A Break in the Weather

I definitely timed it right this morning. Most of my outings inevitably end up with me getting wet, but for at least an hour at Twitchers Gate, the rain stayed away.

Highlights
4 Little Egret with 2 on the scrape, where there were also 3 Oystercatchers, a Redshank and a Green Sandpiper feeding along the waters edge. Over head there were 4 Lapwing, and feeding over Pit 74 there were 13 Common Tern with a few squabbling on the rafts. There were distant calls and songs from a Cuckoo and Nightingale.

In the hedgerows and nettles were hundreds of male Common Blue Damselflies, with just 5 females seen. In amongst them were 3 Blue-tailed Damselflies and I also came across some interesting flies and hoverflies with: Picture Fly, Herina longistylata, Pellucid Fly, Volucella pellucens and Hoverfly, Anasimyia contracta.

Here are a few images from this morning.

One of at least 13 Common Tern over the Pit this morning.

A Common Blue Damselfly. There were hundreds of males just resting on the nettles and every time a female flew by..........

.........they took off in pursuit, in the hope of mating with one, as this male did.

Another male Common Blue Damselfly and a Nettle Aphid just in front of him. I had no idea until today, that there are at least 34 Aphid Species in this country. At least this one was fairly easy to ID on a nettle!

I suspect this is a Blue-tailed Damselfly.....

....and another. It could be confused with a Scarce Damselfly.

Picture Fly, Herina longistylata

And what a difficult fly to ID. There are several similar looking Picture Flies, but I'm 98% sure this is Herina longistylata. But then !!

Pellucid Fly - Volucella pellucens (Sometimes called the Pellucid Hoverfly, this is one of the largest flies in Britain).

Harlequin ladybirds are a highly successful invasive species and there numbers have rocketed over the past few years. They are pretty hardy ladybirds and have no problem outcompeting our native species such as the 2-spot ladybird for their aphid prey. It doesn't help that the larvae of Harlequins, also eat the larvae of our smaller native ladybirds.

And here is a 2-spot Ladybird, hopefully it can compete against the Harlequin

The Hoverfly, Anasimyia contracta. I saw it quickly in the corner of my eye and just managed a record shot. More Here on this Hoverfly

Birds Recorded

Great Crested Grebe, 11 Cormorant, 4 Little Egret, 1 Grey Heron, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Coot, 3 Oystercatcher, 4 Lapwing, 1 Redshank, 1 Green Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, 13 Common Tern, 1 Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, 1 Cuckoo, 2 Swift, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Sand Martin, Dunnock, 1 Nightingale, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Reed Warbler, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler, 3 Common Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap, 1 Willow Warbler, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, 2 juvenile Starling, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Reed Bunting.

Also

Blue-tailed Damselfly, Ischnura elegans

Common Blue Damselfly, Enallagma cyathigerum

Nettle Aphid, Microlophium carnosum

Picture Fly, Herina longistylata

Pellucid Fly, Volucella pellucens

The Hoverfly, Anasimyia contracta

2-spot Ladybird, Adalia bipunctata

Harlequin Ladybird, Harmonia axyridis