Lollingdon

Hazy sunshine, 26°, light NNE.

Lollingdon: Common Redstart, Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Common Whitethroat, 3 Blackcap, 10+ Chiffchaff, 2 Yellowhammer, a Hobby, a Kestrel, a Sparrowhawk and 20+ Swallow.

House Martins have just fledged their second brood (2 young) on Church Road.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Migrant Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: 5 Clouded Yellow, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown.

Weekend bits

sunny, 27°, light W.

2 encounters with Grass Snake this week. The first was a neighbour who had a Grass Snake in her living room. It had come in through the patio doors and disappeared behind the TV furniture. Another neighbour and myself moved the furniture and the snake then slithered back out into the garden.

The 2nd was a Grass Snake in a pond and was unable to get out. I managed to get it to curl around a twig and safely land it and it managed to move to cover.

Bothe the snakes were youngsters and no longer than 30cm.

A Wheatear on Lollingdon Hill on Saturday. Per Phil Dyson.

A Raven, south over the village also on Saturday and a Green Woodpecker, Tawny Owl and Chiffchaff in the garden today.

A Southern Migrant Hawker in the garden Sunday afternoon and a Southern Hawker.

Painted Lady and Hummingbird Hawkmoth again present in garden.

Long Hoverfly - Sphaerophoria scripta. 10mm in length.

Cooler

Mainly cloudy, 22°, light WNW.

Another Common Redstart found along Green Lane today and 10 Yellowhammer, 4 Common Whitethroat and several Chiffchaff.

The gravel pit was fairly quiet, 2 Little Grebe and a Tufted Duck amongst the Canada and Greylag Geese.

A light passage of Swallow and House Martin overhead and a Sparrowhawk.

Dragonflies: Emperor, Migrant Hawker, Southern Hawker and Black-tailed Skimmer.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Peacock, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Small Heath. And the regular Hummingbird Hawkmoth in the garden.

More Clouded Yellow

Sunny intervals, 23°, breezy W.

Another day of Clouded Yellow butterfly, with 6 in a clover field at Little Lollingdon, 1 on Lollingdon Hill and another near the Bullshole.

A Common Redstart and Lesser Whitethroat on Lollingdon Hill, several Chiffchaff and a light southerly passage of Hirundines with c40 Swallow and 60+ House Martin.

2 Grey Heron, a Sparrowhawk and a Kestrel.

Butterflies: Clouded Yellow, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Small Heath. A Hummingbird Hawkmoth in the garden.

Saturday: A small (30-40cm) Grass Snake in the garden.

Later on the allotment along Station Road a Clouded Yellow flew through and the regular Painted Lady present along with a few Common Blue. A Sparrowhawk flew through carrying prey.

Clouded Yellows

Sunny, 24°, light WNW.

A walk out to the Lees and an unprecedented number of Clouded Yellow butterflies (7) seen. They were present in a field of Lucerne along with c8 Painted Lady, numerous Common Blue and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth.

It is certainly the most CY’s I’ve seen in one go in the UK.

As for birds, they were in short supply. Although the first Willow Warbler of the autumn was a good one, a few Chiffchaff, c20 Swallow passing over, a Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Blackcap etc.

Dragonflies: Beautiful Demoiselle and Ruddy Darter.

Butterflies: Clouded Yellow, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

Clouded Yellow with an un-identified Bee in the top right. Enlarged crop below.

Melitta tricincta or M. leporina ?

A bit of light precipitation

Cloudy with a few sunny spells, 26°, light WNW.

A cooler day and a walk along the Bunk area up to the gravel pit and back.

A bit of light precipitation which I believe is called rain!

Still pretty slow bird wise with the gravel pit being the most active from what little I could see.

100+ large Gulls, mainly, if not all Lesser Blackback Gull, c50 Black-headed Gull, a Mute Swan, c100 Canada Geese, 6 Greylag Geese, 2 Tufted Duck, loads of Mallard and 6 Lapwing.

Elsewhere, several Chiffchaff and Yellowhammer, 3+ Blackcap feeding on ripened Elderberries and few Swallow, House Martin and Swift overhead.

