More critters at Cranford Park

Yesterday I arrived at the park at the same time as the Bluebell Walk was starting. But the sun was out, which meant I might get a reasonable butterfly count on the transect. Dilemma dilemma ! What to do?!? I followed my heart and set off on the 3 mile transect. More about that later.

 

In the afternoon when it was warmer I had great success with three new hoverfly species for the year. One of which I am particularly excited about as one of my sightings is not only a patch tick for me, it is also the first time I've ever seen one.

It's a very small hover called Baccha elongata and I could only find one. It was so small that the three photos I managed to grab are not that clear but I've had my identification confirmed this morning.

 I made the one mistake of looking away and lost sight of it, but at least I know the area to look for it again......

 

 

My second 'first of the year' hover was the lovely furry Cheilosia illustrata.....

 

 

and my third was the beautifully marked Myathropa florea. My photo isn't too clear but on the thorax is the 'batman' symbol, one of the best ways to ID this pretty little critter.....

 

 

But back to the butterfly transect. It seems I should have gone on the Bluebell Walk after all. It was definitely cooler in the morning than in the afternoon, in fact I saw more butterflies after I had completed my transect than during it.

The transect was very disappointing. Just 12 butterflies of three species, with the Speckled Wood being the most prolific like last weekend.....

 

12 butterflies / three species

Green-veined White 1

Orange Tip 4

Speckled Wood 7

 

The male Speckled Woods are still guarding their chosen territories and I spotted several flying around chasing everything else away from their 'patch'.....

Some are starting to look a little tatty now and that could be down to territorial fighting or could be the result of escaping from a hungry predator like a Great Tit.....

 

 

After the transect I also had several Holly Blues, a solo Peacock and two Commas....

 

Peacock

 Look at the difference between the two Commas. One is in almost pristine condition, the other is very very worn and ragged, yet was still managing to fly......

 

 

There's a nice spread of Greater Stitchwort along one path of the butterfly transect. Also know as Star of Bethlehem, you can sometimes hear the seed heads popping in June.....

 

 

The 'Lords and Ladies' at the end of the transect walk have nearly all been nibbled away......

 

but I found another spread in the copse in the Memorial Garden so hopefully some will mature enough to show the stunning but poisonous berries later in the season.

 

It wasn't a bad day for ladybirds. Three species seen.....

 

Cream-spot ladybird

7-spot ladybird

 and plenty of Harlequins. My photos show just a few of the different colourings and markings these non native ladybirds have....

 

 

Again I spent some time at the wood circle. Another wild flower that has been in bloom for a couple of weeks now is the Cuckoo Flower aka Lady's Smock. It's one of the earliest most attractive flowering wild flowers and attracts a range of insects......

 

Bee-fly on Lady's Smock

hoverfly Syrphus species on Lady's Smock

male Orange Tip butterfly on Lady's Smock

 Lastly after the success of finding my first male Scorpion Fly of the year on Friday, yesterday I found a pristine female.

You can see the difference between the two 'tails' below.....

 

Female

Male

I found this whilst researching them and it pretty much sums them up perfectly....

 

The scorpion fly is a strange looking insect which is found in gardens, hedgerows and woodland edges, particularly amongst nettles and Bramble. It has a long beak-like projection from its head that is uses to feed, scavenging on dead insects and frequently stealing the contents of spider's webs. It lives up to its name by sporting a scorpion-like tail, which the male uses in courtship displays. Adults usually mate at night, but mating can be a dangerous game for the male, who might easily be killed by the female. So he presents her with a nuptial gift of a dead insect or a mass of saliva to placate her - the equivalent of a box of chocolates! The resulting eggs are laid in the soil and the emerging larvae live and pupate at the soil surface.

 

How romantic ! I think I'd be happier with a bottle of wine.

 

 

 

 

 

Critters at Cranford Park

I took a risk today and did not do my UKBMS butterfly transect. The wind was very cool, and I'm hoping the weather will be either better tomorrow or Monday. As it was I saw no butterflies at all until just before I was leaving Cranford Park, but more about them later.

 

The cool wind also meant there weren't that many hoverflies around and the ones I did find were quite sluggish and happy to pose for photos....

 

The below four are Syrphus sp.

 

 

 

and the one below is a first for me.....Sphaerophoria scripta......a nice new patch tick....

 

 

I had to look twice when I saw the critter below. Certainly not a hoverfly but I was baffled as to what it was at first. Thanks to the Insect ID group on facebook I now know this is a bee of the genus Nomada. There are around 30 Nomada bees and I haven't been able to narrow the ID down to any particular one......

