Although I've had no camera for several weeks I have still been visiting Cranford CP to do the UKBMS butterfly transect
Thanks to the lovely 'Bank of Mum' I now have a brand new camera and was itching to try it out at my favourite place today
Todays butterfly transect took 2 hours and I counted 73 butterflies of 9 species - the highlight being the tiny Brown Argus that refused to have its photo taken
Others seen today were:-
Speckled Wood
Speckled Wood (underwing)
Small Heath - this one looking a bit old and tatty
and the beautiful Large Skipper
Large Skipper face view
Its that time of year again when the Ragwort is just coming into flower - Ragwort is the food plant of the larvae of the Cinnabar moth
This is one of several day flying moths - the caterpillars are nothing like the adult - they are orange and black striped
It seems early but some of the bramble flowers are already showing igns of turning into blackberries
There were lots of hoverflies around - my other passion after butterflies - I am waiting on confirmation on the three below but have named them to the best of my ability
Edit - all three confirmed by Ian Andrews
Eupeodes luniger
Xanthogramma pedissequum
Syrphus species
Along with the butterflies and hovers there were plenty of Harlequin ladybirds out and about - below is the larva and adult
As to be expected at this time of year there were not many birds showing well - the juveniles are staying hidden and close to the parents - and the parents are staying hidden as most of them will be either sitting on second broods or going through moult - but I did find a juvenile Long-tailed Tit
and managed a badly focused photo of a young Blackcap
but the highlight for me was seeing Bullfinches - I found a pair in St Dunstans churchyard a few weeks ago but having no camera meant I couldnt take any photos - when I last saw them last week both the male and female were taking food into an evergreen shrub and then reappearing with faecal sacs (a white sack that contains nestlings pooh) - so I was confident they had chicks in the nest - however today the female flew in with nesting material and both birds were calling - so either the last brood have fledged and the parents are preparing for a second brood or the previous brood perished and the adults are trying again - either way it was nice to see the female today even though trying to photograph her from a distance with the wrong lens made it a bit trying
The wildlife pond is looking very lush at the moment
and has attracted a few little critters - this is a male Banded Demoiselle
and there were two male Broad-bodied Chasers
There was also a Black and Yellow Longhorn Beetle playing hide and seek amongst the Ox Eye daisies
On my out of the park I found another Yellow and Black Longhorn on the kissing gate by Roseville Road
A very enjoyable visit as always - and very very nice to have a camera back in my hands
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