Cemlyn Bay - 17 Jul 20

Today, after the easing of the Covid travel restrictions to Wales, I made a visit to the North Wales Wildlife Trust's Reserve at Cemlyn Bay

This location is a breeding site for Sandwich, Common and Arctic Terns. The visit needed to be made before the young fledged and they started to leave for Africa and beyond.

Here are some images from the visit. It was my first-time out with a new camera. Some are not as sharp as I would have liked and are included to show salient ID features. I'll get used to it – or vice versa.

It was 'busy', with birds bringing food to the juveniles and some juveniles just flying around testing their wings.

The largest of the trio of terns is the Sandwich Tern. A black bill with a yellow tip and a dark outer wing. This individual is just beginning to moult its head-feathers and a few white flecks are visible in the black cap.

Here are three adults and four rather mottled juveniles. Here we see the adults black head has a short crest.

An adult arriving with food.

And two fish. Perhaps it has twins?

A juvenile Sandwich Tern takes to the air. Note the short bill and tail; the rather rounded wing-tips and, just visible, the pattern on the upper wing.

Can be noisy. Here a Common Tern squawks its way in. Features to note here are the dark tip on an orange-red bill; and a dark area on the upper wing outer primaries similar to the Sandwich Tern.

The dark wedge on the outer wing is well seen here.

A Common Tern arrives with food.

Again

"You're going the wrong way!" Note the Sea Kale (Crambe maritima) on the pebble-strewn beach.

In front of an adult Arctic Tern is a first summer and non-breeding bird. It is a bit of a puzzle as first-summer Arctic Terns are rare on the breeding grounds, staying in the Southern Hemisphere. Separation of first summer Arctic and Common is not easy. This, despite its proximity to the Arctic adult, seems to a Common Tern. The shape of the dark head pattern, the length of the bill and the length of the legs all point this way – Arctic Terns have very short legs and appear almost legless when standing. Note this bird is ringed – likely here last year.

Compare this Arctic Tern with the Common Tern. Note the all blood-red bill; and the thin dark trailing edge to both upper and underwing.

Here an Arctic Tern brings some food. Note how pale this bird looks. Also the long tail feathers.

 The are very elegant flyers. Pity that America has already named a different species as Elegant Tern.

This one gets a noisy 'welcome' from resting birds.

Here is another noisy welcome. Four adult Arctic Terns, two first-summer terns with dark bills, black legs and white foreheads (juveniles would have browner, mottled backs) and one hiding its identity. The first summers are a bit of a puzzle. First-summer Arctic Terns are rare on the breeding grounds, mostly staying in the Southern Hemisphere. Separation of first summer Arctic and Common is not easy. These, despite their proximity to the Arctic adults, seem to a Common Terns. The shape of the dark head pattern and the length of the bill point this way. Strange.

Here is a juvenile Arctic Tern. A juvenile Common Tern would be more gingery on the back. All juvenile terns have short bills.

There were a few other birds that I took a few shots of. It was the terns that were the main target

A few ever-noisy Oystercatchers were on the beach.

One of a number of Little Egrets present

A passing Great Black-backed Gull. Note the back and inner wings are as dark as the wing tips. The white trailing edge to the wing appears narrower than it does on the smaller Lesser Back-backed Gull. A huge bill – these fierce predators have been known to swallow Puffins whole.

Not many passerines in this harsh environment – Meadow Pipits can withstand the winds by hunkering down in the grass.

(Ed Wilson)

Venus Pool - 2 Jul 20

Today I visited the SOS Reserve at Venus Pool. Although the hides remain closed the 'arable field' is open and social distancing is not a problem. Not so much a bird-watching visit, more a chance for exercise in a different location with plenty of insects to be seen. This 'arable field' has extensive wild-flower margins and the field is managed to provide winter food for seed-eating birds. So it was head-down for an insect bonanza. The rain shower didn't help. Here are some images.

This seems to be an Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer moth (Agriphila geniculea). One of the many grass moths that are easily disturbed during the day.

A new moth for me. One of the plume moths which typically have long legs with spurs and hold their tightly rolled up wings at right angles when at rest. This is a Twin-spot Plume (Stenoptilia bipunctidactyla).

The lower hoverfly is one of the Syrphus pair S. ribesii or S. vitripennis, not usually separable from photos. Just about to land on the Knapweed at the very top is the distinctive shape of a Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus).

This IS S. vitripennis. The eyes do not meet so it is a female. Just visible through the wing the top segment (the femur) of the hind leg is dark and not yellow as it would be in female S. ribesii. This distinction does not apply to males.

Not a bee – check out the short antennae. This is the hoverfly Volucella bombylans of the form plumata with the white 'tail'. This is sometimes called the Bumblebee Hoverfly for obvious reasons. Insects enjoy Knapweed.

I am still getting to grips with all the various bumblebee species. This seems to be a Field Bumblebee (Bombus campestris) with buff around the head and white bands at the end of the abdomen.

Lots of activity deep within this Chicory flower (Cichorium intybus). A bee is emerging on the left....

A shot of the bee just as it departed. It is an Andrena mining bee. Seemed smaller than many species and I am wondering about Grey-banded Mining Bee (A. denticulata).

Now here is weirdo. It is one of the Thick-headed Flies, specifically Sicus ferrugineus. Apart from the strange head-shape note the thick thighs on all pairs of legs and the way it sits at rest with the body tucked under. Not one I have seen before. It is reported as widespread but not common.

The only confirmed species of damsel- or dragonfly was this male Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum).

You would think White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis). Maybe. None of the photos on the web show as dark a specimen as this. Cannot suggest an alternative.

May (I did say may) be on safer ground with this Brown-lipped Snail (Cepaea nemoralis).

I can identify two of the four things here. In the middle is the larva of a Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis). Bottom right is a smart Red Bug (Deraeocoris ruber). Top right may be an aphid sp. The small shiny beetle on the left would need much more visible detail for any chance of identification.

(Ed Wilson)

Cardingmill Valley - June 2020

In the Shropshire Hills you are never far from a Common Buzzard.

A Barn Swallow looks or insects from a wire – less energetic than flying around.

A (fast) passing House Martin showing the subtle blue, black and brown of the plumage as well as the very obvious white rump.

One of the breeding species along the stream is Grey Wagtail. The adult is bringing food for the brood. Likely a female though the males may already have started to lose the jet black bib that separates the sexes during the mating period.

A very elegant bird

This view shows that the tail is proportionally longer than that of the Pied Wagtail.

The flash of the yellow under tail coverts as the bird flies away. This year-round feature invites miscalling it a Yellow Wagtail. That species is a summer visitor with an olive back and yellow on the complete breast and belly.

Here we see that the yellow goes right around the body. Note to the white outer tail feathers.

A juvenile still with a yellow gape line. Even at this age it has yellow under tail coverts.

"Feed me... feed me". This juvenile begs to be fed.

There are a few bird feeders near the visitor centre where this male Chaffinch was feasting.

A Linnet. Always a difficult bird to get close-enough to photograph. A male in breeding plumage has extensive red on the sides of the breast. This may be a post-breeding male or a female.

In flight the yellow wing flash of Goldfinch is very apparent in this flight shot.

(Photography by Phil Nock and Captions by Ed Wilson)