 

 

There are now at least four wild honeybee hives in the park. The honeybee below is from the Secret Garden wild hive in the ivy clad wall........with the photo taken at the pond.

The flower is the common forget-me-not....

 

 

I spent a lot of time at the wood circle today with my flask of coffee and camera.

 Sometimes instead of walking around looking for wild life it's nice to see what comes to you.

You have to have patience to do that and it comes quite natural to me to sit quietly and listen and observe.

 

First along was this delightful Dock Bug.....

 

 

My second visitor was this male Scorpion Fly, my first sighting of the year. These gruesome looking flies are actually completely harmless. I know this is a male due to the red bulbous end to it's body. The females have pointed ends.

 

 

My next visitor to the wood circle was a male Orange Tip. I have always struggled to get a decent photo of these butterflies but I am really pleased with the three shots I managed to get today.

 

 

My last visitor before I left was a male Speckled Wood. He didn't stay long. As soon as the wind lifted, he was off. There wasn't enough sun today to keep him basking....

 

Tomorrow is the annual Bluebell Walk (meet 11am at the car park) so just a sneak preview of how glorious Cranford Woods are looking at the moment.......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three more 'first for the year' at Cranford Park today

Although it was hotter today than it was last Sunday I only had one extra butterfly on todays UKBMS transect. But I did have my first yearly sighting of the Green-veined White. Dreadful out of focus photo below....

 

 

but I know I'll get better pics as the season picks up.

The Holly Blues that I saw in abundance yesterday weren't as abundant today. Just four seen during my 75 minute transect. Nearly all of them were either flying or resting with their wings closed, but one did briefly open its wings for another dreadful out of focus shot below.....

 

Peacock

 The most prolific butterfly species seen today was the Speckled Wood. I had 19 today compared to seven last week. These might be very common but they are one of my favourite butterflies as they have so much character. The males actively defend their chosen patch, especially in woodland where sunlit spots are few. At one point today I had five flying around together in an almost ball shaped 'bundle'. I've even seen males see off other butterfly species that dare go near.

 

 

These butterflies occur in two flushes during the year, the first being from March onwards and the second being from July onwards.

 

So todays butterfly count is as follows:

31 butterflies / 7 species

 

Brimstone 1

Green-veined White 1

Orange Tip 3

Holly Blue 4

Peacock 1

Comma 2

Speckled Wood 19

 

My second 'first for the year' was a good sized Dock Bug basking in the sun....

 

and my third 'first for the year' was a Large Red Damselfly which I found in the churchyard....

 



 

The large chestnut tree that was sheltering over 20 Orange ladybirds yesterday was today very bare. And the only other ladybird I found during todays visit was one solo Harlequin. The photo below is not that sharp but it does show one of the Harlequins id traits - brown legs.......

 

I spent quite a bit of time at the wood circle after the transect. It's one of my favourite places in Cranford Woods and it didn't disappoint today. There are a pair of Chiffchaffs hanging around, maybe looking for a suitable nest site and one perched just in front of me.......

 

 

It's quite amazing to know this tiny little plain brown bird has flown all the way from Africa to breed here.

 

The woods were full of bird song today. Chiffchaffs, Robins, Goldcrests, Blue Tits, Great Tits and Wrens were all singing and calling. Again near the wood circle there's a Wren that kept appearing today singing it's little head off declaring its territory.....

 

Plenty of hoverflies on the wing today as to be expected.

Below is another Eupeodes luniger like the one I saw yesterday.....

 

 

and the one below is Eristalis pertinax....very hairy compared to the other one....

 

Lots of flowers are in bloom now.

The Cuckoo Flower or Ladys Smock below is one of my favourites and it's also the chosen food plant for Orange Tip butterfly caterpillars......

 

 

The first Red Campions are opening up.....

 

At the side of the park there's a path that runs alongside the A312. All down one side a lot of Arum Maculatum leaves have appeared. Also known as Lords and Ladies or Cuckoo Pint, I found just one in 'bloom' so am looking forward to next weekend when I hope they'll be a good display....

 

And last but by no means least, our native bluebells are in flower ! The ones below are surrounded by a patch of beautiful yellow Lesser Celandine.....

 

 

Next Saturday at 11.00 there is the annual Bluebell Walk through Cranford Woods, and I'll blog more about the bluebells then.

 

Hopefully see some of you there.