Hottest days so far

Its been a long hot ten days mostly at home and mostly too hot for wildlife. 
QECP is now open and with plenty of flowering plants (some above) - Yellow-wort, Common Centaury, Hypericum, Viper's Bugloss, Pyramidal and Common Spotted Orchids, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Mullein etc etc but little attracting any bees, wasps, hovers nor other diptera. The lower path, still walkable but with shoulder high grass, held lots of Meadow Browns and Ringlets all intent on finding shade whilst the Marbled Whites were happy to blunder about, feed on Knapweed or fly out over the crop field. No blue butterfly species and just Small Coppers on the butterfly slope. Also Red Admiral, Comma, White spp and Small Skipper.

Many Azure Damsels were on and around the pond with new tenerals 'helicoptering' up into the sky. Just this Emperor resting on reeds and a flushed Broad-bodied Chaser elsewhere. Bird life was restricted to a juvenile Buzzard perched on a conifer calling to its circling parent, two Bullfinches drinking by the bridge and a couple of distantly calling Firecrests.
Sadly, as with many places, no sight of any Swallows presumably a result of a  catastrophic migration event in Europe earlier in the spring.

A planned flog through the grassy area adjacent to the Oxenbourne style was defeated by lunchtime temperatures.

That evening a flurry of calling Med Gulls over the house heading west.

A second, coffee-only visit to QECP a few days later produced just one flyover Siskin the first since January at Titchfield.

Earlier in the week a catch up with PW at Arundel was pleasant but devoid of birds. With the local authority ordering the WWT to close their hides and not allowing them to serve food and drink it was  a backwards step after last week's visit with just a few Sand Martins, Buzzards and a single Sparrowhawk.

TH have just announced a controlled reopening in ten days for permit holders only which will be something to look forward to - hopefully the online booking system won't be flooded!!

PS above also Eristalis tenax and Silver Y

No 30DWiJ

COVID, hot weather, arthritis and general apathy meant that 30 Days Wild in June slipped away from me although I'm guessing the 'restricted' lives we are all living might have encouraged many people to take part in the confines of their local areas and gardens. Nice to see Blashford is reopening today, in a limited fashion - maybe a visit coming up in the days ahead.

The last four pretty inactive days saw a couple of appearances of Wool Carder Bee in the garden along with a few leafcutters and a brief glimpse of a Peregrine, now absent from local church but presumably roosting elsewhere in town.

A first 'coffee outing' since March 19th to P'field produced just Buzzard over the main road, some House Martins over town and a Med Gull over the road and into Farlington.

A local walk on Tuesday found the first four Small Skippers of the year dog-fighting with up to thirty Meadow Browns along the rough path by the new plantings plus a very fresh Small Tortoiseshell. Otherwise just Red-tailed Bee, a Nomada spp and a 'kicked up' Silver Y moth. A Common Damselfly was a surprise find. No sound of any Whitethroats today, just Chiffchaff, Blackcap and a distant Cetti's. Lastly a Buzzard over harassed by Herring Gulls and crows.
PS A couple of forgotten species were first Helophilus hybridus and a good number of the small longhorm beetle Stenurella melanura, mostly mating pairs.

First reserve outing

Yesterday, Thursday, saw a return to Arundel WWT, the first since March 9th and the first reserve visit of any sort since lockdown.

The online booking system worked fine and on arrival everyone was greeted by staff to ensure they had pre-booked and then directed to alternate parking bays. Two metre queuing into reception where it was only necessary to flash the booking on the phone; then on to Lizzie for some basic access info. Needless to say, no indoor seating, restaurant nor shop but outdoor picnic tables available and loos open with all alternate facilities taped off.

Most of reserve open although SMH was closed, due to Sand Martins rather than COVID I'm guessing. Other hides open with limited numbers but with only 200 visitors a day it wasn't a problem getting a seat. Needless to say the boardwalk is closed due to being too narrow for social distancing. Spent some time talking to Richard who I've not seen in a year or so.

The contractors were only just back on site this week so the Pelican exhibit hasn't changed much - large yellow JCBs, high-viz, hard hats and mostly more dried out than three months back but won't presumably look much 'til next year.

On the insect front strangely quiet but Black-tailed Skimmer and Ruby-tailed Wasp were new for the year and just this single orchid visible from the path. Most obvious change with no geese to flatten and chew the grass was that their compound is now knee high in daisies!

