Home Patch Sightings - 2017 Updated List

Redwing - first home patch sighting last January

I have been meaning to post an updated version of my home-patch sightings for some time. Some of you will know that I began this list when I was taking part in the Tree Following meme as many of the insects and birds were seen on or in the vicinity of my Silver Birch or small ornamental Cherry.

I have been taking a bit of a break from tree-following at present, having been through more than a twelve month cycle of postings. But I am very keen to keep up with my list of 'first' garden sightings here on my blog - so that I can keep a record of new arrivals like the Redwing in the photo above, who flew in for a brief spell some months ago when there were still some winter berries about.

When I began this list in 2014, I used resources like the RSPB bird identification pictures. These were very helpful, but the time came, particularly after the Garden Bioblitz, when I needed a bit more help, so signed up to iSpot and iRecord. If I see Ladybirds here I aim to log with them with the UK Ladybird Survey - but regulars readers will have 'heard' me say this many times! I would really like to brush up on my moth identification skills... and to that end I have just treated myself to a moth book.

'HP' in my list below is for 'home patch'. Dates with a green background are first sightings (when noted) in 2017.


Avian sightings - unlike the Big Garden Birdwatch, a bird seen clearly from the house or garden counts for my purposes. We have, for example, yet to see a Grey Heron landing in our home patch we have had several good sightings of these birds flying over in the direction of the local nature reserve, one road away. We have often heard the local Tawny Owl, but I am not counting 'birds heard' (but not seen) at present.

• HPb1   Great Spotted Woodpecker
• HPb2   Great tit
• HPb3   Long-tailed Tit
• HPb4   Blackbird  
• HPb5   Song Thrush   
• HPb6   Blue tit 
• HPb7   Robin
• HPb8   Magpie 
• HPb9   Wood Pigeon
• HPb10 Dunnock  
• HPb11 Starling 
• HPb12 Carrion Crow 
• HPb13 Goldfinch
• HPb14 Jay 
• HPb15 Green Woodpecker
• HPb16 Wren 
• HPb17 Bullfinch [[19 January 2017] 
• HPb18 Sparrowhawk
• HPb19 Mallard
• HPb20 House Sparrow 
• HPb21 Chaffinch
• HPb22 Grey Heron 
• HPb23 Collared Dove 
• HPb24 Coal tit
• HPb25 Redwing [[20 January 2017] 
• HPb26 Kestrel  [[8 June 2017] 

Mammal sightings

• HPm1 (?Wood) Mouse
• HPm2 Bat ... [first 2015 garden sighting 7 May 2015] [Apr/May 2015]  [[22 January 2017] 
• HPm3 Shrew 
• HPm4 Grey Squirrel  [Jan/Feb 2016] [Feb/Mar 2016] [Mar/Apr 2016] [Jul/Aug 2016] [2017]
• HPm5 Stoat
• HPm6 Hedgehog

