14th June 2020
I have tended to stay at homes as much as I can at weekends
as places around here have become very busy with people who think that
everything is back to normal. As such
after a visit to the farm shop in the morning I set about giving the garden a
good water and weed. Swifts screamed
overhead and the Hobby made two roof top height hunting sorties. My own Bramble
patch is not drawing in the variety of the one down the road with just a few
different bumbles and the inevitable Myathropa florea but my bee tins have at
last come to life and the Megachile willughbiella leafcutters are back with
their tiny Large Headed Resin Bee (Heriades truncorum) buddies and I spent some
time trying to get some shots of these tiny bees before they become covered in
pollen and dust from their nest hole excavations.
Large Headed Resin Bee (Heriades truncorum) |
Large Headed Resin Bee (Heriades truncorum) |
Large Headed Resin Bee (Heriades truncorum) |
After dinner I decided to head out for a drive in the hope
that things would have quietened down so I headed for Seasalter for a walk
along the coastal path. It was a calm
and serene evening with not a ripple on the Swale or a breath of wind.
Two pair of Ringed Plovers were on the shell beach but if
they do have nests, how on earth they will succeed given the dog walkers and
runners I do not know. I carefully sat down up the top and watched them feed
along the tideline in and out of the gently rolling wavelets.
Ringed Plovers |
Ringed Plovers |
Groups of boisterous Starlings foraged all around and I did
look for nice pink and black one but to no avail and so contented myself to
watching them probe the short turf and flick over seaweed on the beach in the company
of Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits out hunting the billions of small flower
beetles and tiny flies on the wing.
15th June 2020
I woke up at eight this morning which in my books definitely
counts as a huge lay in and after a leisurely breakfast headed off to find
Strawberry Banks at Bredhurst. I had
been hearing wonderful things about this site during Lockdown but it took until
today to pay it a visit.
I spent a very pleasant few hours wandering through the
meadows that cover each side of this old chalk valley with more than enough
warmth to encourage butterflies to become active. Marbled Whites danced amongst Meadow Browns
as far as you could see and although not up to Lesvos butterfly blizzard
standards, it was still great to see so many flickering in an out of the
flowering grasses.
Marbled White |
Meadow Brown |
A few Small Skipper and Small Heath were amongst them and
Summer Chafers kept blundering into me as they sort out the odd Ox-eye daisies
in the grass.
Small Heath |
Small Skipper |
Small Skipper |
Med Gulls were a constant feature with flocks drifting back
and forth all morning and their melancholy calls echoing across the valley. All
three age groups were represented which was good too although I have never seen
a 1st summer with the makings of such a good hood.
adult |
adult |
2nd summer |
2nd summer |
1st summer |
Ears up while eyes were down also gave me three single
Crossbills heading south west, a couple of calling Yellowhammers and pairs of
Bullfinches at four spots on the circuits.
Back down in the grass there were Field and Meadow
Grasshoppers to be found and Roesel’s Bush Crickets around the lusher margins
while a both patches of White Bryony that I found had Andrena florea in
attendance.
Roesel’s Bush Cricket |
White Bryony |
Andrena florea |
Orchids are the other key attraction here and to begin with
it was mostly Pyramidals poking through including a delightful white one.
Pyramidal Orchid |
Meadow Grasshopper & Misumena vatia |
Misumena vatia |
I soon began to find the odd Chalk Fragrant but they were
pretty much gone over on the north side of the valley but those on the south
side were still going strong and swathes of them were scattered amongst the
grass and you did not have to get too close to get the citrus waft of the
blooms. They were mostly a rich pink
colour but some were paler.
Chalk Fragrant Orchids |
Common Spotted Orchids were dotted amongst them and I
managed to find one pristine Bee Orchid too.
I was also looking for Broad-leaved Helleborine and was pleased to find
two plants on the eastern edge. Both had good flower spikes but were quite some
way from opening yet so perhaps another visit in another week will be required.
Common Spotted Orchid |
Common Spotted Orchid |
I think this is a white Common Spotted rather than Chalk Fragrant Orchid |
Bee Orchid |
Bee Orchid |
Broad-leaved Helleborine |
Broad-leaved Helleborine |
As I descended the slope I could see a gleaming white spire
in the grass... 'wonder if that is a Greater Butterfly Orchid' thought I and sure
enough that is exactly what it was all by itself out on the meadow and a lovely
specimen too.
Greater Butterfly Orchid |
I turned through a gate and ambled along the pylon line
cutting for a while. It felt good for Dark Green Fritillary and I was very
pleased to have one power glide by. I
was hoping it would land on the Spear Thistles but not many had blooms open as
yet and only a few Bombus vestalis and pascuorum in attendance.
Cow Wheat |
I did however find my first Ringlets of the year along with Red Admiral, Comma, Large White, Small White and Large Skipper and a couple of floppy Cinnabar and Burnet Companion moths on the wing.
Ringlet |
Ringlet |
Large Skipper |
Myathropa florea
and Episyrphus balteatus were the two
common hoverflies but I also saw Merodon
equestris, Eristalis pertinax and intricaria,
Volucella pellucens and bombylans and amazingly another Volucella inflata.
Merodon equestris |
Volucella bombylans |
Volucella inflata |
Picture Winged Fly |
Hairy St John’s Wort was now in full bloom and Hedge
Woundwort was pushing through the wild roses and brambles.
Hairy St John’s Wort |
Hedge Woundwort |
Another excellent field report. Next time you're there, walk the path from the top of the GBO slope throug the beeches to the clay shoot. In May - Lots of WH and BLH. In the clay shoot lots of GBO, EPO, CSO, GTWB - all has been strimmed to within an inch of its life now. Going the other way on the path you'll see the BNO's.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rich... sorry only just seen this!
DeleteI really enjoy reading about your walks through nature Howard, keep them coming!
ReplyDelete