St Andrews Park!

A beautiful sunny morning but surprisingly few birds today - a Jay, a fly-over Jackdaw, a few Robins and Blackbirds, a flyover Pied Wagtail, a couple of Carrion Crows, a few Goldfinches and a Long-tailed Tit.

Carrion Crow and lunch

Insects attracted to some Ivy flowers included Syrphus and Eristalis tenax hoverflies, several Common Wasps, a Green Shieldbug and a Twin-spot Centurion soldierfly.

Syrphus

Green Shieldbug

Eristalis tenax

Twin-spot Centurion

In Montpelier another Twin-spot Centurion and a couple of Harlequin Ladybirds were on the Ivy at the station footbridge.

Harlequin Ladybird

St Pauls Park!

This morning there was plenty of common bird action with 2 Dunnocks, a couple of Woodpigeons, 3 Robins, 2 Goldfinches, a couple of Blue Tits, 2 Herring Gulls and 3 Magpies.

Dunnock

Herring Gull

Magpie

Robin

Huge surprise on the insect front with a Twin-spot Centurion soldierfly basking on a leaf. Although this is an autumn species I've never seen them this late in the year!

Twin-spot Centurion

Narroways

Today on the reserve: Grey Wagtail, Jay, 3 Stock Doves over the hill, 1 Jackdaw over Simons Grove, mixed party of Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tits (stony path) 1 Starling over hill, 1 Chaffinch over cutting. Several Wrens, Robins and Blackbirds.

Insects: Twin-spot Centurion soldierfly, Syrphus hoverfly, Phaonia sp. fly, Several Harlequin Ladybirds, a Green Shieldbug, a Dock Leaf Bug. A very active Common Wasp nest along the path at Simons Grove.

Harlequin

Dock Leaf Bug

Phaonia sp.

Twin-spot Centurion

Wasp nest

At Fairlawn Road, Montpelier there were some feeding Long-tailed Tits and a fly-over Jackdaw.

St Pauls Park

This morning there were a couple of juvenile Woodpigeons, 2 Blackbirds, a Blue Tit and a singing Wren. There was a Twin-spot Centurion soldierfly in the church grounds. This species is typical of the autumn months. It's the first soldierfly I've seen on the patch this year I think.

Twin-spot Centurion

Narroways

Today on Narroways 10.30 - 12.30: a Clouded Yellow (cutting) - didn't settle for a photo.
Chiffchaff showing well and singing (cutting) Long-tailed Tits, Blue Tits, Great Tits and 1 Goldcrest (Simon's Grove), Jays at Boiling Wells and stony path. Goldfinches and Greenfinches Boiling Wells, Jackdaw over the cutting.

Garden Spider

Twin-spot Centurion

Helophilus pendulus

Nursery-web Spider

Speckled Wood

Syrphus hoverfly

Speckled Wood (cutting, stony path, Boiling Wells). Twin-spot Centurion soldier fly (female), cutting, Helophilus pendulus hoverfly (cutting) Syrphus hoverfly (st...ony path). Nursery-web Spider (cutting) Garden Spider (stony path).

In Fairlawn Road there was a Green Shieldbug, 2 Speckled Wood doing their territorial flight, while birds included a large group of Long-tailed, Blue and Great Tits and a Chiffchaff. A Coal Tit was singing near Old Ashley Hill.

The station produced a singing Chiffchaff, a Jay and a Large White butterfly. A Jackdaw flew over Richmond Road.

Last night a huge House Spider was racing around the flat and ended up on my bed.

House Spider