Bird wise rather too many 2cy Herring Gulls loafing which might be the cause of a complete lack of ducklings etc. Only one pair of Canada Geese had 'fluffball' young and the few Greylags were now fully grown. Quality was provided by a breeding plumage Cattle Egret, plenty of Cetti's and Acros, a Peregrine perched up in the hanger before powering over the reserve and a female Marsh Harrier in wing moult.

One Oystercatcher pair still had two young although the other pair lost their brood.

Everyone seemed glad to be there and hopefully a system for take away drinks etc might be possible in a few weeks.

Today on a brief outing for plants, an Oystercatcher flew out of the harbour, over the road and into the industrial estate carrying food, so presumably nesting on a roof or some such.

(Below male Bombus terrestris, Vespula rufa, female Eupeodes spp, goose enclosure, groundwork)

Camera user error

This was about all I could salvage from a brief, local outing today as I'd inadvertantly put the Lumix m4/3 camera into 4k mode; perhaps the overly rapid shutter firing should have been a clue!! Still, this female hoverfly Volucella bombylans was nice to see in its red-tailed form mimicing Bombus lapidarius; and a Xanthogramma pedisequum was also smart but both were trumped by Helophilus trivittatus, a species I don't see too often - these were the best of ten species seen. The cooler weather may not suit butterflies and Odonata but it certainly helped with finding hovers.

Curiously, at the start of the walk, yet another blank for Reed Warbler in the small reed patch, but one was singing a few hundred yards further on, from the roadside scrub adjacent to the derelict pond liner and in habitat much more suitable for Blackcaps. Go figure!!

Two new families of Moorhen, two and three strong, were only days old but the sheer volume of dumped bird seed nearby ensures the Brown Rat population doesn't go hungry!

Meanwhile the typically bad-tempered cob swan spends all its time chasing off the hapless Canada Geese; not sure if last week's targeted individual survived the onslaught.

Colour-wise the yellow of flag iris is now being swamped and replaced by the first Purple Loosestrife and a small patch of Ragged Robin.

Finally, it was good to use the WWT's online visitor application to book a 'social distance' visit next week, the first for three months and a similar visit the following day to Hinton Ampner gardens - flask of coffee and packed lunch are order of the day for both.

Week eleven...

So far the best thing about lockdown week eleven has been the break in the weather to more typical UK summer conditions with yesterday's light but continuous rain welcomed by all the parched gardens and green spaces.
Much more bearable overnight temperatures for sleeping. And it looks as if the next ten days at least are set for mild, variable and sub 20 degree days.

Nice to catch up with an old friend yesterday and chat about local raptor news, probably the first conversation I've had with ANY birder since March!

Yesterday also saw the completion of the jigsaw above, certainly the toughest so far - so off to Amazon or somesuch in the days ahead for the next one!

Tuesday started with a quick visit to QECP where the carpark was open but quiet and the centre/cafe still shut. Singing Goldcrest and Firecrest were audible from the car but the usual lower path and butterfly slope were devoid of life with just a few tiny Common Spotted Orchids by the roadside. Off to Petersfield where it was surprising to see how much work has been achieved since last visit as part of the long awaited improvements. The new boardwalk is much more user friendly and fit-for-purpose although presumably will remain taped off even when finished as social distancing will be impossible. Promise of reed planting should encourage a couple more pairs of Reed Warblers and help with water quality. Two new islands,  currently just raised and banked flattened earth piles,  should look better once vegetation takes hold. Coal Tit, Green Woodpecker and Nuthatch, all heard-only, were the first since lockdown, a handful of Swifts were drinking on the wing accompanied by a similar number of House Martins, two kites went east and north respectively and, finally, five Tufted Ducks were the only 'quality' wildfowl.

Curiously, insects were relatively few and far between with only two butterflies, one each of Red Admiral and Meadow Brown. Some sandy areas had plenty of digger wasps but my arthritis prevented me from getting down to their level for a close look - really must invest in a net!! Hoverfly Chrysotoxum bicinctum is always nice to see but today's individual was off in a flash as were the few Azure Damselflies so no photos. Thereafter, plenty of noisy, hyperactive Little Flower Bees, a few of the 'snipe fly' Chrysopilus cristatus, a Straw Dot moth and the sawfly Selandria serva, all pictured above.

This rather leggy Common Spotted Orchid was in its usual spot stifled by rank grasses.

Back home for coffee where one Peregrine was high to the west and a male Emperor Dragonfly zipped across the garden.