Montpelier Park!

Lots of common bird activity this morning with singing Robin and Wren, feeding Great and Blue Tits, calling Dunnocks and several Blackbirds, a Collared Dove, 3 Woodpigeons and 5 Magpies. Three or four Grey Squirrels were very active around the park.

Grey Squirrel

Wren

St Andrews Park!

It was a lovely sunny morning for a stroll around the park. Highlights were a calling Great Spotted Woodpecker, several Goldfinches, a Black-headed Gull and several Herring Gulls and a Pied Wagtail. About 5 Marmalade Hoverflies were basking on leaves near the pond but a rather ill-looking Common Wasp was crawling along the path.

Pied Wagtail

Common Wasp

A goose-stepping Black-headed Gull

Marmalade Hoverfly

Montpelier Park!

Not much to report this morning apart from about 10 Long-tailed Tits and a few Blue Tits, a female Chaffinch, 2 Blackbirds, 7 Magpies, a Woodpigeon and singing Wren and Robin.

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

New spider for the patch!

I was just leaving home this morning and I noticed a small spider on the wall near the front door. I photographed it and tried to ID it this afternoon but gave up so I put it on the Facebook spider group and lo and behold it's a spider called Labulla thoracica. My fieldguide says it is common and widespread and likes shady banks and woodland. This one is a male - it has huge palps!

St Pauls Park!

It's been a while since I popped into the park, and this morning I was rewarded with impressive numbers of Long-tailed Tits - between 10 and 15 - to keep me occupied with smaller numbers of Blue and Great Tits feeding in the trees. Also a calling Dunnock, a Herring Gull, a couple of Blackbirds and a singing Robin.

Great Tit

Blackbird

Long-tailed Tit