Skylark

A Skylark over Richmond Road this morning. Occasionally these birds pass over built-up areas on their way to winter feeding areas, often near the coast.

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.

Buzzard and Chiffchaff

A Buzzard drifted over the station this morning mobbed by half a dozen Carrion Crows and a Chiffchaff called from the trees. Hoverflies on the ivy included a Syrphus species and a Myathropa florea.

Buzzard

Myathropa florea

Syrphus

Yesterday there were 2 Jays in Montpelier Park.

Birds! Real birds!

Seems ages since I've been able to report a selection of birds on this blog as they seem to have been very thin on the ground, but at Montpelier Station this morning there was a soaring Sparrowhawk overhead mobbed by a Carrion Crow, Blue and Great Tits in the trees, a couple of Woodpigeons, a singing Coal Tit, calling Dunnocks and singing Wren and Robin. A Chaffinch and a Greenfinch flew over, my first for ages, sad to say.

Winter Thrushes?

This morning I saw a very high-flying group of about 10 thrushes over the station. I only had a glimpse but the underwings looked white-ish, so they may well have been Fieldfares or even Mistle Thrushes. Strangely they were flying NE.

My pet Zygiella x-notata spider was performing well this evening! 

Zygiella x-notata

Montpelier Park

There were a couple of Harlequin Ladybirds today, and one of them had a deformed/missing elytra but it seemed to be able to move OK but obviously couldn't fly.

Harlequin

A Grey Wagtail flew over, calling.

St Pauls Park

A sunny morning brought out a couple of hoverflies - a Myathropa florea and a Syrphus sp. A Wren, Great Tit, Robin and Blackbird were heard and a Lesser Black-backed Gull seen. The churchyard had lots of Annual Mercury growing in profusion.

Annual Mercury

Myathropa florea

Syrphus