First duty day yesterday... and short local walk today

Breezy and mostly a bit birdless at Pulborough after reinstating volunteer role.

A pair of Garganey were nice and it was good see surviving Avocet and Lapwing chicks. 

Near 'close of play' a White Stork was way out on the riverbank.

Still a little song from four or five Nightingales but no Lesser Whitethroat, Garden Warbler nor Cuckoo - and two close and very audible Treecreepers refused to be seen!

On the heathland a male Great Spotted Woodpecker was feeding some very noisy young and a second very scruffy adult was on a dead branch poking out of Black Pond. At the latter not much water and just one Four-spotted Chaser.

Today just two very new Coot chicks, five young Mallard almost full grown bar flight feathers and only one singing Reed Warbler. With June just around the corner  other singing males are unlikely. Only noticeable change insect wise, with the arrival of warm weather, was Amblyteles armatorius and a good number of Broad Centurions.

Below, Scorpion Fly and a Drinker moth caterpillar from SHP a couple of days ago.

Still holding off on putting the Moth trap out with so much fox activity; yesterday a rucksack turned up in the garden  (!!) - I wonder where that was stolen from?

A better day at Tichfield

Started with coffee in the cafe.

Bird wise pretty poor with just a few Swifts and, later in the morning, two or more Bearded Tits calling but sadly not visible.

MF's earlier Little Gull had done a bunk and the sea was empty of interest at high tide and just a handful of Turnstones in the harbour.

Luckily, much of the west side was well sheltered and warm in places and with lots of Buttercups and flowering Hemlock Water Dropwort and so insects were numerous and interesting; certainly the best day of the spring so far.

So,

Large Red Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, Hairy Hawker, Blue-tailed Damselfly 

Peacock, White spp, Speckled Wood, Holly Blue

Tropidia scita, Syritta pipiens, Helophilus pendulus, Myathropa florea, Eristalis pertinax, Episyrphus balteatus, Anasimyia lineata, Eristalinus sepulchralis, Eupeodes luniger, Parhelophilus spp, Epistrophe eligans, Cheilosia albitarsis agg, Syrphus ribesii, Pipiza austriaca, Melanogaster spp, Platycheirus scutatus s.s

Graphomya maculata, Tachina lurida, Rhagio scolopaceus

Cardinal Beetle, Malachite Beetle, Halequin Ladybird, Grammoptera ruficornis, Plateumaris sericea

Nomada spp flava  type, Buff-tailed Bee, Early Bee, Common Carder Bee, Lassioglossum spp

Chrysis ignita type Ruby Wasp

Arge cyanocrocea

Crab Spider Misumena vatia

Red-and-Black Froghopper Cercopis vulnerata

The Tachina lurida was the best of the bunch as it's not a species I'd seen before; and helpfully confirmed by Steven Falk within hours.

Foxes

15th May

The neighbours fox cubs have been putting on a nice show lately but obviously not appreciated so after three days of dumping rubble around their shed base there's now no room for anything bigger than a mouse. The adult, probably the vixen was on garage roofs early this morning before going through the gardens. Hopefully its cubs are still accessible through a hole in the fence to a more wildlife friendly neighbour.

Elsewhere, nothing new and again too windy.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

16th May

The three fox cubs morphed into four and are spending lots of time in M's garden with one dead-set on getting under the garage door; so I had to encourage it on it's way from its hiding place behind the old freezer!

More early morning food delivery, just trash that the adults can forage from nearby gardens and waste.

Local, today and recent

(Large Red Damselfly,  Merodon equestris, Lackey moth caterpillar, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Philodromus spp, local fox cubs, Minettia longipennis aka Sooty Pump Fly)

The Swans lost their last remaining cygnet, still just one singing Reed Warbler.

The Common Whitethroat was in the smallest patch of scrub just adjacent to the bus stop!

A Honeybee  swarm was at the southwest end of the restricted field.

Moths at WWT

 

The weather has been poor for moths so far this year and didn't look too good for Tuesday with very chilly nightime temperatures down to 6 C or less and continuing for a few days. I'd rather hoped to get a message or email, saying the event was cancelled!

Arriving a little too early saw a trip to the Co-op where a couple of House Martins were overhead, followed by a quick coffee in Partners.

There was a bit of a queue to get in but eventually about 10-12 of us convened in the comfort of the first hide with Suzi et al where some moths had been potted earlier and some left in the UV Robinson.

In the end about 30/15 was better than expected and include some nice favourites - Poplar Hawkmoth, Treble Lines, Buff-tip, Pale Tussock and, best of all, Chocolate Tip a moth I've never caught and one I've seen on few occasions.

Wind and rain put paid to much invert searching and birdlife was pretty thin - just the male Peregrine cruising along the hanger whilst calling and a female Pochard with just one very tiny and vulnerable looking duckling.

Plenty of Sand Martin activity with all birds flushed skyward by a cruising Sparrowhawk plus a couple or more audible-only Swifts.

No Cattle Egrets, GWE nor harriers today.

Above, a bycatch in the trap was this Cockchafer.

Plenty of these Woundwort Shieldbugs, first Common Spotted Orchid and first Tropidia scita (Tooth-thighed Hoverfly), another Helina interpuncta according to ObsID, a Red Mason Bee, and finally an Alder Fly (Sialis spp).

SHP again Monday

It was nice to see that the Highland Cattle had drawn in three Cattle Egrets, birds I'd never seen here before and presumably from the Warblington area. Other birdlife was very quiet but I still submitted a complete Birdtrack entry.

The weather was a little disappointing being totally overcast but dry for the morning. Some areas were at least sheltered from the breeze. Later, at home it rained for an hour or so.

The only lepidoptera on the wing strangely were all moths; Speckled Yellow, Nettle-tap, Nemophora degeerella and Alabonia geoffrella.  The English names for many inverts are now being used more widely on websites and in books so I think I'll start to add them here and so the former two moths are Yellow-barred Longhorn and Common Tubic, the latter a pretty poor name for such a smart moth!!

(EDIT I hadn't realised that 2nd edition of Sterling and Parsons with it's very prominent  English names has this as Hedge Beauty, a much better name).

I was pretty  chuffed to see 'Geoff' as we've not crossed paths for some years. (EDIT Just under 7 years since my last at Titchfield with Dave Wallace).

Hovers were few and far between and the two below were a bit too far for the 90mm macro but it looks as if both were new for me namely Platycheirus tarsalis and Criorhina floccosa.

SC (7th) and local 7th/8th

 

(Cantharis rustica x2, Swollen-thighed Beetle, Athalia spp, Macrophya spp possibly annulata, Rhopalus subrufus, Helina impuncta(?), Neoascia spp, Tachina fera/magnicornis, Andrena fulva, Wolf Spider spp Pardosa,  Honeybee swarm).

After some voting 'faff' - I'd forgotten I was still registered for postal voting - some weed pulling at home had the background soundtrack of invisible Swifts overhead and singing Goldcrest and Blackcap from nearby gardens.

At SC very busy with school party and a funeral plus other guests. Little on offer today with just singing Firecrest and a Small Copper which wouldn't settle for a photo. Hopefully, the heavily cut vegetation will recover soon and be full of insects in the next few months.

At home the usual local walk on both days saw a dozen or more Holly Blues but not much supporting cast.

Presumably the local Whitethroat had moved down the hedge line and was singing close to the pond. Pleasingly, today saw the first singing Reed Warbler of the spring on site, albeit well hunkered down. The Cantharis above and a Blue-tailed Damselfly were new-for-year.