Dragonflies: Emperor, Migrant Hawker, Common Darter and Ruddy Darter.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

Garden: a Blackcap bathing, and Painted Lady and Hummingbird Hawkmoth. The latter 2 species have been around for approx. 6 weeks on and off. Possibly not the same ones but seen virtually every day.

And an impromptu productive meeting with the gravel pit manager.

Lesser Stag Beetle, courtesy Bill Nichols

 

A warm one

Cloudy to start with, but the sun kept breaking through, warm at 25° with a light northerly breeze.

A gentle sort of day along the Bunk — nothing dramatic, just steady bits of wildlife popping up here and there.

The highlight was a Common Redstart tucked into the hedge between the gravel pit and Green Lane. It stayed on the far side over the railway, so I only managed those teasing little glimpses of the red tail flicking about.

The gravel pit was pretty subdued: just a Mute Swan and a handful of Mallard keeping things ticking over.

A few Swallow and House Martin drifted overhead now and then, and the odd Swift shot through to keep the sky interesting.

Around the hedges, I picked up a couple of Chiffchaff, a Common Whitethroat, and a Yellowhammer. Raptors were limited to a single Kestrel and a lone Sparrowhawk cruising through, plus a few Buzzard and the usual Red Kites.

Dragonflies were represented by Common Blue Damselflies, a Migrant Hawker and Common Darters, and the Butterflies added a nice splash of colour: Clouded Yellow, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Peacock, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth near the gravel pit.

Nothing too hectic today — just a relaxed wander with enough variety to make it a good outing.

The only pic I managed was a Buzzard but it kept looking away. 

Red Kites courtesy Bill Nicholls

Allotment

Sunny with variable cloud, 22°, light to breezy NNE.

A few hours spent on Loren's allotment this afternoon with plenty of insects around. Esp several species of Bee, Butterfly and Dragonfly.

Emperor Dragonfly, Migrant Hawker and Common Blue Damsel.

Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Peacock, Comma, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown.

Only had my phone for pics so not great quality.

Bunk again

Hazy sunshine, 29°, light to breezy NNW.

Very quiet birdwise along the Bunk area this afternoon. The odd Yellowhammer and Common Whitethroat, 2 Herring Gull at CSW and a few Black-headed Gull that appeared to be feeding on flying ants, was about it.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Beautiful Demoiselle and Common Blue Damsel.

Butterflies: a drop in numbers: Small Skipper, Large White, Small White, Small Copper, Small Blue, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Peacock, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown.

Moths: Jersey Tiger.

Bunk

Sunny with light cloud, 28°, light ENE.

Birdwise, very quiet again. A single Lapwing seen at the gravel pit and a Reed Warbler nearby but little else.

Several Swift, Swallow and House Martin over.

Dragonflies: Common Blue Damsel, Azure Damsel and Black-tailed Skimmer.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Small Blue, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady (2), Small Tortoiseshell (1), Peacock, Comma, Speckled Wood, Marbled White (1), Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Ringlet (1).

Black-tailed Skimmer, F above, M below

A good mix

Cloudy, 20°, light to breezy NE.

A welcome relief from the heat of the last week but warming up again mid-afternoon and just a few bits from around the home and garden incl 9 species of Butterfly.

Jersey Tiger Moth

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

Female Blackcap bathing with Blue and Great Tits

Brown Hare courtesy Loren

White-legged Damsel

Large Tabby, a large micro moth.

Iron Prominent

Garden Pebble (micro)

Lollingdon

Sunny, 28°, fresh ENE.

Just the 1 Common Redstart noted on the hill today along with a couple of Corn Bunting and Common Whitethroat and a single Swallow over.

Nearby, several Yellowhammer, a Kestrel and 4 Raven flew north.

Dragonflies: Only Beautiful Demoiselle seen.

Butterflies: Large Skipper, Clouded Yellow, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Marbled White, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Ringlet.

The Clouded Yellow was forever on the move and impossible to get a decent shot.