Insect sightings

• HPi1 Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly [March 2014] [[27 February 2017] 
• HPi2 Buff-tailed Bumblebee [March 2014] [Jan/Feb 2016] [Mar/Apr 2016] [2017]
• HPi3 Brimstone Butterfly [April 2014]
• HPi4 7-spot Ladybird [April 2014] [Oct 2014] [Apr/May 2015] [Jul/Aug 2015] [Sept/Oct 2015] [Mar/Apr 2016]
• HPi5 Skipper Butterfly [July 2014]
• HPi6 Meadow Brown Butterfly [July 2014] [Jul/Aug 2015]
• HPi7 Large White Butterfly [July 2014] [Jul/Aug 2016]
• HPi8 14-spot Yellow Ladybirds [July 2014]
• HPi9 Small White Butterfly [May 2014] [Apr/May 2015] [Sept/Oct 2015 - caterpillars]
• HPi10 Orange tip Butterfly [May 2014]
• HPi11 Harlequin ladybird  [May 2014] [October 2014] [Sept/Oct 2015]
• HPi12 Garden Chafer (Phyllopertha horticola) [June 2014] [June/July 2016]
• HPi13 Ruby-tail Wasp [June 2014] [May/June 2015] [May/June 2016] [[21 May 2017] 
• HPi14 Blackfly [June 2014] 
• HPi15 Marmalade Hoverfly [July 2014] [Jul/Aug 2015] [Jul/Aug 2016]
• HPi16 Shield bug [July 2014] [Apr/May 2015]
• HPi17 Migrant Hawker dragonflies [July 2014]
• HPi18 Unidentified Damselfly [August 2014] [[18 May 2017] 
• HPi19 Comma butterfly [August 2014] [June/July 2016] [2017]
• HPi20 Red Admiral butterfly [August 2014] [October 2014] [Jul/Aug 2015]
• HPi21 Peacock butterfly [August 2014] [Jul/Aug 2015] [Nov/Dec 2015] 
• HPi22 Green bottle flies [August 2014] [May/June 2015]
• HPi23 Ants [August 2014] [Apr/May 2015]  [May/June 2015] [Jul/Aug 2015] [Sept/Oct 2015 ] [Jun/July 2016] [2017]
• HPi24 Squashbug aka Dock Bug, Coreus marginatus [August 2014]
• HPi25 Birch Shieldbug (late instar?) [September 2014]
• HPi26 Lacewing [October 2014] [Sept/Oct 2015]
• HPi27 Cereal Leaf Beetle [Apr/May 2015]
• HPi28 Unidentified Moth [Nov/Dec 2014] [Feb/Mar 2015] [Jul/Aug 2015] [Sept/Oct 2015][Jan/Feb 2016] [June/July 2016] [2017]
• HPi29 Rosemary Beetle [[Sept/Oct 2015] [May/June 2016 - four] [May 2017]
• HPi30 Hawthorn Shieldbug [May/June 2015] 
• HPi31 Forest Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes) [Sept/Oct 2015] 
• HPi32 Early Bumblebee [Mar/Apr 2016] 
• HPi33 Species of Miridae [Mar/Apr 2016]  
• HPi34 Cranefly [May/June 2016] 
• HPi35 Crossocerus, wasps family Crabronidae [May/June 2016] 
• HPi36 Wasp Beetle (Clytus arietis) [May/June 2016]
• HPi37  Tree Bumblebee (Bombus (Pyrobombus) hypnorum) [May/June 2016] 
• HPi38  Moth Least Black Arches (Nola confusalis) [May/June 2016] 
• HPi39  Gatekeeper Butterfly [Jul/Aug 2016]
• HPi40  Holly Blue Butterfly [Jul/Aug 2016] [[26 May 2017] 
• HPi41  Painted Lady [2016]
• HPi42 Dark Bush Cricket (nymph) [[18 May 2017]  
• HPi43 Common Cockchafer  [[18 May 2017]  
• HPi44 Scorpion Fly [May2017] [[23 May 2017]  
• HPi45 Soldier Beetle (Cantharis rustica)  [2017] [[23 May 2017]  
• HPi46  Cabbage Bug (Eurydema (Eurydema) oleracea)  [2017]  [[9 June 2017]  
• HPi47 Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) [2017] [[23 May 2017] 

   
Molluscs

• HPm1 Brown Lipped Snail (Cepaea (Cepaea) nemoralis) [May/June 2016]
• HPm2 Field Slug (Deroceras) [May/June 2016] 

Arachnids

• HPa1 Zebra Spider [Apr/May 2015] [May/June 2015] [Mar/Apr 2016]
• HPa2 Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus) [May/June 2015]

Three Days in North Norfolk - 3

Sedge warbler in the Cley reedbed

This is really a post for our list of wildlife sightings over the three days - plus a few photos.

All sightings were made in North Norfolk during a short post-Easter break.

The places we visited (and saw wildlife) included:

[1] NWT Cley
[2] NT Morston Quay, Blakeney
[3] NWT Holme Dunes
[4] Snettisham (beach near RSPB reserve)
[5] Hunstanton
[6] Holkham estate
[7] Brancaster staithe
[8] Hawk and Owl Trust Reserve at Sculthorpe Moor
[9] (English Heritage) North Elmham Saxon Cathedral - in the Wensum Valley, where hedgerows removed by the 1980s have now been restored.
[10] (English Heritage) Creake Abbey

We are far from expert birders and sometimes get our identifications wrong. But it is always interesting to record what we have seen... and to enjoy the surprises along the way.

Birds...

