Sunday, 4 July 2021

Frogs and Fivehead



Another weekend and another trip out of Exmouth - this time a morning spent in Somerset with Kev. Chief targets were Frog Orchid on the levels and then rare arable plants at Fivehead, near Taunton.  As always, when I'm out with Kev, we saw a heap of other stuff, much of it new for me. Birds played second fiddle to flowers and inverts but 3 Hobbys, 2 Marsh Harriers and 2 Great White Egrets were noted on the levels.








Betony.

Marsh Fragrant Orchid - this morning's were quite far ahead of the Culverhole one and definitely past their best.


Female Common Blue Damselfly (blue form) - thanks for the id correction Dave.


Eyebright agg.


Common Meadow-rue.


Druce's Crane's-bill - a hybrid crane's-bill and casual garden escape.


Narrow-leaved Everlasting-pea.


Toadlet - lots of these on the move today.


Kev spotted this Flower Crab Spider with a captured hoverfly.


Four-spotted Chaser.


Scarce Chaser.


Comma.


Greylags.


Ringlet.


Water Dock.


Great White Egret.


Spreading Hedge-parsley.


Spreading Hedge-parsley fruits. Some possible Narrow-fruited Cornsalad behind?


Slender Tare.



Broad-leaved Spurge.


Note the warty-looking fruit that typifies Broad-leaved Spurge.


Broad-fruited Cornsalad.



Stinking Chamomile.


Dwarf Spurge.



Roseate Marble - Celypha rosaceana.


Shepherd's-needle.



Marbled White.


Corn Buttercup.

Saturday, 3 July 2021

More Miscellany

Snail sp on glasswort sp. Duckpond.

A first-summer Mediterranean Gull and 12+ Sandwich Terns off the seafront first thing, and an adult Mediterranean Gull, 7 Sandwich Terns, a Whimbrel and four Grey Plovers off Mudbank.
Blackhill Quarry - Nightjar, singing Garden Warbler, Siskin, several Sand Martins and Little Grebe with 3 juvs.

An almost white Common Spotted Orchid.

Common Spotted Orchid - part of an impressive display on the roadside beside the entrance to Blackhill Quarry. There's another load just up the lane, including one that's almost a metre high!

Eyebright agg - suspect English or Western?


Volucella bombylans - a hoverfly that mimics White-tailed Bumblebee.


A Eupeodes sp - many thanks Neil.

Nomad Bee species. I rescued this one which had its wing stuck to a water droplet on an Evening Primrose petal.

Grayling.

Keeled Skimmer.


Water Chickweed.


Think this might be Floating Sweet-grass? Whatever it is it's growing out of shallow water.

I think this is Common Ground-hopper.


 Little Grebe with two of its three young.