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.

Montpelier Station!

I had a wander to the station between the showers this morning. There were several Small White butterflies on the other side of the tracks and some Enchanter's Nightshade was in flower nearby. A Rose Chafer was feeding on Buddleia. Towards the TV mast I was amazed to see lots of Broomrape plants - presumably Ivy-leaved Broomrape as the host plant was present. This seems to have been gradually colonising the railway land around Montpelier in recent years. I couldn't get better photos as it was behind a fence. A Marmalade Hoverfly was sat on a Hazel leaf. Halfway down Station Road a Harlequin Ladybird was trundling around. An Impressive Great Mullein plant was flowering near the Cheltenham Road arches.

Small White

Rose Chafer

Marmalade Hoverfly

Enchanter's Nightshade

Ivy Broomrape

Harlequin Ladybird

Great Mullein

In the garden a Dunnock was singing.

Dunnock

The last couple of nights I've detected Noctule bats hunting when sticking my bat detector out of the window.

St Andrews Park!

Highlights in the park this morning included several Azure Damselflies, a Cinnabar Moth, a couple of Leaf-cutter Bees, a Harlequin Ladybird larva, a 7-Spot Ladybird, masses of Black Bean Aphids, a couple of Ichneumon Wasps and the hoverflies Eristalis pertinax and Helophilus pendulus.

Azure Damselfly

Leafcutter Bee

Harlequin Ladybird Larva

Cinnabar Moth

Black Bean Aphids

Back in Montpelier, butterflies were represented by a Large Skipper in Fairlawn Road and a Comma on the station.

Large Skipper

Comma

A single Perforate St John's-wort plant was in flower at the station.

Perforate St John's-wort

Birds today included a singing Coal Tit at St Andrews Park, a male Blackcap which perched briefly out in the open at the station but was too quick for my camera, a Robin and Collared Dove also at the station and Blue Tits and House Sparrows in the garden.

Out and about!

Just a stroll around the neighbourhood this afternoon. At the station there was an Early Bumblebee - an attractive species I don't see that often. Unfortunately it was too quick for the camera and I only managed one blurred shot. On the railway track was a bee-mimic hoverfly, Merodon equestris. Not sure why it kept returning to the track ballast unless it was deriving some kind of nutrient from the stone. A few Small White butterflies were patrolling the disused platform.

Blurred Early Bumblebee

Merodon equestris

There were several Creeping Cinquefoil flowers dotting the verge at the top of St Andrews Road - another terrible photo I'm afraid.

Creeping Cinquefoil

Last night there was a visiting Light Emerald moth attracted by my kitchen light.

Starling Invasion!

I was delighted to see a large group of up to 10 Starlings at the station this afternoon, I think there were young ones amongst them. This is a bird that has been lost to many parts of the neighbourhood so it is wonderful to see that they are still hanging on at this particular spot.

Starlings

There's a nice patch of vegetation further down Station Road, near the school, which includes Hogweed, Welsh Poppy, Lesser Burdock* (* now identified as a Hollyhock) and Smooth Sow-thistle. The latter had its leaves lined with leaf mines caused, I think, by a species of fly.

Hollyhock

Welsh Poppy

Smooth Sow-thistle

Leaf mines 

Insects seen today included a Cheilosia hoverfly and a splendid weevil called Liophloeus tessulatus, the latter trundling along the wall at the station.

Cheilosia hoverfly

Liophloeus tessulatus

Sparrows and Snails!

There were loads of House Sparrows in Station Road this morning, several collecting nesting material, others sat on the roofs. I estimate at least 20 birds were there - always good to see so many. Nearby at the station there were 3 or 4 Orange-tip butterflies and a Speckled Wood. A snail on the wall looked like a Strawberry Snail but I had no intention of eating it. A Common Earwig was on a dandelion flower. Nearby at Fairlawn Road there were several Honeybees and another Nomad Bee.

House Sparrow

Strawberry Snail

I had a pathetic night as far as the moth trap was concerned, just two moths - a Pale Mottled Willow and a micro-moth which I tentatively identified as an Ephestia species and which, to my relief, the experts on Facebook confirmed.

Pale Mottled Willow

Ephestia

Of Moths and Magpies

I repeated my customary circuit around Montpelier this morning, starting at Fairlawn Road where there were several Orange-tip butterflies and a single Common Earwig. I wandered down to the Station and saw more Orange-tips and en route there was a Speckled Wood at Station Road. Magpies, House Sparrows and a singing Blackcap were the ornithological highlights at the station.

Magpie

Common Earwig

A nice surprise in the flat this morning was a Least Black Arches moth which is a 'first' for me. It and a Twenty-plume Moth were obviously in the moth trap yesterday but had been hiding!

Least Black Arches

Twenty-plume Moth

Orange-tip butterflies!

I was delighted to see 3+ Orange-tip butterflies patrolling the disused platform at the station this afternoon. These were the first of the year for me and I'm always glad to see these harbingers of spring. Also at least 1 Brimstone as well. As the butterflies were too flighty to take any photos I thought I'd take a photo of their foodplant, Garlic Mustard (aka Jack-by-the-Hedge) which is one of the Orange-tip's foodplants. It was growing along Station Road.

Brimstone butterflies and a dead Badger!

At the station this morning there were at least two Brimstone butterflies patrolling the disused platform. Further up the track towards the arches was a dead Badger on the tracks. It seems unlikely it was run over by a train as trains do not reach any great speed here yet I can think of no other reason. Very sad.

Brimstone

Dead Badger

Nearby there was a huge patch of Thale Cress near some of the industrial units in Station Road. This modest weed has the claim to fame of being the first plant to have its genome fully sequenced.

Thale Cress

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