[1] Avocet
[2] Bar-tailed Godwit
[3] Bearded tit
[4] Blackbird
[5] Black-backed gull
[6] Black-headed gull
[7] Blue tit
[8] Bullfinch
[9] Buzzard
[10] Carrion crow
[11] Chaffinch
[12] Collared dove
[13] Coot
[14] Cormorant
[15] Curlew
[16] Dunnock
[17] Goldfinch
[18] Greylag
[19] Great tit
[20] Grey Heron
[21] Herring gull
[22] House martin
[23] Kestrel
[24] Knot
[25] Lapwing
[26] Linnet
[27] Little egret
[28] Little Owl
[29] Little ringed plover
[30] Long-tailed tit
[31] Mallard
[32] Marsh harrier
[33] Moorhen
[34] Mute swan
[35] Nuthatch
[36] Oystercatcher
[37] Pheasant
[38] Pied wagtail
[39] Pinkfoot geese
[40] Red-legged partridge
[41] Redshank
[42] Reed bunting
[43] Ringed plover
[44 ] Robin
[45] Sedge warbler
[46] Shelduck
[47] Shoveler
[48] Skylark
[49] Song thrush
[50] Sparrow
[51] Starling
[52] Swallow
[53] Teal
[54] Wood Pigeon 
[55] Wren

Cley - the path to the sea via Arnold's Marsh

Mammals...

[1] Grey squirrel
[2] Hare
[3] Muntjac
[4] Rabbit
[5] Rat and one young
[6] ?Vole
[7] Weasel (seen by David and confirmed by wildlife ranger)


Amphibians...

[1] Tadpoles and frog spawn

Cley windmill and the tower of St Margaret's, Cley

Insects...

[1] Alderfly
[2] Black beetle (not sure which sort...)
[3] Brown-tail moth tents and caterpillars
[4] Eyed ladybird? (awaiting iRecord identification)
[5] Green-veined white butterfly
[6] Harlequin ladybird
[7] Kidney-spot ladybird
[8] Orange-tip butterfly
[9] Peacock butterfly
[10] Woodlouse

NWT Holme Dunes - Brown-tail moth tents and caterpillars

As above - shades of Miss Havisham and her wedding cake, perhaps...

Sea purslane - I think on the mudflats at Morston Quay

Water front at Wells-next-the-Sea

Looking back to St Nicholas church, Blakeney, with its distinctive pair of towers

Herring gull at Blakeney

Remains of St Edmund's Chapel, Hunstanton (Hunston)

North Elmham Chapel/Saxon Cathedral

North Elmham Chapel/Saxon Cathedral from the castle mound

North Elmham. Guess who is happy to have found a sign...

Oystercatcher in evening sunlight

More 7-spot Ladybirds ...

Having seen first one and then two 7-spot Ladybirds yesterday, I saw a group of three this morning, only to discover seconds later as the shrub parted that there were in fact four.

I have logged these with the UK Ladybird Survey, placing my records on the iRecord site.

STOP PRESS: My thanks to Amanda for this link. Don't miss it!

And do take a look at Amanda's beautiful blog, too!

Ladybird Instars in Ipswich

David saw these Ladybird instars today in Ipswich. We have logged them with the UK Ladybird Survey, and are awaiting confirmation of our identification efforts. 

I have only just noticed the small Ladybird lower right.

Ah, an actual Ladybird in among the instars!

7-spot Ladybird in Suffolk

This 7-spot Ladybird was very close to our Suffolk home. I imagine a bit of sunshine had caused the insect to arise from its overwintering state. You can see the early signs of new spring growth on the shrub.

I have just added this sighting to iRecord so that the information can be used by the UK Ladybird Survey. 

Ladybird Alert ~ 7-spots and (a rising number of) Harlequins

The (clipped) insect on the left seems to be Deraeocoris ruber, a member of the Miridae family

We went to explore the walled garden at Thornham Magna in Suffolk last Saturday. Unfortunately the garden was not open, but we enjoyed exploring the woodland paths that surround it. The place was teeming with insect life ... dragonflies, butterflies, crane flies ... and Ladybirds. 

Sadly most of the Ladybirds were Harlequins, like the one above. I am not sure whose pupa you can see below. I think it is a Ladybird one, but I need to buy the ID card on Ladybird Larvae (Brown et al) to be sure.

 

Who knows, perhaps we will be able to venture through that door-in-the-wall on our next visit!

The Ladybirds you see below are 7-spots, a native British species. 

And here's a Harlequin ...

David counted 79 Harlequins. Our four 7-spots were drastically out-numbered 

Do keep a look out for Ladybirds and log them on the UK Ladybird Survey. There is a new recording form, which links in to the iRecord site* which you can click on to from here, so if you have an iRecord ID, do log in to that first. 

* I wasn't able to sign out of iRecord easily, so have not given you the direct link, but the site is only two clicks away and worth investigating.