Naturalist, county moth recorder (retired), WMBC bird report editor
Joined February 2017
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Each year we visit Thorswood NR to try and find Moonwort and at last we succeeded!
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Didn't take many bird photos in Dorset but I did like these four. Details in Comments.
ALT Meadow Pipit, Studland
ALT Juvenile Stonechat, Old Harry Rocks
ALT Spotted Flycatcher, Arne
ALT Juvenile Common Whitethroat, Old Harry Rocks
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I include this for @MarburyBirds to show her she is not the only one who can take good photos. It is a distant Osprey with fish, in a deluge at Arne 😀
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Again, not great weather for butterflies but we had Silver-studded Blue at Arne.
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The weather in Dorset was not great for dragonflies. However we managed to see Four-spotted Chaser and the gorgeous Small Red Damselfly at Arne RSPB.
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Durlston County Park, Swanage is an amazing place. They have recreated the chalk grassland meadows of old and they are stunning. A butterfly we always look for there is the Small Blue - and it is tiny. The colour is exquisite. It feeds on Kidney Vetch.
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We don't get Dodder in Staffordshire so it's always nice to see it - here at Arne RSPB where it seems to favour Dwarf Gorse.
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Arne RSPB is a superb reserve. Each time we go we visit the pool labelled "Raft Spider pond" and each time we fail to see one. This time we found our own on a small pool on the Wetland Trail that we hadn't been on previously. It's a huge and impressive beast!
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Dorset in June and the crickets are only around as nymphs. Still, managed to find Long-winged Conehead, Grey Bush-cricket (new to me) and Dark Bush-cricket.
ALT Long-winged Conehead
ALT Grey Bush-cricket
ALT Grey Bush-cricket, green phase female
ALT Dark Bush-cricket male
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There are five hoverflies in the genus Chrysotoxum that are known as the "Difficult Five'. They are superb wasp mimics. These two species - cautum and elegans - do not occur in Staffs and the former was new to me.
ALT Chrysotoxum cautum
ALT Chrysotoxum cautum
ALT Chrysotoxum elegans
ALT Chrysotoxum elegans
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Jun 15
One butterfly synonymous with Lulworth Cove is of course the Lulworth Skipper. There were plenty about the Cove and on nearby Binden Hill. They are a small skipper. The males are uniformly dark while the females have a "sunburst" of pale markings.
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Jun 14
Just arrived back from a week away. Lifted the lid on the empty wheelie bin to find dozens of this tiny springtail - Entomobrya intermedia - dotted around the rim. Why there and why so many?
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Jun 14
Was watching the washing drying - awaiting a Convolvulous Hawk (they are said to be attracted to drying washing!) - and noticed 20 or so of these Welsh Chafers on mainly the white items. They seem prone to mass emergences.
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Jun 3
Scarlet Tigers are starting to hatch out on our estate. Could be a good year for them as lots of larvae earlier. One was not quite there yet but it does show the beautiful hind wing colour. Counted 6 adults today.
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Jun 3
The rather pretty Lime-speck does look very like a bird dropping!
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May 31
best night of the year in the moth trap - 50 species. The micro Spuleria flavicaput was a lifer! Always nice when you get a Green Silver-lines - lovely moth.
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May 30
Amazing day at Trentham Gardens. Not only did I catch up with the Lesser Emperor dragonfly but I found Staffordshire's first (I think) Norfolk Hawker! There were also 4 Black-tailed Skimmers and quite a few Red-eyed Damselflies.
ALT Black-tailed SKimmer
ALT Norfolk Hawker
ALT Red-eyed Damselfly
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