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
