Tuesday 9 June 2015

Tuesday 9th. June 2013

A picture catch-up on a few recent outings :
Spotted this Nuthatch with food at High Elms , but didn't have time to hang around .
Spent a morning there next day and finally managed to get a shot of one of possibly nine youngsters having at look at the big world outside . Great engineering work by the parents to plug the large hole with clay , leaving just enough room to squeeze in and out .


Star of the Bird Survey at Down House , was this Roe buck who heard the first shutter click and
high-tailed it into the woods with his doe . Just 14 species of bird and one butterfly recorded .
The High Elms butterfly transect started off finding this photogenic male Scorpion Fly ,
this Golden-bloomed Grey Longhorn Beetle / Agapanthia villosoviridescens ,
and an open-winged Green-legged Sawfly / Tenthredo mesomelas , before a butterfly was recorded ,
of which just 19 of 6 species were found , plus this Orange Tip larva on Garlic Mustard .
On the way round , the first Pyramidal Orchid of the year , just bursting flower bud ,
the flowers on the first White Helleborines to flower are now fully open ,
a Hornet , possibly a queen , found on a path across Burnt Gorse ,
one of a small colony of Adders Tongue / Ophioglossom vulgatum , a member of the Fern family , in the same area ,
and a Crab Spider , busy having a mid morning snack .
A stop-off at Esher Common en route to Thursley Common , failed to find the hoped for early Silver-studded Blue butterfly , but found more snacking , this time an Asilidae sp. Robber Fly feeding on a Common Heath moth ,
and Biting Stonecrop / Sedum acre , just coming into flower .
Thursley Common had a cool breeze blowing over it , and Odonata were at a premium , with Four-spotted Chasers , a single Downy Emerald and common damselflies being the only species found .
Even the ubiquitous Common Lizards on site were restricted to a single sighting .
A couple of Orchids caught my eye , this Early Marsh Orchid / Dactylorhiza incarnata ,
and this one with spotted leaves . The nearest I have got is a hybrid Fragrant x Heath-spotted specimen , but any other thoughts would be appreciated .
A Cuckoo called constantly from a distance and these two Curlew made passes calling .
The lack of Odonata was reflected in just two Hobby being seen , one high overhead and one sat for ages in a distant bush .
Best bird sighting though was five minutes in a copse of Scots Pine with this singing male Common Redstart .
From the garden , a female Holly Blue warming up in the morning sunshine ,
on a wood pile , this Ichneumon sp.
and this fast moving Ruby-tailed Wasp / Chrysis ignite , aka Cuckoo Wasp as it lays it's eggs in Mason Bees nests . Having hatched , the RtW's offspring eat the larvae of it's host .
A windy visit with Keith to Sevenoaks Reserve for Odonata , produced a new hoverfly for me , Xanthogramma pedissequum ,
a Grass Snake , sunbathing on a log pile ,
positive 2 , probable 3 Painted Ladies ,
and an unusual spider , Tetragnatha Montana , a first for me . No sign of the hoped for Downy Emerald in the conditions , but a female Broad-bodied Chaser was seen along with the usual damselflies and demoiselles .
We then moved on to an equally windy River Eden near Chiddingstone , where the male
White-legged Damselflies are now sporting their powder blue , mature finery ,
but the females seemed to still be in their immature , lacteal phase . A Downy Emerald was found on site , and we spent some time trying to get in-flight shots , but gave up finding it impossible in the windy conditions . Two Red Admiral were also seen , the first for some considerable time for me .
Also seen was this larva , which I think might be of a Sawfly sp. , but haven't been able to ID it so far . Any thoughts would be appreciated .

4 comments:

roger.wood800 said...

Have you checked your camera manual to see if you can set the 'sounds' including shutter to silent?

Greenie said...

Roger ,
Thanks for your suggestion .
There is a quieter setting for the shutter , but it only can be used on 'live view' , using the LCD panel on the back rather than the viewfinder , which isn't easy outdoors , especially as it doesn't move .
I think the noise has been somewhat reduced on the newest model .

Ken. said...

Lovely selection of wildlife pics especially the insects. Really like the Tetragnatha Montana, unusual looking thing.
You mention the Nuthatch moulding it's hole, that reminds me of when Pam and I was at our friends house in Wales and a Nuthatch took up residence in a hole in the barn wall, and it did exactly the same thing.

Anonymous said...

I think your mystery larva could be BF670
Depressaria daucella.

Regards,
Martin