Another busy Saturday that started well with a Little Tern heading up river early doors along with a few Common Terns and whilst brewing my first cuppa I noticed that the hedges in the car park were alive with birds so me and my cup of cha headed outside for a look around.
The crowd of Blue, Great and Long –tailed Tits was joined by several each of Blackcap and both Whitethroats along with two Chiffchaffs and four glowing Willow Warblers. Even Cetti’s Warblers were getting in on the flock action along with Dunnocks, Chaffinches and Greenfinches. I was hoping for something a little different but it was not to be but these are the sort of autumn gatherings that give you a chance of finding a Redstart of Flycatcher.
The KBC walk was great with a juvenile Med Gull in the river to get us off to a good start and both Whimbrel and Curlew in the Bay. A juvenile Buzzard circled lazily on the warming air and small flocks of Swallows and both Martins were moving through. Down on the trail I found a dug out Carder bee nest on the path. A Shrill Carder (sylvarum) was in attendance and I picked up the nest section for a look and the ants had been doing a good clear up job of emptying the pots. Upon my return the remaining small piece of nest had a Brown Banded Carder (humilis) on it. I followed the trail a few feet away to where the nest was being repaired but other humilis. I can only presume that the sylvarum was opportunistically scavenging!
Shrill Carder Bee
Brown Banded Carder
Small Red-eyed Damselflies were still coupling on the Dragonfly Pool and there were hundreds of Rudd fry and Sticklebacks in the shallows. We started to find Wasp Spiders in the grassy bank and they are definitely getting to near full grown now and many were busy munching crickets and grasshoppers.
Wasp Spider
Aveley Pools were good with 40 Black-tailed Godwits feeding across the pool. At least three colour ringed birds including one with blue flag that was first trapped in Portugal and another that was ringed on its breeding grounds in Iceland. The Wood Sandpiper was keeping largely out of view and a couple of Common Sandpipers bobbed along the rocky island where the Lapwing were roosting amongst the drab eclipse plumaged ducks that included singles of Pintail and Wigeon.
The second half of the day saw us ambling back down to the woodland for the Insect Afternoon with a wonderfully mixed group of people. We had plenty of butterfly and bee action including a very cute little Colletes species with a furry face and several Dasypoda (I think) with enormous, over filled pollen sacks on their hind legs! Migrant Hawkers hunted above our heads and both Southern and Brown Hawkers were also seen.
Colletes bee
Holy Blues were everywhere and a single Small Copper was seen but did not pose for a photo while a Slender Groundhopper was the first one of the year and even posed for a picture.
Holly Blue
Some quality Hoverating produced a two species with hairy eyes – Syrphus torvus and Eristalinus sepulchralis along with the three large Volucella species – zonaria, inanis and pellucens and the equally striking black and yellow Chrysotoxum festivum and Xanthogramma pedissequum.
Volucella zonaria
Eristalinus sepuchralis (Jerry Hoare)
With the kids sated on Blackberries we headed back to the centre for some last minute insectology on the Wildlife Garden. A bee id session was as instructive as ever and its was good to catch and be pretty sure on a nice B. leucorum and a pale sandy B .pascorum before calling it a day... somehow it was ten to five and time to go home....
16-8-15