27 Mar 20

Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church and Church Ope Cove

It looks like the message has got through to most people, in that you are not permitted to drive somewhere to go for a walk. That is apart from 3 cars that pulled up in Church Ope Cove car park and the occupants setting off on their prohibited daily exercise. Some people are just not getting it!!!

At least the other people I met on my daily exercise, were locals that I have met before, sadly though there are still a few that are clueless. Rant over.

Just the one migrant seen today a Chiffchaff at the back of the cove, where the pair of Long-tailed Tits are still building their nest. They have put a "roof" on it now and are busy collecting feathers to line the inside.

Not too many butterflies about but I did manage to see a female Large Tortoiseshell at the bottom of Penns Wood, a Peacock at the back of the cove and a Comma on the way up the steps.

Good to see that there are least 3 Hairy-footed Flower Bees in Penns Wood, where there were at lest 4 Nomad bees. Unfortunately they never stop flying so I have no idea which species they are.

And I managed to find more Celery Flies today with 4 on the Japanese Spindle in Penns Wood.

Here are a few images and videos from today:

Just the one Chiffchaff seen on my walk.

It was pretty flighty and searching in the Hebes, this Blackthorn and.........

............the Ivy.

One of the Long-tailed Tits collecting feathers to...........

.............line their nest which now has a dome roof.

The Wall Lizards were out in force.

These two were by the archway between the wood and the church.

A real close up of one of the Lizards and a short...........

............video.

A very worn Comma I came across as I walked up the steps from the cove.

A couple of days ago I came across one Hairy-footed Flower Bee in Penns Wood.

Today there were 3 and all males. Not seen a female yet which are all black.

And a short video of one of the Hairy-footed Flower Bees.

Love these characters.

This is a Celery Fly and just look at those green eyes.

I came across 4 today resting on the leaves of the Japanese Spindle in Penns Wood.

Not the easiest of flies to video, and sadly this is a very short video.

All I seem to be finding lately are Common Green Shieldbugs. I'm sure I'll find other species as the weather warms up. 

And as promised Ted can now see as you can tell........

.........in this video. He hasn't run like this for ages.

Birds Recorded: 1 Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, 1 Oystercatcher, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Meadow Pipit, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 1 Chiffchaff, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet and Goldfinch

Reptiles Recorded: Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis)

Butterflies Recorded: 1 Large Tortoiseshell, 1 Peacock and a Comma

Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) and 3 Hairy-footed Flower Bee (Anthophora plumipes) and 3 nomad sp.

Hoverflies Recorded: Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax) and 5 Syrphus sp.

Flies, Gnats and Midges Recorded: 4 Celery fly (Euleia heraclei)

Ships Today

This is the British Auxiliary ship "RFA Lyme Bay" on its way from Plymouth to Portland Harbour. More on this vessel Here

This is the British Auxiliary ship "RFA Tideforce" on its way from Plymouth to Portland Harbour. More on this vessel Here.

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

2019
Today's Sightings Here.

2018
Today's Sightings Here.

26 Mar 20

Wakeham

I decided to forgo my permitted exercise walk today and spent the day in the back garden potting up plants and checking out the wildlife.

Quite a few birds about including what I'm pretty sure was a Willow Warbler moving through the neighbouring gardens. My rationale below.

Overhead a Raven passed by, cronking away as they do and the local Kestrel was checking out the Lower Horse paddock for a meal.

In the garden a Peacock landed next to the pond and the flower beds were alive Mining Bees and Furrow Bees.

On one of the Red Valerian I came across a Common Green Shieldbug

Here are a few images from today:

A Chiffchaff or a Willow Warbler. Those primaries (wing feathers) look very long, I'm betting this is a Willow Warbler. Not that the long wing feathers are anything to go by, but this was very yellow plumaged bird and was silent. All the Chiffchaffs I have had passing through the garden have been light brown to olive green and very vocal. I know when I was talking to the ringers at Portland Bird Observatory last Spring, even they were coming across Chiffs and Willows varying in colour. What a shame it didn't burst into song. I'm pretty sure it was a Willow Warbler and has been confirmed as such.

My first Peacock butterfly in the garden this year. In fact the first butterfly!!

An Andrena scotica, Mining Bee making its way to this........

..........leaf to warm itself up.

This very very small bee is I believe a Southern Bronze Furrow Bee

And two bees which don't look anything like the two species above. Probably not enough detail in either to get a 100% ID of what they are.

Sat on the pond weed a Migrant Hoverfly. There is one there honest.

A Common Green Shield Bug on the Valerian

I've been calling these Kentish Snails, but are they. I've seen posts on Social Media which might suggest that these are Wrinkled Snails. I will have to check.

And this is the last time you will see Ted's eyes covered. Late afternoon and after a bit of team work between me and Dawn I managed to scissor cut around his eyes. No easy task believe me.

Birds Recorded: 1 Kestrel, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Robin, 1 Willow Warbler, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, 1 Raven, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet and Goldfinch

Butterflies Recorded: 1 Peacock

Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), Southern Bronze Furrow Bee (Halictus tumulorum) and Mining Bee (Andrena scotica)

Hoverflies Recorded: 1 Migrant Hoverfly (Meliscaeva auricollis)

Bugs and Beetles Recorded: Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)

Slugs and Snails Recorded: Garden Snail (Cornu aspersa) and a possible Wrinkled Snail (Candidula intersecta)

Spiders Recorded: A Jumping Spider (Salticidae sp.)

