Something different

 Out of the blue I decided to have a few hours at Acres Down for the first time in four years on a pleasantly bright and slightly windy day. Mistake one was refuelling on the A31 garage; too dear. And buying a coffee there was a mistake; when I slurped the first mouthful a few hours later it transpired I'd pressed chocolate!Yuk.

A Cuckoo was calling distantly on arrival and near the viewpoint plenty of Meadow Pipits and Stonechats were present. Sadly, neither Tree Pipit nor Redstart were heard. Later the Cuckoo popped up nearby and gave half decent scope views while being dive-bombed by a Mipit.

First raptor up was a Gos chasing after racing pigeons and others (1 or 2) were seen on and off with one bird displaying with slow deliberate wingbeats followed by spectacular stoops and recoveries before repeating. The odd Buzzard appeared, mostly distant but one or two in camera range and two possible three kites were distant to the north and south. A single Crossbill was the only passerine of note. Finally a distant dot, soaring up into the blue, was confidently identified by the ever helpful Rob Clements as a Honey. Even with a scope I struggled with this one.

Finally a stroll down to the pond and back to the carpark with Paul from Oxford added no new birds but plenty of Broad-bodied Chasers and single Emperor and Four-spotted.

Last mistake of the day was forgetting the left-only turn back onto the A31 and driving straight into a huge traffic jam!! By the time  of exiting at Burley, nature called and a swift visit to McD's (clean loos - tick!) and a Big Mac (still as poor as ever) probably the first in ten years; probably the last for another decade!

A single Swift from the car was the last bird of the day.

And a few recent inverts.

(Dysmachus trigonus, Mother Shipton, mating Eyed Hawkmoths, male Volucella bombylans, Amblyteles armatorius)

Spring.... and there it was gone!

Apart from luckier or more diligent birders local birding has mostly been poor and the weather, whilst quite dry, has suffered from grey days and more wind than desirable and pretty much always from the wrong direction. A very local but invisible Grasshopper Warbler sang from the thickest roadside vegetation where elephants could remain unseen before going silent. Rather better, whilst checking on the daily reducing cygnets, a Common Sandpiper popped up very close on the only few yards of mud on the pond, presumably making an unscheduled stop the previous night. All the summer migrants are in and I suspect I'll have to wait for the autumn to see Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher  Redstart and Whinchat. Nightjar, Wood Warbler and Honey Buzzard will probably not trouble my list this year.

Luckily, and despite the weather, it's possible to go out most days and find something new-for-year on the insect front even if not rare or unusual. Today saw rather more Nettle Tap moths than any other day and quite a few new Garden Chafers rising out of the vegetation in their clumsy, less than aerodynamic fashion.

Today was also 'Starling Day'. After days of sharp alarm calls warning of raiding crows and Magpies, today saw the usual synchronised fledging with 30-40 birds in and out of the garden, enjoying the Mahonia and exploring all the cavities between plant pots and trying g to figure out what is edible. One found an empty snail shell and proceeded to roll it around the garden before realising there was no food value!

And so a brief and not entirely complete list of 'stuff' seen, identified or photographed in recent weeks. 

Hoverflies

Year total 52 spp/gen
Titchfield Haven total ??
New were Meligramma euchromum and Xanthandrus comtus

Craneflies

Tipula oleraceae
Ptychoptera contaminata

Soldierflies and Allies

Dysmachus trigonus
Black Colonel x2
Ornate Brigadier
Chloromyia formosa

Sawflies

Cephus spp
Arge spp
Aglaostigma sp.
Eutomostethus ephippium

Diptera

Rhagio scolopaceus
Chrysopolus cristatus
Tachina fera
Gymnosoma rotundatum
St Mark's Fly
Chloropidae spp
Tephritis neesi
Dark-edged Beefly
Dotted Beefly
Phaonia angelicae(?)
Fannia illustrator
Musca autumnalis
S.stercoraria
Noon Fly M.meridionalis
Phaonia funesta
Pollenia spp
Anthomyia spp
Sarcophaga spp

Lacewing spp (where does this go?)

Bees

Buff-tailed Bumblebee
White-tailed Bumblebee agg
Common Carder
Early Bumblebee
Tree Bumblebee
Vestal Cuckoo Bumbleee
Hairy-footed Flower Bee
Andrena scotica
Andrena dorsata
Andrena vega
Andrena haemorrhoa
Andrena cineraria
Andrena flavipes
Colletes cunicularius
Osmia bicornis
Osmia bicolor
Nomada goodeniana
Nomada fabricius
Nomada spp tricoloured
Lassioglossum calceatum(?)
Megachile spp

Wasps

Common Wasp
European Hornet
Various small unidentified spp
Amblyteles armatorius

Beetles

Agapanthia villosoviridescens
Cardinal Beetle
Swollen-thighed Beetle
14-spot Ladybird
Harlequin Ladybird
Cryptocephalus spp
Plataumaris sericea(?)
Alder Leaf Beetle
Common Malachite Beetle
Alosterna tabacicolor
Phyllobius pomaceus(?)
Cantharis rustica
Phyllopertha horticola (Garden Chafer)

Bugs

Dock Bug
Hairy/Sloe Shieldbug
Cercopsis vulnerata (Froghopper)
Leptopterna dolibrata
Crucifer Shieldbug

Odonata

Hairy Dragonfly
Downy Emerald
Broad-bodied Chaser
Scarce Chaser
Variable Damselfly
Azure Damselfly
Large Red Damselfly
Common Damselfly
Beautiful Demoiselle
Banded Demoiselle

Moths

Mother Shipton
Small Chinamark
Common Carpet
Garden Carpet
Eyed Hawkmoths x2 in cop.
Cocks-foot Moth
Pyrausta aurata
Celypha lacuna (Common Marble)
Epiblema spp
Red form of Dark-barred/Red Twin-spot Carpet
Freyer's Pug
Nettle Tap Moth
Common Quaker
Pale Pinion
Oak Beauty
Early Thorn
Adela reamurella

Moth caterpillars

Lasiocampa quercus
Depressaria daucella
Browntail Moth

Butterflies

Small White
Large White
Green-veined White
Red Admiral
Peacock
Small Tortoiseshell
Brimstone
Small Copper
Holly Blue
Painted Lady
Speckled Wood

Spiders

No idea!!Yet.

Plants

Southern Marsh Orchid
Early Purple Orchid
Celery-leaved Buttercup
Yellow Archangel
Three-cornered Leek
Common Storksbill
Herb Robert
Pulmonaria
Mullein
Red Valerian
Alexanders
Cow Parsley
Water Hemlock Dropwort
Ground Elder
Ground Ivy
Bugle (herb)
Red Dead Nettle
Periwinkle
Lesser Celandine
Greater Stitchwort

Mammals

Red Fox
Brown Hare
Rabbit
Roe Deer
Fallow Deer
Bank Vole
Water Vole
Brown Rat
Grey Squirrel

Birds (164 spp to date)

Cuckoo (H)
Grasshopper Warbler (H local)
Common Sandpiper (local)
Temmincks Stint
Arctic Skua x2
White-tailed Eagle x3
Little Gull x6
Spoonbill x5
Garganey x5
Hobby x2

More random pix