Another new species for Linacre!

 I've had a couple of 2-hour visits to Linacre this week and managed to record lots of insects, including a new species!

The first walk, on 28th, with 3 of the volunteer rangers, resulted in the new species, a queen Median Wasp, that was seen, basking on the bracken next to the middle reservoir.

Median Wasp

Other insects seen on this walk were: Common Blue Damselfly, Common Dater (1 - the first of the year), Brown Hawker (1), Migrant Hawker (1), Peacock (1), Gatekeeper (6), Green-veined White (3), Speckled Wood (1), Large White (2), Small Copper (2), Ringlet (1), Comma (1), Meadow Brown (a minimum of 10), Common Blue Butterfly (2 males, in the field beyond the top reservoir).

Common Blue Butterfly

The second walk, yesterday, didn't bring any new species, but it did give several interesting sightings, including a female Wall Brown, an egg-laying female Common Blue Butterfly (in the ringing site), a minimum of 10 Red Admirals and lots of 7-spot Ladybirds. Other sightings were: another Common Darter (down by the ringing site), 1 Migrant Hawker, 1 Brown Hawker, 9 Green-veined White, 1 Large White, 4 Meadow Browns, 4 Commas, 3 Speckled Woods and 1 Holly Blue.

Holly Blue and 7-spot Ladybird

Two species of hoverfly were also recorded: Volucella pellucens (2nd record of the year) and Volucella inanis (1st record of 2025).

Volucella inanis

Linacre Insects - A New Species!

 I was down at Linacre on Thursday (29th) doing the last check on the nestboxes (more details to follow). The weather was pretty decent, with sunny spells and temperatures in the high teens, so I managed to spot a few insects too, including a new species for Linacre - Burnet Companion. 

Burnet Companion is a species of day-flying moth. It's pretty common, but hasn't been recorded here before, so this sighting was a very nice one.

Burnet Companion

Other species seen were: Common Blue Damselfly (3 males), Wall Brown ( 1 worn male), 1 Scorpion Fly, Nettletap (moth), Swollen-thighed Beetle, Large White (1) and a couple of hoverflies; Helophilus pendulus and Myathropa florea.

Common Blue Damselfly

Norfolk - 5th and 6th October 2024

 This weekend, Jayne and I went down to Norfolk, where we had a lovely walk around Wells-next-the-Sea and around RSPB Snettisham.

We were at Wells yesterday, in a very warm and sunny 17 degrees. We walked down from the town to the beach and back. Species seen were: Redshank, Curlew, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Turnstone, Dark-bellied Brent Goose (c300), Red-throated Diver (1 breeding plumaged bird fishing in the channel), a tern species, Little Egret, Great Egret (2 flying over), Black-headed and Herring Gull and a juvenile/1st winter Wheatear - great spot Jayne! We also saw a couple of Wall Brown butterflies at Old Hunstanton Golf Course later in the day - my first of the year.

Wheatear (juvenile/1st winter - almost in focus!)

This morning, we had a walk around RSPB Snettisham. Unfortunately, there wasn't a very high tide, so we didn't get the flyover from the birds, but we still saw thousands of waders. Species seen were: Oystercatcher, Curlew, Dunlin, Avocet, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Turnstone, and Knot ( year tick 193). we also had 20+ Little Egrets and 12 Spoonbills, including a darvic ringed bird; NF1U. A report has been sent off, and it appears to be a Dutch-ringed bird (see here). I'll update with full details, when I receive them.

Spoonbill NF1U

UPDATE: The Spoonbill had been ringed, as a pullus, at Ventjagersplaten, Lebret, The Netherlands, 294km away, on 28th May 2024. Before my sighting, it had been reported at Besthorpe Nature Reserve, Nottinghamshire on 24th July 2024. It was next seen at Alkborough Flats, Lincolnshire, on 19th August, before spending the best part of September (1st to 29th) at Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire. My sighting was the latest, so far.

Linacre - 13th August 2023

 I had two hours down at Linacre on Saturday afternoon (1pm - 3.15pm). The weather was okay, at 18 degrees, overcast and breezy, but with a few sunny spells.

During the sunny spells I managed to see some butterflies, including my first Linacre records of 2023 of Painted Lady and Wall Brown (both in the ringing area).

