St Andrews Park!

An hour in the park this morning produced c20 Redwings, 10 Goldfinches, a Jay, a Coal Tit, Blue Tits, a singing Great Tit, a couple of Collared Doves, some Woodpigeons, several Blackbirds and a Dunnock.

St Andrews Park!

St Andrews Park was hopelessly crowded so there were very few birds of note today apart from 10 Starlings, 20+ Goldfinches, 2 Jays, a couple of Blackbirds, a fly-over Chaffinch, a singing Dunnock and a few Woodpigeons and Collared Doves. It was good to see the first Snowdrops in flower. I escaped to the more peaceful environs of Montpelier Station where there were good numbers of House Sparrows, a couple of Chaffinches, Blue and Great Tits, several Starlings, a Grey Squirrel and 4 or 5 Collared Doves. A Pied Wagtail was feeding in Station Road.

Great Tits, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps!

I had a slightly earlier exercise walk this morning between 8 and 9am. At Fairlawn Road there was quite a lot of birdsong including Blackcap and Chiffchaff. I walked to St Andrews Park but it was very quiet apart from some Goldfinches.

In the garden a Great Tit was singing away most of the day.

Great Tit

Not much in the moth trap this morning - a couple of Hebrew Character and Common Quaker, an Early Grey and two Light Brown Apple Moths. I was surprised to see an Owl Midge (or, if you are less fond of them they are also known as Drain Flies!). This is the first I've seen on the Wild Monty patch.

Owl Midge

In the overgrown community garden area at the top of St Andrews Road there was a rather attractively marked Phaonia fly basking in the early sunshine. The adults lay their eggs in rotting leaves, rotten wood or carrion.

Lockdown Lepidoptera!

I am beginning to add more butterflies to my 2020 list - today I saw my first Speckled Wood in Station Road and there was a Holly Blue flying around a neighbour's garden but too flighty and distant to photograph. I was able to get a distant photo of an Orange-tip from my window though!

Distant Orange-tip

Speckled Wood

Today I spent much time looking out of the window - Great Tits, Robins and Woodpigeons were the main highlights.

Woodpigeon

More birds!

There's a lot of bird activity around the neighbouring gardens. Coal Tits, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Blackbirds and Robins all appear to be nesting as they are often seen with food in their bills.

Blackbird

Blue Tit

Robin

On my daily exercise walk this morning there were even more birds - a fly-over Raven and a singing Chiffchaff were encountered near Fairlawn Road. At the station there were more Robins and a Dunnock made an appearance. A pair of Magpies were building a nest near the footbridge.

Spot the Raven

Dunnock

Some good insects around too - a Common Carder Bee, my first of the spring plus lots of Buff-tailed Bumblebees and Honeybees were buzzing around the Green Alkanet in Fairlawn Road. A Common Earwig was a nice surprise as I don't see that many on the patch. There was a supporting cast of a Green Shieldbug, Eristalis pertinax hoverfly and a Wolf Spider. At the station there was a probable Chocolate Mining Bee and at Station Road a Platycheirus hoverfly.

Common Earwig

Honeybee

Common Carder Bee

Narroways!

An enjoyable wander round the reserve in bright sunshine this morning produced up to two singing Chiffchaffs - my first of the spring on the patch. One gave a brief view but escaped the camera. Also there were almost constant Raven fly-overs, Great Tits were singing and a Grey Wagtail was at the usual place below the bridge over the brook.

Grey Wagtail

There was an extremely impressive showing of mining bees of various species - there were almost swarms of them near dandelions and daisies, particularly along the sunny slope at the cutting. Among them were Yellow-legged Mining Bee Andrena flavipes and Gwynne's Mining Bee A. bicolor. The parasitic Painted Nomad Bee Nomada fucata was a surprise find. Also a Nursery-web Spider was basking on a leaf near the entrance gate just down from the railway bridge.

Male Yellow-legged Mining Bee

Gwynne's Mining Bee

Nursery-web Spider

Painted Nomad Bee

Back in Montpelier, there were a couple of Buff-tailed Bumblebees and an Eristalis tenax hoverfly at Fairlawn Road and a Tree Bumblebee put in the briefest of appearances at the top of St Andrews Road. Nearby a pair of Robins were showing well and a Wren looks like it might be nesting as it was showing territorial behaviour.

Buff-tailed Bumblebee

Robin

Montpelier Park and Station!

I'm not sure if anybody replenishes the bird feeders in the garden behind the disused platform but this morning a female Blackcap was near them. Also a Blackbird, a pair of Blue Tits, singing Wren and the usual House Sparrows.

There was a Great Tit in the park. A Wolf Spider was basking in the warm sunshine - my first of the spring.

Montpelier Station!

I was pleased to hear a Blackcap sub-singing at the station this morning. Subsong is a posh word for 'tuning up' and birds often practice their songs early in the season before spring starts in earnest. This Blackcap will have been overwintering in the UK and will migrate to Germany in about a month's time to nest there. Also at the station were a couple of Robins, several Blackbirds and Woodpigeons and a Great Tit.  

Blackbird

Great Tit

Robin

Woodpigeon

Narroways!

This morning on the reserve there were lots of Blue Tits and singing Great Tits plus a party of 6 or 7 Long -tailed Tits in the ash wood. A Jay at Lynmouth Rd Allotments and a Grey Wagtail at Boiling Wells. Lots of Blackbirds, singing Dunnocks and Robins.

Lords and Ladies leaves were out in many places, also lots of Lesser Celandine along the brook at Boiling Wells. A Feather-moss on Ash saplings was very striking. Primroses looked a bit battered after the recent frosts I suspect.

Lesser Celandine

Feather-moss

Lords and Ladies

Primroses

In Fairlawn Road there were singing Great Tits and Goldfinches.

Narroways!

It was very quiet on the reserve this morning apart  from a Grey Wagtail on the brook, some Great and Blue Tits, lots of singing Robins, and plenty of Winter Heliotrope in flower.

Winter Heliotrope

Grey Wagtail

 At Fairlawn Road a Green Shieldbug was enjoying the sunshine.

Green Shieldbug

Montpelier Park!

Lots of common bird activity in the park this morning, with a party of Blue and Great Tits feeding in the trees, a Jay, half a dozen Chaffinches including a nice male bird, a Blackbird, 2 singing Wrens plus the resident Woodpigeons and Magpies. A couple of Grey Squirrels were searching for food and there was lots of White Deadnettle in flower. 

Jay

Grey Squirrel

Blue Tit

Chaffinch

White Deadnettle

Woodpigeon

Montpelier Station!

A  pair of Ravens flew high over the station this morning, calling.  Not much else of note apart from a calling Wren, a Blue Tit and Great Tit and a House Spider on the wall towards the tunnel.

St Andrews Park!

A very gloomy and overcast afternoon produced few birds of note although 2 Goldcrests were very obliging and gave prolonged views. Also about a dozen Goldfinches, several Woodpigeons and Magpies and a Great Tit were noted.

Goldcrest

Great Tit

 

Montpelier Park!

A nice bit of bird action in the park this morning, with a Robin, a singing Wren, a Dunnock, a few Magpies and Woodpigeons and a party of Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tits feeding in the trees. Several Harlequin Ladybirds were basking in the early sunshine.

Harlequin Ladybird



Long-tailed Tit