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis)

A Tapered Drone Fly on Ragwort.

Great to be back on the beach at the cove.

It has been very busy here with holidaymakers visiting the cove for the past 6 weeks, but today the only visitors were........

........Rock Pipits, with 9 birds foraging in amongst the seaweed

A pair of Shags squabble over a Garfish

It looks like one of them has made off with it.

A pair of Shags squabbling over a Garfish, with a very interested Herring Gull close-by.

No I haven't inverted the photo. This Black-headed Gull decided to come into land, upside down.

Fortunately it had the common sense to correct its flight before alighting.

Not a gull usually seen in the cove. Usually its Herring Gulls and the occasional Great Black-backed Gull.

Ivy-leaved Toadflax, Cymbalaria muralis (Also known as Kenilworth Ivy, Coliseum Ivy, Oxford Ivy, Mother of Thousands, Pennywort and Wandering Sailor)

And finally another shot of a very quiet Church Ope Cove

Birds Recorded: 2 Shag, Kestrel, 1 Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, House Martin, 9 Rock Pipit, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 1 Willow Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch

Butterflies Recorded: 1 Large White

Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) and Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)

Wasps Recorded: German Wasp (Vespula germanica)

Hoverflies Recorded: Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea), Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax), Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax) and a Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis)

Flies Recorded: Kelp Fly (Coelopa frigida)

Ships Today

This is the British Frigate "HMS Argyll" on manoeuvres in Weymouth Bay. More on this vessel Here.

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On this day..........

2018

Today's Sightings Here.

2017

Today's Sightings Here.

2 Sep 19

Thumb Lane

A quick stop at Thumb Lane before heading down to Southwell. And a good call as it appeared with singles of Pied Flycatcher, Spotted Flycatcher, Willow Warbler and Blackcap all in the copse Here. Close by were 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Common Whitethroat and another Blackcap.

On the butterfly front there were several Painted Lady's on the local Buddleia with at least 3 pristine individuals. Also noted were 4 Red Admirals.

I seemed to be doing quite well with Hummingbird Hawk-moths and just south of Thumb Lane copse there was one busy feeding on the Buddleia.

A Painted Lady

Top Fields

Highlights here were 2 Common Redstarts, with a female in the field Here and a male singing briefly Here. Several Wheatears were about and there was at least one very mobile Yellow Wagtail, or were there two!!

A Chiffchaff was the only warbler I found.

Quite a few butterflies along my walk and 3 Wall Browns were along this sheltered track Here.

Here are a few images from here.

A female Common Redstart takes off showing off her red tail markings.

And here she is sat in a bramble.

One of the several Wheatear making their way down towards the Bill and then eventually across the Channel.

One of the 3 Wall Browns I came across today.

And finally an Ichneumon Wasp, Amblyteles armatorius.

Birds Recorded: Kestrel, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Skylark, Sand Martin, Swallow, Pied Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, 2 Common Redstart, 7+ Wheatear, Blackbird, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Raven, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet and Goldfinch

Butterflies Recorded: Large White, Green-veined White, Speckled Wood, 3 Wall Brown, Small Heath, Red Admiral, Painted Lady and Common Blue

Moths Recorded: 1 Hummingbird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum)

Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum) and a queen Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)

Wasps Recorded: German Wasp (Vespula germanica) and Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)

Ichneumon Wasps Recorded: 1 Amblyteles armatorius

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded: Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)

Hoverflies Recorded: Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax) and Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax)

Ships Today

This is the British Frigate "HMS Argyll" on manoeuvres in Weymouth Bay. More on this vessel Here.

Note

And finally if you like a bit of nostalgia here is a video from 1998 "Portland, Story of an Island"

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On this day..........

2018
Today's Sightings Here.

2017
Today's Sightings Here.

1 Sep 19

Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church, Penns Weare, Penns Copse, Rufus Castle, The Cuttings Quarry and The Mermaid Track.

Wall to wall blue skies and a fresh southwesterly and a trip down to the cove. Despite being in the shelter of the wind it was actually very quiet on the bird front. Having said that I did record 2 Swifts, 2 Willow Warblers, a Whitethroat, 2 Yellow Wagtails and a handful of House Martins and Swallows.

Very few butterflies about and pick of the bunch was an Adonis Blue in the The Cuttings Quarry. Elsewhere there was a Common Blue along the Mermaid Track, a few Large Whites & Green-veined Whites and a single Painted Lady.

Also recorded a new moth for my Portland moth list this time a Straw-barred Pearl (Pyrausta despicata) which was in The Cuttings Quarry.

The only "bugs" found was a Dock Beetle in the quarry and 2 Harlequin Ladybirds in Penns Wood.

Here are a few images from this morning.

A rather worn Green-veined White

Straw-barred Pearl.

A Harlequin Ladybird, form conspicua

Dock Bug

Newton's Cove, Balaclava Bay, The Hood and Portland Harbour

Another trip out on Star for a bit of fishing. Very slow and the best we could do was 3 Mackerel. At least the wildlife was a bit more exciting with 4 Oystercatchers, 2 Turnstone and 2 Sandwich Terns seen.

Also about were a Clouded Yellow, a Painted Lady and 3 Barrel Jellyfish.

The main highlight though had to be my first ever Western Conifer Seed Bug (Leptoglossus occidentalis) which flew into the cabin of the boat.

Here are a few images from this afternoon:

Oystercatcher

Turnstone

Barrel Jellyfish

A Western Conifer Seed Bug..........

..............and another shot of it as it made its way around the cabin.

Ships Today

(Photos taken in very hazy conditions)

This is the Portuguese Cargo ship "Samskip Express" on its way from Cork to Rotterdam. More on this vessel Here.

This is the British Diving vessel "Skindeep" on its way down the east coast of Portland. More on this vessel Here.

This is the British Patrol Ship "HMS Dasher" just off Portland. More on this vessel Here.

This is the French Fishing Boat "Pere Daniel" just off Portland. More on this vessel Here.

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On this day..........

2018
Today's Sightings Here.

2017
Today's Sightings Here.

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