Cornwall in early June

A few days away at the start of June was always on the cards and I had hopes that I would be able to get up to the Yorkshire coast with an Albatross in mind but it was just too prohibitively expensive so we ended up heading west and down to the spare caravan with the Outlaws at Dinham Farm near Wadebridge.

Suffice to say it was a relaxing time away over the Platinum Jubilee but mainly because the weather did its utmost to preclude almost all but the odd snatched moments of evening sunshine, panoramic views or amble up a stream.

I love it down here but always feel frustrated that I do not get more out of it.  With rain, drizzle, wind, low cloud and temperatures barely scraping 15C it at least gave me the opportunity to finish writing all the words and editing the remaining pictures for my last three Costa Rica blogs and even starting on the ones you are about to see here!

Please do not be fooled by blue sky pictures!

So the highlights…

A walk out of the breeze at Trago Mills up the River Fowey as usual did not produce any Dippers (dogs in the river does not help) but in the sunny spots I found Beautiful Demoiselles on cobalt blue wings, Large Red and Azure Damselflies and a host of Hoverflies including two that I have not seen in a while – Eristalis horticola and the imposing Sericomyia silentis.

Beautiful Demoiselle

Beautiful Demoiselle

Beautiful Demoiselle

Large Red Damselfly

Large Red Damselfly

Azure Damselfly

Sericomyia silentis

Cheilosia illustrata

Cheilosia impressa

Cheilosia variabilis

Eristalis horticola

Eristalis nemorum

Helophilus pendulus

Rhododendron 

Hemlock Water Drop-wort

Foxglove

Angelica and Wood Avens

My ambles down the lane at Dinham were somewhat truncated as the only footpath off it is completely overgrown and deliberately neglected which leaves me on the road but there were still a few Hoverflies on the Hemlock Water-Dropwort and Hogweed including Syritta pipiens with the swollen thighs. I checked the tiny stream at the bottom of the hill and was pleased to still find Water Crickets there and some tall Figwort in flower.

Water Cricket

Episisyrphus balteatus

Episisyrphus balteatus

Episisyrphus balteatus

Eupeodes corollae

Platycheirus scutatus agg

Syritta pipiens

Empis tessellata

Nettle Tap

Sarcophaga

Scathophaga

Yellow Dung Fly - Scathophaga stercoraria 

Yellow Dung Fly - Scathophaga stercoraria 

A small Robberfly - think I saw this one near home recently

Graphomya maculata

Nemophora degeerella was found nectaring too but the only moth I saw around the toilet block lights on the camp site was a Common Swift!

Adela croesella

Adela croesella

Pammene aurana 

Fenusa ulmi a sawfly

Tawny Owls called at night and Blackbirds were the dawn chorus.  I failed to find any Cattle Egrets but there were lots of Little Egrets down on the Camel. I saw no waders on the saltmarsh as every time I looked at it there were three black labs bounding across it.

A poodle southish saw us visit the serene Oriental Garden at St Mawgan although the local campanologists were having a serious session of extreme bell ringing at the time.  The pools within the garden still had Giant Pond Skaters and there were Water Crickets here too.  One of  the ground cover plants used seems to be a Begonia similar to the jungle ones of Costa Rica.

I managed one cliff top walk north of Boscastle at The Strangles which afforded huge views up and down the coast.  It was blue and clear and the Thrift shone pink and the Burnet Roses looked like little fried eggs.  A male Kestrel cruised past me at eye level and a male Wheatear sung from a pinnacle but out to sea there was not one bird at all.

Cracking view but there was not a single bird over the sea

Burnet Rose

Thrift

Wheatear

Kestrel

Cinquefoil

Bird's Foot Trefoil

Red Campion

Speckled Wood

Boscastle was visited as usual as it has fond memories of Jinx playing with stones and there was time to then have a look up river from the car park at the huge banks of Hemlock Water-Dropwort and Hogweed.  They were alive with flies and I spent a happy hour scrutinizing all and sundry.

The Hoverfly list of 26 species was quite impressive by my own standards and included Scaeva selentica which was a new one for me.

