Maesteg Welfare Park

The hoverfly season is all but over, all the Ivy spots in the lower valley have gone over. Only the park Ivy remains with a few flowers in the autumn flower bed still in bloom there. Maybe they will last another fortnight if we don't have a storm. I recorded 12 species of hoverfly with a very late Didea fasciata (1) amongst the common species which were all female  and most heavily laden with eggs. A Meliscaeva auricollis was seen egg-laying on Japanese Primrose (Daisy). The only other insects about were Harlequin Ladybird, Buff-tailed Bumblebee and Common Carder Bee and Common Wasp. No birds of note were seen.

This Syrphus vitripennis (checked in hand) was amongst the more numerous Syrphus ribesii (below)

Episyrphus balteatus

Eristalis tenax - very dark forms seem to predominate during the autumn

Harlequin Ladybird - another colour form

Insect highlights - Norfolk week

 

Caliroa cerasi sawfly species - confirmed on Irecord 

Helophilus hybridus

Helophilus pendulus

Ivy Bee

Myathropa florea

3 of the 4 Volucella zonaria feeding on Ivy at Warham Greens

Other birding highlights - Norfolk week

 Heacham Beach   -   Marsh Harrier (1), Mediterranean Gull (32), Brent Goose (9)

Warham Greens  -   Marsh Harrier (1), Little Egret (3)

Snettisham RSPB   -   Egyptian Goose (1), Brent Goose (20), Pink-footed Goose (1), Little Egret (3), Pintail (2), Mediterranean Gull (1), Wheatear (3)

Cley Marshes & sea  -   Marsh Harrier (2), Pink-footed Goose (20), Red Throated Diver (3), Brent Goose (6), Sandwich Tern (2)

Brent Goose

Eurasian Teal

Greylag Goose & Wigeon

Northern Pintail

Northern Shoveler

Eurasian Sparrowhawk

                                     

Wells area - Norfolk week

 Outer harbour and Sea   - Bird highlights included Black Brant (American rarity), 300 Brent Goose, 7 Red Throated Diver (2 calling), 2 Little Egret, 10 Sandwich Tern, juvenile Common Tern and 10 species of wader.

Northpoint Pools (new reserve)   - Bird highlights included 72 Egyptian Goose, 10 Pink-footed Goose, Barnacle Goose and 2 Marsh Harrier.

Wells woods and fields   - Bird highlights were Marsh Harrier, Chiffchaff, 2 Egyptian Goose and 50 Pink-footed Goose.

Egyptian Goose

Red Throated Diver

Large Pine Sawfly (Diprion pini)

Titchwell - Norfolk week

 We visited Titchwell RSPB numerous times during the week as it was close to our caravan in Heacham and also had hides to shelter in during many periods of rain. As usual a wide array of birds were present in the marshes and on the sea. A list of the best included 5 Red Throated Diver, 9 Brent Goose, Pectoral Sandpiper (American rarity), 2 Little Stint, 50 Ruff, 10 Avocet, 3 Little Egret, 5 Marsh Harrier and 6 Bearded Tit.

There were quite a few hoverflies still on the wing with Didea fasciata, Sericomyia silentis being the pick. The Toilet block lights are always worth a check for moths and included Black Rustic, Green Brindled Crescent and Red Underwing also present was a Speckled Bush Cricket. In the dunes plants in flower that I could identify included Sea Rocket and Sea Spurge.

Pectoral Sandpiper - above and below

Ruff

Didea fasciata

Black Rustic

Red Underwing

Sea Spurge

Sea Rocket

Speckled Bush Cricket

Blacktoft Sands - East Yorkshire

 Last week  Paul Parsons, Colin Gittins and myself spent a week in Norfolk. On the way up we first visited East Yorkshire to see the long staying White-tailed Plover, which showed pretty well. Other tidy birds on show included 2 Marsh Harrier, 3 Spoonbill, Little Egret, 2 Ruff, 62 Pink-footed Goose, 3 Snipe and 2 Bearded Tit.

Dyspetes luteomarginatus

 On the 28th August I had a photo of this species up Gilfach (west) near the car park. In fact there were four or five dotted around. It is a parasitic wasp (Ichneumon) that lays its eggs on sawfly larva particularly those on the flower Golden-rod. Looking at the NBN Atlas and the I record maps there doesn't seem to be any records for Wales let alone Glamorgan and very few records for the UK (20 records) so of course its new for the valley . I'm not very good at identifying Ichneumons, so I had it confirmed on I record before posting. 

Blaencaerau

 Hot fine weather meant i recorded 29 species of hoverfly. New for the year was Platycheirus angustatus (1). Most numerous as expected was Eristalis tenax (115). Good records included Epistrophe grossulariae (1), Eristalis intricaria (2) and Cheilosia fraterna (2). Numbers and species should start winding down soon whatever the weather. Ivy season is about 3 weeks away.

All the usual other insect species were out but good sightings were the micro moth Dichrorampha montanana and big numbers of the butterfly Small Copper (13). No birds of note were seen.

Cheilosia impressa

Eristalis intricaria

Helophilus pendulus

Small Copper

weekend hoverfly round-up

 Fine weather all weekend meant I could visit multiple sites totalling 49 species. Sites visited were Caerau (31), Gilfach (west) (27) and Garnwen (38). New for the year were Cheilosia longula (1) and Cheilosia scutellata (2), most numerous was Eristalis tenax (362). Good records included 4 Eupeodes species which were very numerous, Eristalis intricaria (3), Eristalis rupium (2), Dasysyrphus tricinctus (1), Didea fasciata (1) and Helophilus hybridus (1). 

Dasysyrphus tricinctus

Eupeodes lapponicus

Helophilus hybridus

Leucozona glaucia

Melangyna umbellatarum

Riponnensia splendens

Chrysotoxum arcuatum

Eristalis intricaria

Volucella pellucens

Devilsbit Scabious patch

 A quick stroll to have a look at the Scabious patch at Newtown Bungalows stream revealed about 10% in flower, so about 7 to 10 days before its full potential is achieved. Nevertheless plenty of other flowers were in bloom and attracted 30 species of hoverfly, Eristalis tenax (25) being the most numerous. Other good records included Chrysotoxum Festivum (1), Eupeodes latifasciatus (3), Xanthogramma pedissequum (1) and Helophilus trivittatus (3).

Other flies included the tachinid Tachina fera and the conopid Physocephala rufipes. A nice surprise was a caterpillar of the moth Star-wort on Goldenrod, I've only seen a few adults. Small Copper was the best of the butterflies.

Chrysotoxum festivum

Physocephala rufipes

Star-wort caterpillar on Goldenrod

Gatekeeper

Bog Asphodel