27 Jun 21

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadow, Perryfield Quarry Butterfly Reserve, Cheyne Weares, Church Ope Cove, Rufus Castle and Portland Museum

I think the word yuck sums up today, but at least Ted and I managed to get out for a walk before the next bank of cloud and heavy drizzle hit the island again. In fact as I write this at 14:16, it is darker outside than it was this morning. Yep its pretty grim out there.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Meadow Pipit, Dunnock, Blackbird, 3 Common Whitethroat, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow and Goldfinch

A Dunnock along Old Quarry Lane. Shame about the twig.

And the male Common Whitethroat again in the horse meadow. I think I need a bigger lens.

Just off Cheyne Weares was this adult Great Black-backed Gull.

Butterflies Recorded:
1 Large White, 2 Meadow Brown and 1 Common Blue

Moths Recorded:
Garden Grass-veneers (Chrysoteuchia culmella)

Well I'm happy with Garden Grass-veneer for this one........

...........but this one and the same moth below.........

.............I have no idea at all. Unless it's a worn Garden Grass-veneer. Which apparently it is.

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

A male Red-tailed Bumblebee

And another bumblebee on the Knapweed. This time a Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris). The only thing I cant make out is whether it's a male or a worker. I'm thinking a worker.

Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta) and Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria) and 2 Four-spot Wingwaver (Herina lugubris)

Not the nicest of names but this is a female Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria) 

If I have got this right, these two Trembling-wing flies are.............

................ Four-spotted Flutter Flies (Palloptera umbellatarum) and a new species for my Portland List. Well I wasn't too far off, but in fact they are Four-spot Wingwavers (Herina lugubris). Many thanks to my good friend Ed Wilson who spotted the difference. No pun intended 😀


Here is a short video of the Four-spot Wingwavers, with a couple ants sp. and some smaller unidentified flies.

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis) and Lesser Thick-legged Flower Beetle (Ischnomera cyanea)

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Great Green Bush Cricket nymph (Tettigonia viridissima)

Slugs and Snails Recorded:
White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis), Brown-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea nemoralis), Garden Snail (Cornu aspersa) and Black Slug (Arion ater)

With the damp conditions the slugs and snails were out in force. This is a Brown-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea nemoralis)

And close-by were these two...........

.................White-lipped Banded Snails (Cepaea hortensis) The colour and pattern difference is pretty varied.


Plants Recorded:
Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis), Ivy Broomrape (Orobanche hederae) and Wild Thyme (Thymus polytrichus)

A lone Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) on Cheyne Weares. There were many more alongside the path.

An Ivy Broomrape (Orobanche hederae)

Wild Thyme (Thymus polytrichus)

Local Area
Church Ope Cove and Rufus Castle

Church Ope Cove beach and Rufus Castle above.

Rufus Castle overlooking Church Ope Cove and Penn's Weare.

Ted
Five Ted's has been my best so far 😃

Five isn't bad, but six would be impressive.
Ships Today
Two yachts today, one is "Time to Dance" and the other is "Trinity". The latter sailing without its transponder on.

This is the British Yacht "A Time To Dance" on its way from Portland Harbour to an unknown destination. More on this vessel Here

Unfortunately this smart looking catamaran "Trinity" didn't have its transponder on, so I have no details on this vessel.

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On this day

2020
Today's Sightings Here

2019
Today's Sightings Here.

2018
Today's Sightings Here.

2017
Today's Sightings Here

26 Jun 21

Old Quarry Lane and Wakeham Meadow

Not as sunny as the past few days and there were noticeably fewer butterflies about.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull, 1 Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Blackbird, 2 Common Whitethroat, 1 Blackcap, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow and Goldfinch

Butterflies Recorded:
1 Small Skipper, 1 Large White, 1 Speckled Wood, 3 Meadow Brown, 1 Painted Lady and a Common Blue

There are just a few Painted Lady's starting to appear. This individual is quite worn.

It was difficult to find the Meadow Browns today, as most were hunkered down in the long grass.

A female Common Blue

And my first Small Skipper this year.

Moths Recorded:
Several Garden Grass-veneers (Chrysoteuchia culmella), 2 Mother Shipton moths (Callistege mi) and a possible Hook-streak Grass-veneer (Crambus lathoniellus)

The Garden Grass-veneers were out again in good numbers.

I'm not sure about this one. Possibly a Hook-streak Grass-veneer (Crambus lathoniellus)

As for this one, I reckon its a very worn Garden Grass-veneer....

.....Here is another view of it.

This is a Mother Shipton moth (Callistege mi)

This is also a Mother Shipton moth (Callistege mi), but a really small individual.

Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) and a Large Meadow Mining Bee (Andrena labialis)

On the Knapweed I came across my first Large Meadow Mining Bee of year.