Painted Lady

Wall Brown

Other butterflies seen were: Meadow Brown (9), Speckled Wood (6), Peacock (1), Gatekeeper (5), Large White (1), Green-veined White (3), Red Admiral (4), Comma (2), Holly Blue (2) and Small Copper (4). 

Other insects seen were: Grasshopper sp, Eristalis and Syrphus hoverflies, Soldier Beetles, a single Hornet, 1 Brown Hawker, a pair of Common Blue Damselflies (in tandem), a Straw Dot moth, a Black and Yellow Longhorn Beetle, Myathropa florea (3), Volucella pellucens (3) and Volucella inanis (1- my first Linacre record of the year).

Volucella inanis

Bird seen included: Woodpigeon (a group of c20 in the top car park), Corvids, most likely Rooks (a flock of c40 in the field by the main entrance), Grey Heron (1 on the bottom reservoir), a juvenile Robin, 2 Ravens over the top reservoir, a Peregrine Falcon (1 over the top reservoir), Bullfinch (1 in the ringing site), Lesser Black-backed Gull (6; 5 adults and 1 juvenile), House Martin (1), Swallow (1), Kingfisher (1 on the middle reservoir), 6 Grey Wagtails, Chiffchaff (wheeting heard) and Tufted Duck (3 ducklings on the middle reservoir - my first record of 2023).

Tufted Duck

Warham Camp - 31st July 2023

 Jayne and I went across the Warham Camp this afternoon. It was overcast, and spitting with rain, but we still managed to see a few species of butterfly.

The key species was Chalkhill Blue, and we saw them straight away. Unfortunately, due to the weather, we only saw about half a dozen, and they kept down in the long grass. I eventually managed to get a few photos.

Chalkhill Blue

Other species seen were: Holly Blue (1), Common Blue (1), Essex Skipper (1), 6-spot Burnet (1),Yellow Shell (1), Wall Brown (1) and a single male Banded Demoiselle.

Wall Brown

There were only a few birds about: Red Kite (2), Marsh Harrier (2), Skylark (heard singing) and Yellowhammer (1 heard).

Cley - 28th July 2023

 On Friday, Jayne and I spent a few hours at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust's Cley Marshes reserve.

We went in search of one particular bird, a Long-billed Dowitcher (year tick 172), which had been reported recently. When we arrived, we headed straight to Bishop's Hide. The first sound that met us was coming from the 20+Lapwings that were in front of the hide. We also spotted a very confiding Spoonbill, 10+Ruff, juvenile Shelducks, lots of Avocets (adults and chicks), 2 Green Sandpipers (year tick 173), Bearded Tit (year tick 174), and Black-headed Gulls before our attention turned to the c. 50 Black-tailed Godwits. The Dowitcher had been seen with these birds, and, after a few minutes, we managed to spot it, fast asleep in amongst them. It did eventually wake up for about 1 minute(!) before going straight back to sleep. Unfortunately, the bird was too far away for a photo.

Spoonbill

After the Dowitcher, we had  walk along the beach, where we added  Sandwich Tern, Linnet, Oystercatcher, Marsh Harrier and Ringed Plover to today's list.

It was quite overcast, but we did spot a few butterflies: Peacock (6), Gatekeeper (20+), Small Skipper (10+) and Small Tortoiseshell (1). A single Wall Brown and Red Admiral were also seen by the Visitors' Centre. 

Wales Weekend - 26th - 28th May 2023

Jayne and I had a few days on Anglesey this weekend. We stopped in Treaddur Bay and visited a few well known spots and one new one.

Our first stop was the National Trust's Bodnant Garden, where we enjoyed a lovely walk around, including the beautiful Laburnum Arch, and spotted a few insects - Beautiful Demoiselle (male and female), Common Blue, Large Red and Azure Damselfly. We also spotted a Grey Wagtail feeding recently fledged young - with Large Red Damselflies!!

Beautiful Demoiselle (female)

Beautiful Demoiselle (male)

The following day, we popped into Holyhead Harbour to catch up with Black Guillemot, before heading off to RSPB South Stack. We had a wonderful couple of hours here, in bright sunshine, and spotted: Razorbill, Guillemot, Herring Gull, Fulmar, Linnet, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Hooded Crow, Raven, Peregrine Falcon, Chough, Small Heath, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Wall Brown and Common Blue Butterfly.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Our final stop of day two was the North Wales Wildlife Trust's Cemlyn Lagoons, where we saw Common, Arctic and Sandwich Terns, as well as Black-headed Gulls and Oystercatcher. 

