Potteric Carr, Hoverflies, Visit to Wentworth, My Garden & Down the Dearne.
The clocks went forward 29th March and despite storm Dave blowing through, I did manage to get out for some hoverfly spotting last week. Here are some of my highlights
Observations in the garden:
Spring has been quietly rehearsing its rituals. Robins court in plain sight, the male offering mealworms plucked from the lawn, a tender exchange of trust. Dunnocks flirt in a flutter of wings, mercifully discreet this time, with no cloacal pecking to report. From the treetops, greenfinches spill their wheezing trills into the air, while great tits hurry about with urgent purpose — busy, busy, busy —rather than their familiar teacher teacher sounds heard, that will come later.
Queen bees drift low through the undergrowth, mostly buff-tailed, prospecting patiently for the promise of a nest. Nearby, a male Hairy-footed Flower Bee runs his daily circuit, diligently visiting every purple bloom, favouring the Lungwort in his search for a female. The Blackcaps have returned singing a tuneful melody and I am awakening to the sound of a dawn chorus right outside my bedroom window.
Though the garden has brimmed with birdsong, hoverflies have been few, nudging me beyond the garden gate this week. But before we head out, there was a visit from a Spring Small Dung Beetle (Aphodius prodromus) a new species for me. Welcome to the garden.
Hoverflies
No sooner had I published my article about Spring Smoothtail (Epistrophe eligans) informing you all that April was the month to see this hoverfly, than I spotted my first of the year on the 31st of March. I did mention they were easy to spot and have seen several males and a few females since. This one looked fresh and therefore I suspect newly emerged from the leaf litter, just below where it was perched. Probably just warming itself up and letting its wings dry. It was a male as there was no gapping between the eyes. It will soon be patrolling these hedges as it searches for the women of its dreams.
The Cherry Plum has now all turned so it’s time for the Blackthorn to attract emerging hoverflies. I have been scouting the area looking for any that are in flower, so that on a sunny day I can just pop out and head to the nearest bush which might be in a full sun. It is still a little on the cool side out of the sun here in Yorkshire, so a hotspot is where I am most likely to spot hoverflies.
One species I was keen to spot this year was a springtime specialist the Blackthorn Hoverfly (Platycheirus ambigiuus). According to my records I have haven’t recorded this species so a ‘Tunnock’ moment should I find it.
It looks like the Grey-spotted Hoverfly (Platycheirus albimanus) which are typically found in most gardens, all year-round. They both have the grey spotting on their abdomens, albeit the pattern is slightly different, especially in the females. The most distinctive feature on the male are its front legs in particular the hairs upon them. The male Blackthorn Hoverfly having one long curly hair just at the knee, while the Grey-spotted has several clumps of hair matted together, see diagram below. This is not a feature easily seen in the field, so patience is needed and getting it at the right angle essential with magnifying lens in hand.
Because it’s a species with a very short season I have often missed it, so it was nice to finally spot it. Tunnock earnt….
Potteric Carr
At the start of the week, I went to Potteric Carr a local reserve near Doncaster owned by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. A great place to see and hear Willow Tits this time of year, but unfortunately not on our visit. It's also good for spotting Bittern but no booming either. Maybe a Bearded Tit in their extensive reedbeds, well no we didn’t see that either. We did our spotting from the main bank where all the hides were. What we did spot were 39 other birds including the return of the Sand Martins, which were swooping and flying over the large pools. There was a pair of nesting Cormorant which also delighted the 12 members of the BNA with me, on what was an overcast day. A flyby of a Marsh Harrier whilst the Cetti’s warbler and Water Rail called and remained hidden below. But I think for most people it was spotting the Kingfisher in the dyke as we were heading back to the visitor centre. In total 63 species logged and recorded for the day see list below.
Wentworth Village
On another overcast day I took a trip to Wentworth Village. If you have never been its one of those villages where all the doors are painted the same as they all belong to the Fitzwilliam Estate.When I got out the car in the village car park I was greeted by birds calling what sounds like my name Mark, Mark. Fame at last - or so I like to pretend. It’s one of those villages known for its corvids. There were plenty to see in the village and surrounding fields with Crow, Jackdaws and Rooks building their rookeries; there was even the harsh call of a Jay and plenty of Magpies in the field to complete the set. It's been a while since I'd visited the village in the spring, so it was nice to be welcomed back by such a lively and familiar chorus.
It also a place for a nice walk with many other birds around including Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, a small flock of Starlings, Chaffinch and finally Skylarks larking about in the fields. There was also a flock of what I presume were winter thrushes but unfortunately, we could not get close enough to confirm which of those thrushes they might have been, if indeed that is what they were.
Anyone else still spotting winter thrushes around?
I would have thought it was a little late, most returning back to their breeding grounds in Scandinavia by now. Let me know in the comments below if you are.
The ground flora was a little sparse with only Early Dog Violet being noted, along some of the path edges and Bluebells in the copses. But the highlight for me was seeing a Bank Vole, which I often hear rustling in the undergrowth but rarely get to see. There was also a swarm of Ulomyia fuliginosa a moth fly (often referred to as Owl Midges) seen along one of the hedges, which I identified using my new flies book, page 63.
What I was really hoping to see were Bagworms at the Old Trinity Church on the gravestones but unfortunately, they were not spotted, even though the gravestones were covered in lichen. Shame. I did spot a Springtail (Orchesella cincta).
Down by the River Dearne
I like nothing better when looking for wildlife than following a river, it’s the sound of the rippling water. So, it's always nice to find a patch that can deliver many species in a short space, especially when the sun’s out. The mosaic of Bramble, Nettle and Dandelion, with a variety of trees overhead including Wild Cherry provided a great spot to observe the following.
Butterflies - Peacock (Inachis io), Comma (Polygonia c-album), Small White (Pieris rapae), Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni), Small Tortoiseshell (Algais urticae).
Bees – Tawny Mining Bee (Andrena fulva), Buff-tailed (Bombus terrestris), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), Garden (Bombus hortorum), Hairy Footed Flower (Anthrophora plumipes), Panzer’s Nomad Bee (Nomada panzer).
Hoverflies – Footballer (Heliophilus pendulus), Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax), Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax), Hairy-eyed Banded (Syrphus torvus), Lunuled Aphideater (Eupeodes luniger), Spring Smoothtail (Epistrophe eligans), Blackthorn Hoverfly (Playcherius ambiguus), Chequered (Melanstome scalare).
Other critters – Cinnamon bug (Corizus hyoscyami), Gorse Shield Bug (Piezodous lituratus) and many of your typical 7-Spot (Coccinella 7-punctata) and Harlequin (Harmonia axyridis) Ladybirds.
Come back next week for even more observations from this spot, it really has been a little gem.
On the way back I heard an alarm call and a baby Robin shot out of a bush and across the road. It was so young it still had little undeveloped feathers sticking up from its head.
This brings my total species seen for the year to 251, up 41 from last week.
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