Ichneumon Wasps Recorded:
2 Ichneumon sp.

Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) and Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta),

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
1 fly sp.

One of the Flesh Flies maybe. 

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
7-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata), Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis) and a Cinnamon Bug (Corizus hyoscyami)

A 7-spot Ladybird with two orange "blobs" on its outer wing cases. How odd!!

A male Swollen-thighed Beetle. A very common beetle at the moment.

An unusual looking bug......

...........ahh that's better. This is a Cinnamon Bug (Corizus hyoscyami). The first one I found Portland was in this same area back in June 2019.

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Great Green Bush Cricket (Tettigonia viridissima)

This is a male Great Green Bush Cricket.

And here we have the female.

Plants Recorded:

This is Yellow-wort (Blackstonia perfoliata) and another..........

...........wildflower coming into flower.

And another plant coming into flower is this Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris)

Ted
Spot the dog.
I think he likes this spot in the meadow. Or is he being clever because he knows that behind him is the only way out of the meadow.

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On this day
2020
Today's Sightings Here

2019
Today's Sightings Here.

2018
Today' Sightings Here.

2017
Today's Sightings Here

25 Jun 21

Wakeham and Local Area

I was in the garden this morning and then in the afternoon it was across the road for a walk along Old Quarry Lane and both the butterfly meadow and horse meadow..

Main Highlight was my first Ringlet butterfly this year.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, 2 House Martin, Dunnock, Blackbird, 2 Common Whitethroat, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Magpie, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch

This is probably the closest I have been to the male Common Whitethroat in the horse meadow. He's still singing away. The female I noted was bringing food to the nest which is in one of the brambles.

Reptiles Recorded:
6 Slow-worms

This is quite frustrating. Here are 2 of 6 Slow-worms under a board along the Old Quarry Lane.............

.............., yet some ecologist threw down half a dozen reptile mats in this adjacent meadow and found none. I wasn't surprised, as whoever it was, just threw the mats on top of grass that was 14inches high. They were never going to find Slow-worms that way. So now the reptile report, to whom it may concern, will show that there is one less hurdle to jump if this field, as rumour has it, is going to be yet another unwanted housing estate on the island.

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:
Azure Damselfly

Just the one male Azure Damselfly on the garden pond today.

Butterflies Recorded:
Large White, Speckled Wood, 1 Ringlet, 5 Meadow Brown and 1 Common Blue

Five yes five Meadow Browns in the butterfly meadow. They are slow to emerge this year.

And a very tatty Speckled  Wood along Old Quarry Lane where I also found..........

...........my first Ringlet of the year.

Moths Recorded:
Several Garden Grass-veneers (Chrysoteuchia culmella)

This moth is a Garden Grass-veneers (Chrysoteuchia culmella) and along with...........

..............several others were in the butterfly meadow.

Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) and a possible Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum)

This is a male Red-tailed Bumblebee.

And this one is a worker Red-tailed Bumblebee.

I came across quite a few Common Carder Bumblebees in the butterfly meadow and then this very small and very similar looking bee suddenly appeared on this Knapweed. I pretty sure this is a Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum). But there again, if I'd only taken a decent photo I would have known for sure.

Ichneumon Wasps Recorded:
Ichneumon sp.

Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta), Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare) and a Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris) 

A Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris) by the butterfly meadow

Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta) in the back garden again

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Muscid Fly sp.


Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis) and a Rosemary Beetle (Chrysolina americana)

Just one Rosemary Beetle (Chrysolina americana) in the garden and still on the Lavender.

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Great Green Bush Cricket (Tettigonia viridissima) and Dark Bush-cricket nymphs (Pholidoptera griseoaptera)

This Great Green Bush Cricket (Tettigonia viridissima) was nearly the one that got away. I just caught a bit of movement in the undergrowth and there it was.

Slugs and Snails Recorded:
White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis), Garden Snail (Cornu aspersa) and Black Slug (Arion ater)

Plants Recorded:
Lady's Bedstraw (Galium verum)

Not quite open yet, but the tall yellow plant in the background is Lady's Bedstraw (Galium verum)

Ted
Yes Ted Hmm.........

Right now this is the good side of Ted, where butter wouldn't melt. However this was a far cry from this morning, when I spent a good 30 minutes looking for him on the new estate, down through Wakeham and in at least 4 neighbouring gardens. I don't think I've whistled so much or called out his name in a very very long time. But where was he then.................

...........Well he was here stuck in the "tin" shed, trapped between the wheelie bin and the sack trolley. Lucky dog, as this was the second time I had checked the shed. But on this occasion Ted had managed to get on the right side of the bin, otherwise I think he would have still been there.

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On this day
2020
Today's Sightings Here

2019
Today's Sightings Here.

2018
Today' Sightings Here.

2017
Today's Sightings Here
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