On our final day we visited  the National Trust's Plas Newydd site, in search of Red Squirrels. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to see any this time, but we did enjoy a lovely walk around the grounds and house.

Year List update: Black Guillemot (164), Sandwich Tern (165) and Arctic Tern (166).

Linacre Butterflies and Dragonflies - 5th September 2021

 After a very cloudy, overcast August, with very few periods of sunshine, and lower than average temperatures, it was lovely to be down at Linacre this afternoon enjoying some bright sunshine and 23 degrees of heat!!

As always, the sun brought out the butterflies and I managed to record 2 Red Admirals, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 1 Peacock, 6 Speckled Woods, 1 Meadow Brown, 1 Wall Brown (male), 1 Comma, 1 Purple Hairstreak and a very tatty looking Common Blue Butterfly.

As well as the butterflies, I also managed to find 1 Common Darter, 1 Migrant Hawker and 4 Brown Hawkers, including a very obliging individual.

Brown Hawker

Birdwise, it was quite quiet, but I did record 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (12 adults and 1 juvenile), 1 Kestrel, 1 Sparrowhawk, 4 House Martins, Swallows (heard, but not seen) and 1 singing Chiffchaff.

Volucella zonaria at Linacre - 17th August 2021

 I had my forst visit to Linacre since betting back from Cornwall, on Tuesday. It was a very grey, overcast day, with a maximum of 16 degrees and frequent drizzly rain! Thankfully, there were a few breaks in the  cloud, which allowed me to see a few insects, including  a new species for me at Linacre - Volucella zonaria!

Volucella zonaria is a species of hoverfly that has been extending its range in Britain over the last few years. I've recorded it in Derbyshire before (at Hardwick Hall), but Tuesday's sighting was my first at Linacre. 2 individuals were seen, along with two other Volucella species; Volucella inanis and Volucella pellucens (no photo).

Volucella zonaria

Volucella inanis

Other insects seen were: Red Admiral (1), Meadow Brown (1), Wall Brown (1 male ), Common Blue Butterfly (1 male), Green-veined White (2), Large White (1), Peacock (1),  Shaded Broad Bar (1), Straw Dot (1) Yellow Shell (2) and Eristalis sp (hoverfly).

Wall Brown

Birdwise, it was quite quiet, but the following species were noted: House Martin (4), Common Buzzard (1 heard), Mallard (69), Mandarin Duck (40 adults and 2 ducklings), Tufted Duck (25 adults and 1 juvenile),Coot (8 adults and 1 juvenile), Moorhen (11 adults and 5 juveniles), Great-crested Grebe (3 adults and 4 juveniles, 2 each on the middle and bottom reservoirs), Grey Wagtail (3 adults and 2 juveniles), Chiffchaff (wheeting heard, and 1 bird seen in the willows by the boardwalk) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (9; 5 adults and 4 juveniles, including 1 that was begging for food - Chesterfield-bred?)

Lesser Black-backed Gull (3 adults and 1 juvenile)

Lesser Black-backed Gulls (juveniles)

RSPB South Stack - 26th July 20221

 After yesterday's visit to Cemlyn Lagoon, I drove across to RSPB South Stack. The target species was Chough, and I was not disappointed!!

I parked in the first car park, and the first bid I saw and heard was.... Chough!! In total I saw a minimum of 16 birds, which flew over my head calling, before landing on the cliffs about 10m away. Wow!! Many of the birds were darvic-ringed, and I managed to get 6 numbers, so I'll update with details as soon as I get them back. Here are a few photos.

Choughs!!

Whilst walking along the cliffs in the sunshine and 20 degree heat, I also spotted a Hooded Crow, a pair of Ravens, Jackdaws, Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls, Linnet, Meadow Pipit and Stonechat, including this juvenile bird.

Stonechat

There were lots of insects buzzing about too(!), the highlights being a Wall Brown and several Grayling.

Grayling

Year List update:

159 - Chough

160 - Hooded Crow

Linacre Insects and WeBS - 13th June 2021

This afternoon was warm and sunny with temperatures in the low 20s, so I decided to have a look around Linacre for some damselflies and other insects. 

By far the best species present was the Wall butterfly, with 2 females seen (records sent to County recorder).

