A local walk on Saturday produced usual numbers of Tufted Ducks, just a handful of Shovelers, six Lesser Black Backs and a Chiffchaff.
Yesterday started in the forest where three Goshawks were 'play fighting' on arrival at 09:15 with a fourth circling up with three Buzzards soon after. A Marsh Tit was scolding from the roadside trees but a singing Woodlark kept its distance.
At Blashford four Bramblings were the first this winter for me and, in fact, the first for 51 weeks!! A few moths in the trap thanks to TS were mostly quakers, including Twin-spotted, Hebrew Characters, an Early Thorn, an Oak Beauty and this Brindled Pug below with ID confirmation from SF.
The new viewing point provided some good banter (GBL etc) and the usual fare plus Grey Wagtail, Red Kite(3), Marsh Harrier, Buzzard (10+), Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, heard-only LRP and, on the dot of three, the Ring-billed Gull on the Osprey perch - a year tick at last and a ropey record shot below.
Insect wise plenty of Brimstones and Peacocks plus two Commas, my first two Bee-flies (FB unsurprisingly showing a mass of new records for today), Tree Bumblebee, gazillions of Andrena vaga plus lots of other Andrena spp, a single Sphecodes on the 'Beewolf Clump' but little on the hover front other than E pertinax, M auricollis and Syrphus spp. The mass of flowering Sallow was rather disappointing with just Honeybees.
Some violets provided a relief from yellow flowers and finally the sole mammal of the day, a Roe Deer, strolled past the Woodland Hide.
Today was back to Chi for a replacement lens cap with Raven activity again, a single Buzzard but no (obvious) Pegs; plenty of Bee-flies, Bombus terrestris/lucorum/pascuorum, Osmia bicornis, lots of Anthophora, Eristalis pertinax, tenax, Eupeodes spp, Syrphus spp, Syrphus torvus, Episyrphus balteatus but nothing better hoverwise. Back home there was a single female Hairy-foot to keep the multiple males happy and another Bee-fly which was shooed away by the HfFbs. A small Andrena vanished before I could get a photo.
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| Non-biting Midge, Chioronomid |
