Lydlinch Common...A New Venue....

Lydlinch Common about 10 minutes down the road from home, and about 5 minutes from Alners Gorse Butterfly Reserve, a site with mixed habitat and I read somewhere about permanently damp bits, and was recently featured as a guided walk with the Dorset Butterfly Conservation branch....unfortunately I was working or I would have probably signed up for it. As with other recent vetures into the great outdoors, it starts on my doorstep with House Martins

And a real surprise, two Swifts fizzing about with them

You never know, one of these days I might actually get one in focus!!

As I'd not been there before, it was a bit exploratory and experimental, but I was greeted by my first pair of Marsh Tits (please correct me if I'm wrong....)

Unfortunately, I didn't notice what he was saying, despite his beak being open.... Mrs PB says I do that to her too 

A bee with a white tail.... 2 yellow bands = Garden Bee?

Then one of the Tits appeared in the open...

The first of the butterflies, Speckled Wood

There were some startlingly bright flies about, most unknown to me....

Yellow Dung Fly I think

When I saw this moving, the way it was twitching and bobbing in the tree's I thought Jenny!! But that was without magnification...now I'm thinking Robin... is either guess correct?

I thought this was a Large White until it settled, when I could see it was a Brimstone....

I think this is a Green Sawfly (according to Google Lens)

I didn't expect Banded Demoiselle, despite the permanently wet patches!

One of the species Lydlinch is known for.... Marsh Fritillary (I think!!)

And an underside shot (coz Cin is soooooo demanding lol)

Again, according to Google Lens... Burnet Companion Moth (?)

Followed by more Fritillary action

A shiny blue beetle....with big legs... Swollen Thigh Beetle??

A Common Carpet

Another moth Straw Dot (per Google Lens)

Not sure on this fella, but he''ll feature again later...

Google Lens thinks Swallowtail caterpillar, for this, but I think it's unlikely, although one or two of the butterflies have been seen in Dorset this week

Dock Bug, apparently

A large nest!

With lots of little inhabitants.... Small Eggar possibly

Now... Leaf of Moth?

This was an instinctive "see movement, point, click" ... Chiffchaff?

This might be one of those flies from earlier.... but I'm not sure... certainly likes a stripe though!!

Cardinal or Soldier....or something else?

Epiblema.... looks the same as the Swallowtail one from earlier to me.... and also more likely!

Possibly another first for me.... at first I thought blackbird, but the colour seemed light, and the size was a tad small, thenit flew along the hedgerow, and that didn't look right either, so.... Nighingale? (sorry about the rubbish pics!)

Having walked the perimeter of the Common I was back to where I'd seen the fritillary.... and he was still flittering about

Now... that fly from earlier....

And a different nest.... Google lens suggests Silkworm?

I think the fly has his own buffet...he was certainly investigating ways of accessing the contents!

And thus concluded a very interesting walk in a new area... with potentially four or five new species for me 

I hope you enjoyed, and may be can provide or correct some of my ID's

Thanks for reading

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