Monday 31 March 2014

Lizards, firecrest and hoopoe

Ladybird, 7-spot, Coccinella 7-punctata
On Sunday I visited Rewell Wood where I found lizards basking on a rotting log and a 7-spot Ladybird. When the sun heated things up briefly I found Peacock and Comma butterflies on a path. I then visited Angmering Woods and found a Firecrest and a Peacock.
Today I visited the Hoopoe at Climping beach twice. It was in the same area in the morning and afternoon with a farm hedgerow, fencing and furniture obscuring the view much of the time. It was too far away for a decent shot. I met Terry there and then Alistair and was able to show him the Hoopoe.
Later I checked the beach along Sea Road, and found that much of the shingle had been removed and deposited on the sand below. I doubt the Ringed Plovers will attempt to nest there this year as their preferred flat area by a ridge is no longer present. Last year three nests had eggs, but none resulted in chicks and I assumed foxes or crows took the eggs.
Rewell Wood:
Comma, Polygonia c-album
Common Lizard, Zootoca vivipara
Angmering Woods:
Firecrest, Regulus ignicapillus
the usual view
Firecrest, Regulus ignicapillus

Peacock, Inachis io
Monday at Climping beach:
Hoopoe, Upupa epops


uncropped view

Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo

Sunday 30 March 2014

Hoopoe, Green-veined White and a Leaf Beetle larva

Hoopoe, Upupa epops
On Wednesday I visited Houghton Forest and found a Firecrest which stayed high up in the trees. 
  On Thursday I wandered round Arundel WWT then Angmering Woods, where I found an Oak Marble Gall Wasp. 
  On Friday I found an interesting larva feeding on a Violet flower. It is 4mm long and burrowed into the base of the flower where an entry hole is visible. It has been tentatively identified as a leaf beetle larva. The first Bluebells were in flower.
  On Saturday I searched Angmering Woods for the elusive Orange-tip with no result. The temperature was high and I saw plenty of male and female Brimstones, a Small Tortoiseshell, a Peacock, several Commas and my first Green-veined White of the year. I then checked out Climping beach for a Hoopoe which had been reported. I joined a number of other birders and watched it feeding far away. Whenever someone attempted to approach it, it took flight. I remember walking Shadow, our Golden Retriever in Saudi, and seeing three Hoopoes grubbing in the sand nearby just a few metres away. They were used to people and not as skittish as the Climping bird.

Houghton Forest:
Firecrest, Regulus ignicapillus

Arundel WWT:
Black-headed Gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus


Blue Tit, Cyanistes caeruleus
dead Mallard duckling under bird feeder
Great Tit, Parus major
Mallard duckling, Anas platyrhynchos 
Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos


Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
Marsh Marigold, Caltha palustris
Marsh Marigold, Caltha palustris
Moorhen chick, Gallinula chloropus
Angmering Woods:
Oak Marble Gall Wasp, Andricus kollari
Oak Marble Gall Wasp, Andricus kollari
leaf beetle larva
leaf beetle larva on Wood Violet, Viola riviniana
leaf beetle larva on Wood Violet, Viola riviniana
hole in base of violet made by leaf beetle larva
Bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta
tiny flowers, id needed please!
Wood Violet, Viola riviniana
Angmering Woods:
Brimstone, Gonepteryx rhamni
Comma, Polygonia c-album
Daisy, Bellis perennis
Green-veined White, Pieris napi
Small Tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae
Wood Violet, Viola riviniana
Climping:
Hoopoe, Upupa epops with food

Monday 24 March 2014

Barbary Partridge and a Goldcrest

Small Tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae
On  Saturday I visited Ferring Rife where Small Tortoiseshells were flying. At Angmering Woods I spotted another female Chaffinch.
On Sunday I went metal detecting with my club. Roman coins were found, but my only find was a 1994 Gibraltar one penny which has a Barbary Partridge on the reverse. This bird is native to North Africa, Gibraltar and the Canary Islands. On my way home I passed through sleet so did not visit any other sites. At dusk we had our lounge curtains open and I looked up to see an orange canary fluttering outside the window. When I went over to open the window it rested on the outside sill then flew off.  

This afternoon I visited Angmering Woods and located a Goldcrest which stayed high in a pine.
female Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs
Gibraltar one penny, 1994
Gibraltar one penny showing
Barbary Partridge
Goldcrest, Regulus regulus