A very pleasant warm day though with rather little sun. The threatened thunderstorms failed to materialise, as did the light showers to which the forecast was later changed
Highlights today:
- A Red Kite flew low over at 07:25. I see this species most years as it spreads out from its historical stronghold in Central Wales. My first in Shropshire this year.
- A male Orange-tip butterfly was my first for the year
- My first Red Mason Bee (
Osmia bicornis)
- A Light Brown Apple-moth (
Epiphyas postvittana) was also new for the year
- A Hawthorn Shieldbug (
Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale) was my first-ever garden record
- A Clouded Mompha (
Mompha langiella) was my first-ever.
There were at least two Pheasants calling before 07:00 and the Canada Geese were also noisy, though I only saw two in flight
List for the day: (*** = new for my garden year list)
Birds
Canada Goose, Mallard, Pheasant, Common Buzzard, ***Red Kite, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Feral Pigeon, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, House Martin, Wren, Starling, Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Greenfinch, Goldfinch
Bugs
***Hawthorn Shieldbug (
Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale)
Butterflies / Moths
***Light Brown Apple-moth (
Epiphyas postvittana)
***Clouded Mompha (
Mompha langiella)
Holly Blue (
Celastrina argiolus) - first female of the year
***Orange-tip (
Anthocharis cardamines)
Bees etc
***Red Mason Bee (
Osmia bicornis (was
O. rufa))
Andrena scotica (mining bee)
Common Wasp (
Vespula vulgaris)
Hoverflies
Marmalade Hoverfly
(Episyrphus balteatus)
Tapered Drone Fly (
Eristalis pertinax)
Common Drone Fly (
Eristalis tenax)
Chequered Hoverfly (
Melanostoma scalare)
Flies of note
None
Spiders
Salticus scenicus
Garden Spider (
Arameus diadematus)
+ 1 unidentified
Finally some images for the day:
Little more than a record shot. I dashed indoors for the camera and just captured the fast-departing Red Kite. The head-shape is quite distinctive in this rather blurred shot. Also visible is one of the Feral Pigeons whose mass departure alerted me to the presence of the kite. One of the aerials of the local radio ham makes another appearance ....
A Lesser Black-backed Gull over. No hint of black in the tail means a full adult. Note from underneath a white ‘mirror’ in the outer primary only. Also while the very tips of the spread inner primaries show through as pale, the dark shadow along the wing trailing edge continues to the wing tip, unlike a Herring Gull from the same view. Are the legs yellow? Well they are a different tone from the pink-looking feet, but ....
My female Blackbird again. Note the pale fringes to her belly feathers.
The Hawthorn Shieldbug (
Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale). Has rather more ‘power shoulders’ (remember those?) than the Common Shieldbug which can show rather similar markings in some instars. The species scientific name (
haemorrhoidale) derives from Latin and is perhaps best translated as ‘discharging blood’ which seems reasonable.
This is a female Holly Blue (
Celastrina argiolus) showing the more extensive black in the wing-edges of this sex. It may be the angle but to my eyes the legs look less ‘banded’ than on the male I photographed two days ago.
This is a Clouded Mompha (
Mompha langiella) and mainly a Woodland visitor, occasionally gardens. The larva mine the leaves of Enchanter's Nightshade and willowherbs in June and July. Despite its small size this species overwinters as an adult." which seems pretty amazing and worth noting. A new moth for me, but then micros are ....difficult!! More on this Leaf-miner Moth
Here.
On the edge of the uPvC – naturally – is this Light Brown Apple-moth (
Epiphyas postvittana). The larva feed on apple trees – ‘Apple-tree Leaf-roller’ is another name for this invasive species that was accidentally introduced from New Zealand to Cornwall in 1961 and is now common nationwide.
This bee seems to be the ‘wrong way around’ with the rufous on the abdomen and not the thorax. It is a male Red Mason Bee (
Osmia bicornis (was
O. rufa)). A male because of the white tufts on the face. I initially thought it a female showing one of it small facial horns but on closer inspection I think it is just the tip of the right front leg being held at a strange angle.
Not sure I can identify this bee. The white tufts around the face and thorax and the tawny hairs around the end of the abdomen don’t seem to match anything I can find on the web. It may be a male Tawny Mining Bee (
Andrena fulva) as almost all the photos of this species on the web show only the more colourful female.
This wasp would not settle to allow a clear shot but note that the dark mark in the first (top) yellow segment is pointed unlike the spade shape on the German Wasp I photographed earlier. So this is a Common Wasp (
Vespula vulgaris).
This is a Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus). Similar in size to the Chequered Hoverfly but with stripes.
The common small spider Salticus scenicus. Another ‘uPvC special’.
And here is a different specimen in a more natural environment – it likes buildings. You can judge its size from the pale background stripe – this is the mortar between layers of house bricks.
Another small spider and yet another ‘uPvC special’. Sorry: no idea as to which species.
(Ed Wilson)