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

2019
Today's Sightings Here.

2018
Today's Sightings Here.

25 Mar 20

Wakeham Wood, Bottom Combe Railway Cutting, Perryfield Quarry Butterfly Reserve, Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church, Church Ope Cove, Penn's Weare, The Cuttings, Bumpers Lane, Shepherd's Dinner, Broadcroft Quarry Lane and Lower Horse Paddock.

A nice walk today in the sun, though that easterly wind has still got a bit of a bite in it. Despite the extended walk there were surprisingly few highlights, with just 3 Chiffchaffs in the grounds of St Andrew's Church and 2 along Penn's Weare. Other than that there were no other Spring migrants seen or heard.

And there was no sign of any Large Tortoiseshells either and the only butterflies seen were 6 Peacocks on the Blackthorn halfway up the sooth facing slopes at the cove.

However with the sunnier and drier weather there were certainly more bees about and 2 new for year for me were a Hairy-footed Flower Bee and a Grey-patched Mining Bee.

And it looks like there might be a few Brown-tail Moth caterpillars about with around 6 "tents" close to Wakeham Wood. The caterpillars are pretty small at the moment and difficult to ID, but are most likely to be Brown-tails.

Here are a few images from today:

A Kestrel over Penn's Weare looking for its next meal.

Also along the Weares were a pair of Common Buzzards. As I was watching this individual, these two feral pigeons flew up from their nesting site at The Cuttings and made a bee-line for it. They made a couple of passes and realising that the Buzzard wasn't a danger headed back down to cliffs.

A male Linnet...........

...........singing along Bumpers Lane. It was then joined by this.........

............female. But didn't stay long.

And this is a Grey-patched Mining Bee (Andrena nitida), which I found in Bottom Combe Railway Cutting.

And also another new for year was this male Hairy-footed Flower Bee, which was on Comfrey in Penns Wood. An amazing bee that can actually hover, which it did more than once as I watched it. The females are all black. More on this bee Here.

I've yet to ID this bee!!

And I know I've said this umpteen times but............

............I just these Bloody-nosed Beetles.

They get their name from the fact that if they are "annoyed" they can secrete a red substance from the mouth.

A Common Green Shieldbug. Probably the commonest shieldbug I have come across on Portland.

Its early days yet and the caterpillars in this "tent" are very small. Give it a few more days and hopefully I will be able to identify them. My money is on Brown-tailed Moth caterpillars.

Rufus Castle

One of the two WWII Pill Boxes on the Weare.

And a couple of photos of Ted.........

........who is in desperate need of a trim.

And on my walk it was good to see others were taking the Government and NHS's guidelines with respect to keeping our distance from others. This was my one walk today and though there were others out, everyone was standing well back and allowing the other to pass by safely. The grey dog here with Ted is my neighbours and is called Charlie.

Birds Recorded: 2 Cormorant, 2 Buzzard, 1 Kestrel, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 5 Chiffchaff, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet and Goldfinch

Reptiles Recorded: Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis)

Butterflies Recorded: 6 Peacock

Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius), Hairy-footed Flower Bee (Anthophora plumipes) and Grey-patched Mining Bee (Andrena nitida)

Hoverflies Recorded: Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Flies, Gnats and Midges Recorded: Muscid Fly (Phaonia subventa)

Bugs and Beetles Recorded: 1 Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina) and 3 Bloody-nosed Beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa)

Caterpillars Recorded: Possibly Brown-tail Moth

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

2019
Today's Sightings Here.

2018
Today's Sightings Here.

24 Mar 20

Wakeham

This morning was my one and only time out today and the rest of the day was spent in the back garden mowing the lawn and sewing Marrow, Courgette and Sunflower seeds.

There was lots of wildlife about and quite a few birds noted, with the following birds seen Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch

No butterflies about, but there were quite a few bee species in the garden with Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), 1 Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius), White-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum), Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum). And hopefully I have ID'd these correctly 1 Southern Bronze Furrow Bee (Halictus tumulorum) and 5 Mining Bee (Andrena scotica)

A first for me on Portland was a Parasitic Wasp, Ichneumon stramentor, which landed very briefly on the garden wall.

Two Hoverflies seen a Common Dronefly and a Syrphus sp.

A Common Green Shieldbug was the only bug seen and was climbing along the garden shed.

Here are a few images from today:

Just a small section of the back garden, which was teaming with insects.

Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)

This very small Bumblebee on the Lavender is most likely a White-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum)

A very tiny Mining Bee which...............

............looks like one I have recorded in the garden before, a Southern Bronze Furrow Bee (Halictus tumulorum)

There were at least 5 of these Mining Bees.........

.............I believe they are Andrena scotica

This is an Ichneumon stramentor and a first for me on Portland. More on this parasitic wasp Here.

A Syrphus sp. hoverfly.

7-spot Ladybird

A Common Green Shieldbug

And a very weedy pond, where I cleared a small area and a Frog popped up.

Easton

This morning as I was waited 40 minutes outside the local Chemist to pick up a prescription (only 2 people allowed inside at a time), I had plenty of time to do a bit of birdwatching.

One of the Evergreen Trees in Easton Gardens was a real magnet for the birds with Goldfinch, Chaffinch and a real surprise a Firecrest.

Overhead were the usual Herring Gulls and Feral Pigeons, plus a Sparrowhawk which was gliding about in a tight circle before swooping down and disappearing behind the local buildings.

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

2019
Today's Sightings Here.

2018
Today's Sightings Here.