Wall Brown

In addition, I also recorded 1 male Common Blue Butterfly, 1 Speckled Wood 1 Small Copper and 1 Green-veined White, along with dozens of Common Blue Damselflies. 

Common Blue Butterfly

I was on site on the 5th June too, and saw my first Volucella bombylans (hoverfly) of the year, and several Celypha lacunana (moths).

Birdwise, it's quite quiet, but today's WeBS count saw the following birds recorded: Mallard (39 adults and 20 juveniles), Mandarin (27 adults and 14 ducklings), Tufted Duck (12 adults), Moorhen (3 adults and 2 chicks), Coot (9 adults and 10 young), 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Pied Wagtail, 3 Great-crested Grebe (2 adults and 1 chick) and 1 sub-adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Mandarin with ducklings

Mallard with ducklings

Linacre Update - 20th May 2020

I had a walk around Linacre with my nephew, Luke, on 20th May. The weather was warm and sunny and we got some great views of some of the insects and birds, including one species last reported in 2011!!!

I'd better start with the bird not recorded since 2011 - SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. Our last sighting was back in June 2011 (see here). This year's sighting was in a different part of the woods that I don't normally visit, so it's possible it has been present in previous years and not spotted.

Spotted Flycatcher

Insect wise it was also a good visit. The first sighting was a Wall Brown. This was very nice, as I had my first Linacre record of this butterfly last year. Next up was a Green Shieldbug, followed by a Small Copper, a Dingy Skipper (my first sighting since 2014!) and a Speckled Wood.

Wall Brown

Dingy Skipper

Wednesday's trip was also the first time in 2020 that we were able to record any damselflies, with two species seen: Large Red and Common Blue. These two species are recorded annually at Linacre, but this visit was the first time that I've actually seen Large Red Damselflies ovipositing (egg laying) on site. One pair was seen laying eggs in vegetation on the bottom reservoir. Exuviae of this species, and of Common Blue Damselfly were also found for the first time. The Large Red exuviae were in the ringing site, and the Common Blue (1) was found on the top reservoir.

Large Red Damselfly

Deep Dale - 19th May 2020

Jayne and I had a few hours walking in the Plantlife reserve in Deep Dale on Tuesday. We go most years to see the orchids and Cowslips. This year, due to the lockdown, we were a little late for the flowers, but we did manage to see some of the other specialities of this reserve.

First up was the Green Hairstreak butterflies. We saw 3 whilst on site. We also spotted a new species for us at Deep Dale, the Dingy Skipper. Again, we managed to see three different individuals. Other butterflies seen were: Wall Brown (1), another new species for us here, Orange Tip (2 males) and Large White (1).

Green Hairstreak

Dingy Skipper (and friend!)

Birdwise it was quite quiet, but we did get great views of a female Redstart, and heard Blackcaps, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs.

Linacre Insects

I spent a few hours at Linacre over the last few days and recorded the following insects: Southern Hawker (1), Brown Hawker (3, including 1 ovipositing female), Common Blue Damselfly (2 males) and Common Darter (2 tenerals on 30th - my first 2019 record).

Brown Hawker (female)

Common Darter

Butterflies seen were: Red Admiral (3), Painted Lady (1), Large White (1), Green-veined White (1), Common Blue Butterfly (2 males and 1 female), Wall Brown (1), Small Tortoiseshell (1), Peacock (2), Speckled Wood and Small Copper (3).

Small Copper

LINACRE LIFER!!!

It was about 20 degrees on Thursday, so I popped down to Linacre in the afternoon for 3 hours to see what was about. In the sun there were lots of butterflies in and around the buddleia in the ringing site, including: Painted Lady (8 - it's been a fantastic year nationwide for this species, and my best ever at Linacre too), Red Admiral (1), Peacock (2), Comma (1), Wall Brown (1), Gatekeeper (1), Common Blue Butterfly (3 males, 1 in the ringing site and 2 on the bank below the top reservoir. A female was also seen in the ringing site on 23rd), Small Tortoiseshell (1), Meadow Brown (1), Speckled Wood (1), Small Copper (1 on the bank below the bottom reservoir) and Large White (2). Other insects seen were: Brown Hawker (2), Volucella inanis (1), Volucella pellucens (1) and many Marmalade and Eristalis hoverflies.