Scaeva pyrastri

Scaeva selenitica

Eupeodes corollae

Eupeodes luniger

Syritta pipiens

Tropidia scita

Eristalis tenax

Eristalis pertinax

Eristalis arbustorum

Eristalis nemorum

Eristalis horticola

Syrphus ribesii

Syrphus torvus

Volucella pellucens

Volucella bombylans

Leucozona lucorum

Merodon equestris

Episyrphus balteatus

Myathropa florea

Platycheirus albimanus

Platycheirus scutatus agg

Rhingia campestris

Cheilosia variabilis

Cheilosia impressa

Cheilosia illustrata

Helophilus pendulus

Cheilosia impressa

Cheilosia variabilis

Cheilosia variabilis

Eristalis arbustorum

Eristalis nemorum

Eristalis tenax & Honey Bee

Eristalis tenax

Eupeodes corollae

Helophilus pendulus

Leucozona lucorum

Merodon equestris

Merodon equestris

Myathropa florea

Rhingia campestris

Scaeva pyrastri

Scaeva selenitica

Syritta pipiens

Syrphus torvus

Volucella pellucens

Volucella bombylans

There were many Sarcs in various sizes and Phil has helped me sort out a Morellia and Muscid but there were also lots of Greenbottles.  Most however were not Lucilia but Neomyia and from looking at my pictures most of those I imaged well enough were N cornicina but with at least two N viridiscens.

Sarcophaga

Sarcophaga

Morellia

Lucilia sp

Neomyia cornicina - my go to guide from Phil Collins

Neomyia cornicina

Neomyia cornicina

Neomyia cornicina

Neomyia cornicina

Neomyia cornicina

Neomyia viridescens - my go to guide from Phil Collins

Neomyia viridescens

Neomyia viridescens - I counted bristles

I found one tatty Eudasyphora cyanella (I think) and several imposing Mesembrina meridiana along with the stilt legged Chrysopilus cristatus and shiny green Chloromyia formosa.

Chloromyia formosa

Chloromyia formosa

Pollenia

Pollenia

 Chrysopilus cristatus 

Eudasyphora cyanella

Mesembrina meridiana

Mesembrina meridiana

Scathophaga stercoraria 

Sicus ferrugineus

Sicus ferrugineus

There were Dock Bugs and Green Tortoise Beetles on the Oxeye Daisies and what I am convinced is a very tiny black Tumbling Beetle called Mordellistena pumila or similar.

 Dock Bugs

Green Tortoise Beetle

Tumbling Beetle - Mordellistena pumila 

There was a good selection of Bumblebees with Bombus terrestris, pascuorum, pratorum, lapidarius and hypnorum, a host of Honey Bees, lots of micros and two quite distinctive ones one of which I think has to be Colletes succinctus given the location.

Bombus pascuorum

Bombus pratorum

Bombus terrestris

Bombus terrestris

Bombus terrestris

Help please

Colletes succinctus I think

Nettle Taps were the only Moth but I did find several cats of Depressaria daucella (thanks Antony) making silken homes within the Umbellifer heads.  There were very few Butterflies with a Green Hairstreak being the pick while Rutpela maculata and the similar but smaller Pachytodes cerambyciformis collecting pollen from the big heads too.

Nettle Tap

Oedemera nobilis

Rutpela maculata - with Fox head!

Rutpela maculata

Pachytodes cerambyciformis

Pachytodes cerambyciformis

Bombylius major

Dark Bush Cricket

Depressaria daucella

Depressaria daucella

Green Hairstreak

Green Hairstreak

Peacock

Wall Pennywort was flowering well just into the woods and I could smell the remnants of the Ramsons and see the crown like fingers of fresh Harts Tongue Ferns. Grey Wagtails were on the river which once again was Dipperless.

Harts Tongue Ferns

Wall Pennywort 

Sedum album

Horsetails

Meadow Cranesbill

The beach at Polzeath is free for parking after 6pm and a few years back I took some fun sunset surfing images but there was no swell and just a few paddleboarders trying to make the most of it.  It was nice to paddle my feet though in the rather chilly Atlantic.

The journey home was breezy with scudding clouds with a couple of Red Kites and a super high Kingfisher over the A30 at Ottery being the meagre highlights.