Linacre Butterflies - 14th September 2024

 At this time of the year, whenever the sun comes out, I like to get down to Linacre to see if there are any insects about, just in case it's the last sightings I get this year! Yesterday was such a time, with lots of sun and temperatures of 20 degrees. I wasn't disappointed, with 8 species of butterfly seen, along with two dragonflies, a few bees, craneflies, hoverflies and a wasps' nest!

The butterfly species were: Red Admiral (5), Comma (2), Peacock (2), Speckled Wood (7), Large White (2), Green-veined White (3, including a pair attempting to mate) and, best of all, a Small Copper (my first record of the year!).

Small Copper

Small Copper (and friend)

Other species seen were: Migrant Hawker (2), Brown Hawker (1), Red-tailed and Common Carder Bumblebees, Eristalis hoverflies and 1 Marmalade Hoverfly. 

Whilst walking along the bank below the top reservoir, I came across a hole, approximately 1/2m deep, with several hundred wasps flying around it! I peeped in, very carefully (!) and could see the remains of a wasps' nest. I couldn't get a great photo, so I'm not sure if they were Common or German Wasps, but, whatever species, it was great to see. Presumably, the nest had been discovered and dug out by a Badger, or a Honey Buzzard (only joking!!).

Wasps' nest

Linacre WeBS - 8th October 2017

I was out ringing this am, so this month's WeBS count took place in the afternoon (1pm to 3pm). Like last week's walk, it was quite quiet, but I did see my first Black-headed Gulls on the winter, with 17 present on the bottom reservoir. Another good record was an adult Little Grebe (my first Linacre record since 18th February 2017), that was fishing on the middle reservoir. Other birds recorded this month were: Mallard (52), Tufted Duck (27), Moorhen (12; 6 juveniles and 6 adults), Coot ( 2 adults) and Mandarin Duck (18).

Tufted Duck

Birds heard in the woodlands were: Jay, Robin, Long-tailed Tit and Great-spotted Woodpecker.

The sun was out when I arrived, and it was 15 degrees, so I checked the ivy bushes where I found a tatty looking Red Admiral butterfly feeding along with dozens of Common Wasps. 2 Fly Agaric fungi were also seen.

Red Admiral and Common Wasp

Fly Agaric

Linacre Orchids

Every year the field by the top reservoir at Linacre erupts into flower with a wide variety of different plants, most of which, I'm ashamed to admit, I can't identify. While I was there on Saturday I noticed, among others, a huge number of orchids, many more than I've ever spotted before. Hopefully, this photo will give some idea of the numbers involved.

Orchids!

I got a few photos of individual spikes, and, according to one of the people I follow on Twitter, they are Common spotted Orchids.

Common spotted Orchid

Another plant that was also in bloom this weekend was the Foxglove. This is a very common plant, but one that, surprisingly, hasn't been included in this blog before! Here's a picture of one from Saturday, again, from the top reservoir.

Foxglove

Whilst looking at the flowers, Luke and I also noticed a number of wasps chewing the wood off the boardwalk! Luke managed to get a few close ups, including this lovely, face-on shot (thanks for the copy Luke). I looked ont t'internet, and think it's a Common Wasp, due to the anchor shaped mark on its face (see here).

Common Wasp

This second photo, of a different individual, also shows the line of wood that the wasp has chewed off.

Common Wasp