Lowestoft Life - 7th May 2024

Not a great deal in the trap numbers wise this morning but I did have three new species for the garden with Swallow Prominent, Mullein and Brindled Pug.  It was warmish and sunny again which was a pleasant surprise and around late morning there was a notable movement of Common Buzzards with at least 16 circling north-ish which probably did include four lower locals.  Two Swifts were zipping around silently and a Swallow whizzed through.

Yellow-barred Brindle

Cabbage

Garden Pebble

Mullein

Swallow Prominent

Lunch and then a potter back towards Hen Reedbeds where I stopped on Sunday afternoon for the Hoopoe but never actually walked away from the car park where Nightingale and Bitterns could be heard.  I knew where I was going this time and followed the path around to the largely re-landscaped gravel working beyond.

I knew that the Hoopoe had been ‘mobile and elusive’ so did not favour my chances.  The gravelly verges were full of flowers including Common Bugloss which I am not sure I have seen before and on it where quite a few Forget-me-not Shieldbugs which were a species I had seen pictures of recently but never encountered myself.

Common Bugloss -  Lycopsis arvensis 

Forget-me-not Shieldbugs

Forget-me-not Shieldbug

Hairy and Dock Bugs were also seen and the flowering Black-Mustard type Crucifer was heaving Eristalis Hoverflies with arbustorum, nemorum and pertinax present.  All three White butterflies as well as Orange Tips, Holly Blues, Brimstone, Peacocks and Red Admirals were noted.

Field Pansy

Field Forget-me-not

Field Forget-me-not

Field Pansy

Adonis Ladybird

I was scanning the far side of the quarry when the liquid ‘pruuk’ of a Bee-eater hit me! I shouted to the nearest people and they too heard it but it was a blue sky moment and not a bird was to be seen. Oh well. I have said it before – hearing is sometimes just as wondrous as actually seeing the bird.

Twenty minutes later the Hoopoe did the decent thing and flopped right past me and along the road  before Peter Bilton picked it up in the quarry where we watched it for a couple of minutes distantly probing on the sandy track.

I sauntered back feeling quietly smug…