R.I.P Dave Swarbrick

And another one departs.

Duetting with Chris Leslie here

Blashford Lakes HIWWT

..The wave found its way to the shore

I thought it was a ripple and nothing more the wave found its way all the way to the shore... (kt Tunstall)

Getting stir-crazy so decided to go for a drive despite the ropey weather, the car thermometer showing 54F pretty much all the way to Blashford. Good numbers of Swifts zooming over the approach road. Probably 250+ over Ibsley Water and 145+ Greylag Geese but pretty much nothing else.

An LRP called distantly and, as I left, a few extra degrees of temperature encouraged four mewing buzzards to circle over the car park. Caught up with a couple of locals and 'talked tech' for half an hour. No staff present so no moth trap to poke about with. Ivy South is now mostly given over to nesting BHGS and Common Terns on the new HOS-sponsored rafts.

Just three hovers with one, Xanthogramma pedisequum agg,  being attractive, co-operative and pictured here.

Departed across the forest where half a dozen Stonechats,  mostly zipping across the road and flipping up onto the tops of nearest gorse bushes.

Burton Mill Pond (SWT)

An hour here on the way home produced a mixed bag. The new boggy pond was alive with chasers but the ground was  too muddy to get within camera range. At least one Scarce Chaser  sat up but was heavily back lit. Three new hoverflies for the year - Chrysotoxum bicinctum (pictured), Eristalis nemorum and a very nice Volucella bombylans var plumata.

A few Speckled Yellows were buzzing around and a pair of Hairy Shieldbugs were joined end on end.

A Garden Warbler sang away nearby and within a few yards of a Blackcap doing likewise, for a nice comparison. The roadside vegetation held the usual damsels but no dragons. Two nice tachinid flies namely Tachina fera and Cistogaster globosa

Dummy

Dummy text with HOS Link and a sub adult Gannet from Bempton Cliffs some year back.

A surprise at Titchfield

Whilst chatting to a TH volunteer we came across this strolling across the path, 'rescued' it and popped it up in a tree. Assuming it was 'waspish' I popped it onto what I though was the appropriate Facebook group. Big mistake! However , once suggested it was a sawfly then tracking it down to Cimbex connatus was pretty quick.
Sorry for poor picture.

Butser Hill

After a slow start with the morning paper, coffee and sausage and egg bap at QECP, I finally got going on a nice bright morning. Unfortunately, it was a little too early in the day and the path I planned to walk for hovers was in deep shade. Three singing firecrests, well concealed now, a single Bee fly and a few Xylota segnis were all so could find in 20 minutes so I drove around to Butser.
Despite living reasonably close for most of my life this was my first visit here. By now the weather had cooled and it was mostly overcast. Still good numbers of Early Purple Orchids and Cowslips with a few butterflies on the north facing slope with Duke of Burgundys and Grizzled Skipper the best and Small Heath the most numerous. Precious little birdlife other than a few skylarks and not much in the way of insects although a late find of Xanthogramma citrofasciatum, new for me, was easily the 'find of the day' and pictured here.

The Milky Way

A chance encounter with a gentleman at Petersfield's Heath Pond (quick lesson in differentiating Goat Willow etc) led me to going off to  in search of Ramsons and hence Portevenia maculata. I was told the area was called the Milky Way but assumed it was a local name;  little did I know it's marked on the OS Map as such!!
Despite not having a clue where I was going I managed to find the site just as the temperature dropped and clouds blew in. So no sign of PM.  Heading back, the sun popped out and several Merodon equestris started buzzing around, thoroughly dusted in pollen (pictured). Arriving back at the car a Firecrest was singing strongly and came to check me out when I started pishing. Amazing how this bird's population has rocketed since I started birding.

Lunch on a bench by the pond and a couple of village pics.

Earlier at Heath Pond several singing Reed Warblers including two in bramble scrub and one in a garden adjacent to the road which was  still singing here on the 27th!!(This post being written retrospectively).