Friday, 17 May 2013

A surfeit of Swifts

Happily, the number of Swifts on the patch has increased over the last few days, with up to 10 over the station. This is a real relief as they were very late arriving. Other birds of note today included a Raven over Fairlawn Road and the singing Chiffchaff nearby and a Greenfinch at the station.

It was a good day for invertebrates, with the verge at Fairlawn Road producing 2 Speckled Woods, a Holly Blue and a Small White butterfly. Also a Dark Bush Cricket, 2 Nursery Web Spiders, at least 10 Syrphus hoverflies, a Helophilus pendula hoverfly, an Eristalis pertinax hoverfly, 2 mating Green Shieldbugs plus an unidentified Ichneumon.
Speckled Wood

Green Shieldbugs

Eristalis pertinax

Helophilus pendulus
A tiny fly at the station was possibly a Tachinid, maybe a Phania species.
Tachinid fly
There was a dead Rose Chafer on the pavement in Picton Street.

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