Birdwise it was relatively quiet, except for the Linacre lifer in the shape of a juvenile REDSTART!!

Redstart

This bird was seen flycatching on the boardwalk, with about 3 Chiffchaffs, for about 1 minute, during a short rain shower. Luckily I managed to get this photo before it flitted off into the bushes and disappeared. I only have one other record of this species at Linacre, 2 birds reported in May 2016, so it could be a breeding species, which has been missed, or it could  just be a passage migrant. Only time, and more records will tell. 

Other birds seen were: Mallard (71), Tufted Duck (14), Mandarin Duck (29), Coot (2 adults and no juveniles!!), Moorhen (12; 4 adults and 8 juveniles), Great-crested Grebe (1 adult), Grey Wagtail (1 juvenile), Robin (1 juvenile), Swallow (2), House Martin (6) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (10 dropped in for 5 minutes during the rain).

Linacre Insects - 6th August 2019

Yesterday morning I went down to Linacre to do the final check of the nestboxes (more of that in another post), and afterwards spent another 3 hours walking around the site recording the insects (and a few birds!).

It was pretty sunny all the time I was there (up to 22 degrees by the time I left), and there were a good number of insects to see. First up the dragonflies and damselflies. The most numerous species, as always, was Common Blue Damselfly, with 20+ seen, including 2 mating pairs. Two male Blue-tailed Damselflies were also seen, along with 3 Southern Hawkers and 5 Brown Hawkers. 

Southern Hawker (immature male?)

Brown Hawker

Butterflies were also present in good numbers, including a new species for me at Linacre: Peacock 20, Ringlet 2, Large White 1, Small White 1, Green-veined White 4, Gatekeeper 6, Meadow Brown 7, Small Copper 1, Red Admiral 2, Comma 1, Painted Lady 5, Speckled Wood 1, Small Skipper 1, Narrow-bordered 5 spot Burnet moth (1 mating pair), Cinnabar Moth caterpillars, Shaded Broad Bar (1) and Wall Brown 1 female in the ringing site- my first record for Linacre!

Wall Brown

Hoverflies seen were: Volucella inanis (4), Volucella pellucens (2), Eristalis sp and Myathropa florea (1). Other insects were: Black and Yellow Longhorn Beetle (1), 6-spotted Ladybird (1), Tachinid flies,  Common Carder, White-tailed and Red-tailed Bumblebees, 

North Wales Weekend

The title of this post isn't quite correct, as I didn't spend the weekend in Wales, but I did have a couple of days over the Bank Holiday there with Jayne. We were based in Llandudno and had a visit to RSPB South Stack to try and catch up with a few "year ticks".

South Stack lighthouse

The "year ticks" in question were Puffin (2 seen on the water), Chough (2 seen flying around the cliffs) and Black Guillemot (1 seen in the Old Harbour in Holyhead). Other species seen included Raven, Guillemot, Razorbill, Herring Gull, Jackdaw and Linnet.

Along with the birds we were also lucky enough to see several insects, including a "lifer". The first insect we saw was Wall Brown (a minimum of 4 individuals) feeding along the cliff tops. We also spotted a Painted Lady, a Drinker moth caterpillar, a Green Tiger Beetle and, best of all, a Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (a new species!!).

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Year List update:
149 - Puffin
150 - Chough
151 - Black Guillemot

Dragonfly and Butterfly News

Over the summer period I like to get out and about recording dragonflies, damselflies and butterflies. Recently I've added a few new species.

The first new insects were spotted last week on a walk around Cupola Ponds, Stanedge. Emerald Damselflies were very common here, along with several Common Blue Damselflies, several Common and Brown Hawkers and an Emperor dragonfly.

Emerald Damselfly (male)

Afterwards, I drove up to Big Moor, where, again, many Emerald Damselflies were flying about, including several pairs "in cop" i.e. mating. Also seen here were Common Darter (pairs in cop and newly emerged individuals), Common Hawker and a very nice Wall Brown butterfly.

Emerald Damselflies (mating pair)

The last new species were Ruddy Darter and Black Darter. The Ruddy Darter, a male, was seen on Monday at RSPB Old Moor, and the Black Darter, males, females and newly emerged, (tenerals) were seen at Little Barbrook Reservoir on Big Moor.

Ruddy Darter (male)

Black Darter (female, I think)

Black Darter (male)