Montpelier Station

A single Meadow Brown and a Green-veined White were lying around the disused platform this morning at 9.30 in the already warm sunshine and a Blackcap was singing.

A Dark Arches moth was in the flat this morning.

Dark Arches

Scalloped Oak

I found a Scalloped Oak moth halfway up my stairs this morning. I was able to release it safely after a photo-session.

Scalloped Oak

Bats

I stuck my bat detector out of the window this evening and heard echo-location at 25 KHZ suggesting probable Noctule bats. It lasted (on and off) for about 5 minutes but I didn't see any bats.

There were several plants of Enchanters Nightshade in flower on the station this morning.

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Enchanters Nightshade

Meadow Brown

A single Meadow Brown butterfly was flitting around at Montpelier Station this morning.

Moths

Last night in the flat there was a Heart and Dart, a Light Emerald and a mystery moth that I assume is some kind of Carpet.

Light Emerald

Mystery moth

Montpelier Park

This morning, the early sunshine produced a few insects including a Tree Bumblebee, a Marmalade Hoverfly and several Harlequin Ladybirds. Stinking Iris was putting on a good show at the back of the park and a Coal Tit was singing. Meanwhile I was thrilled to see a pair of Swifts screaming around houses in Richmond Road this morning. Magic birds.

Harlequin Ladybird

Marmalade Hoverfly

Stinking Iris

Montpelier Station

This morning a Weevil (possibly a Vine Weevil) was trundling around on the wall on the platform. On an Ivy leaf there was a spider which looked a bit like one of the jumping spiders but sadly I couldn't get a decent photo before it disappeared.  There was some Scarlet Pimpernel in the flower bed where I've seen it occasionally in previous years, while lots of Purple Toadflax and Grey Sedge Carex divulsa was much in evidence on the track side.

Carex divulsa

Spider

Scarlet Pimpernel

Purple Toadflax

Weevil

A Riband Wave moth was on the windscreen of a parked car in Brigstocke Road.

Narroways

Today on the reserve: Great Spotted Woodpecker calling along stony path, Common Whitethroat  singing across iron bridge, Bullfinch calling across iron bridge, Chiffchaff pair seen well in Simons Grove, juvenile Blackcap at Simons Grove and an adult singing towards Ashley Hill end of stony path, Greenfinch singing at cutting, Wren family along stony path, Long-tailed Tits in community garden, Jay calling and feather seen in Simons Grove.

Marbled White c30 mostly on cutting and church field, dead Tree Bee, lots of honey bees, Ichneumon species, Common Carder Bee, Hoverfies: Myathropa florea, Helophilus pendulus, Syritta pipiens. Shedloads of Thick-thighed Flower-beetles.

Myathropa florea

Ichneumon

Jay feather

Marbled White

Myathropa florea

Tree Bee

At St Andrews Park there were lots of Blackbirds including a juvenile bird being fed by parents and an adult female collecting nesting material. The vegetation around the pond produced a Long-jawed Orb Weaver spider and a Merodon equestris hoverfly.

Long-jawed Orb Weaver



Merodon equestris

A moth in my kitchen is giving me ID problems - it is a worn specimen and not at all easy.

 

Riverside Park

I rarely visit this site as I'm not sure it is technically within the Wild Monty patch. Perhaps it is, in which case it's a fine addition to the list of wildlife-rich areas in and around central Bristol. One of the first birds I saw was a Kingfisher zooming down the river and there were a couple of Grey Wagtails showing well. Three or four pairs of Mallards including young and 3 Moorhens (and a young one) were also present, along with a Lesser Black-backed Gull and a Herring Gull. Water-crowfoot was flowering luxuriantly in the stream.

Back in Montpelier proper, there were 6 Swifts over the station this morning. Also at the station were 4 Starlings, a mixed tit flock and a fly-over Jackdaw.

Water-crowfoot

Mallard Ducklings

Grey Wagtail

Mallard

 

Young Moorhen

Adult Moorhen

Sex in the Bathroom (that should bring in a few more readers)

This morning I noticed a couple of micro-moths copulating on the bathroom wall. I'm hopeless at micros, but would guess they could be one of the House Moth species. There is a hint of a pale shoulder suggesting the possibility of White-shouldered House Moth, but not sure. I was able to capture and release them outside without too much disruption to their amorous activities.

Montpelier Park

It was good to see Hedge Woundwort in flower in the park this morning. Young Blackbirds could be heard in the Hawthorn hedge near the Old Vicarage and a Wren sang. A Tree Bumblebee visited the Green Alkanet flowers - the bee looked very much like a Common Carder Bee at first with lots of pale hairs on the abdomen, but its white tail meant it had to be a Tree Bumblebee. I wonder if it was just an old and grizzled specimen? The wings showed definite signs of wear. There was also a Marmalade Hoverfly and tantalising glimpses of a bee or wasp which didn't settle but looked very interesting.

Tree  Bumblebee

Hedge Woundwort

 

Montpelier Station

Very little to report today other than a probable Melanostoma hoverfly and a Thick-thighed Flower Beetle looking a bit out of place on the wall.

Melanostoma

Thick-thighed Flower-beetle

St Andrews Park

A few odds and ends in the park today - lots of Honey Bees, a Syrphus hoverfly, a Red Mason Bee near the pond, lots of tadpoles in the pond including something that could have been a newt or toad tadpole, an adult newt species, a Large Red Damselfly and many Azure Damselflies.

Elsewhere, Raven flew over Burghley Road and a Coal Tit sand near Balmoral Road.

Large Red Damselfly

Red Mason Bee

Tadpoles - the one on the left looks different - newt or toad?