Wednesday 27 May 2020

Green Urban Birding: A just about into Ranscombe Local Loop: 27th May 2020



I discovered yesterday that on my return leg I was just a few hundred yards from a colony of Small Blues right alongside the Eurostar track so I retraced my way back up the road at nine this morning in the hope that the early sunshine would have reached that spot by the time I got there.


I was not disappointed and soon had Small Blues flicking around all over the place.  There were in the flower rich patch either side and on the green bridge that I discovered on the 14th with a few Common Blues for company. There were two patches of Kidney Vetch that I could see but there must be more as I counted 26 of this tiny butterfly.

 
Small Blue







Common Blue

Eristalis intracaria were hovering at eye level and I saw two Xanthogramma pedissequum agg and my first Baccha elongata of the year along with five species of Bumblebee which had discovered the Brambles.

the Ox Eye Daisies were an insect magnet





I worked my way into the young coppice woods adding another Garden Warbler territory before discovering a new tunnel back into the houses. 

Quaking Grass?



I had one spot that I wanted to check and was delighted to get stunning views of a pair of Peregrines and discovered another colony of Small Blues although a fence stopped me getting any closer!










female Peregrine up with a Buzzard

Field Scabious

Purple Toadflax


I was home for lunch and with so many Red Kites on the move again it was not overly surprising to see an immature drift over heading north west.  It was equally unsurprising that Rob up the road had seven more go through in the next couple of hours, all of which snuck behind my available view.



Red Kite
Mr Peg

Med Gull
The male Peregrine paid me a visit and a Hobby almost took a juvenile Starling from the top of the fir next door which took everyone by surprise and Med Gulls cruised around with the local Black-heads.  It was all quite pleasant!


No comments:

Post a Comment