Cotswolds Revisited

Narrow-lipped Helleborine.

With the orchid season drawing to a close I was keen to make a return visit to the Cotswolds for some rare helleborines. Last week the Green-flowered Helleborines will still in bud and I had no idea where to start looking for Narrow-lipped. Armed with a little more information I returned with Lu this morning, combining orchid-hunting with some sightseeing around the picturesque village of Painswick. We had lunch in the Woolpack, in Slad and a nice walk on Rudge Hill, formerly Edge Common.

Narrow-lipped Helleborine.

Narrow-lipped Helleborine - one of four plants seen but this one was a bit past its best.

The darkest, most striking and gorgeous Broad-leaved Helleborine seen today.

Green-flowered Helleborine - these were in bud when I visited last week so it was fantastic to see them flowering today.

 Lu and I went for  a walk on Rudge Hill which affords great views of the village of Painswick and surrounding countryside.

Yellow Bird's-nest - delighted to find this fruiting plant in dark Beech woods - another parasitic plant containing no chlorophyll but stealing nutrients from fungi, making it a 'myco-heterotroph'.

Lots of 'long since gone over' Bird's Nest Orchids were found in Beech woods today. These orchids have a lot in common with Yellow Bird's-nest and indeed the two are sometime confused.

Balearic and YLG

It seems de rigeur to accompany blog posts on juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls with id pointers, but I'll spare you all that. Worth noting the extensive scapular moult though! This lovely individual was on the cricket pitch this afternoon.

Today's highlight was my first Balearic Shearwater of the year. It flew south, very shortly after I started a short sea-watch (around 0830) from Orcombe Point. Also noted - 7 Sandwich Terns, 2 Common Terns and 17 Common Scoters. Nearby, in the afternoon,  a Wheatear was on the dung heap and a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull was on the cricket pitch.

 There are some nice purple spikes of Ivy Broomrape at the back of the cricket pitch.

Orc Pt

My first Wheatear on Orcombe this morning. A bank of mist creeps down the Exe in the background.

I covered Orcombe more thoroughly this morning, for the first time since the spring. From 0620 - 0815 I recorded 4 Willow Warblers, 1 Wheatear, 1 Grey Wagtail, 2 Swifts and 6 Swallows. Small numbers of Whitethroats, Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs were just local breeders. Just off the beach, below the point, 3 Common Terns, 1 Roseate Tern and a Sandwich Tern fed for a short while. Also recorded - 3 Red-legged Partridges, 13 Skylarks (evidence of some breeding success), 2 Kestrels and 3 Canada Geese.
Mudbank - 52 Mallard, 43 Whimbrel and a Mediterranean Gull.

Painted Lady - one of two seen on Orcombe this morning.

Bee species on Scentless Mayweed.

Hornet Beetle Leptura aurulenta - Blackhill Quarry.

Gropper

A couple Willow Warblers and at least one (probably two) Grasshopper Warblers on Orcombe this morning, but only a small section of the patch covered.

Off Mudbank - 42 Whimbrel and 52 Mallard. Numbers of both species slowly creeping up. Also of note there - an adult Common Gull.

Frosted Orache.

Red Goosefoot.

Prickly Saltwort.

Think this is just Common Knotgrass - growing on the edge of the estuary.

Hare's-foot Clover.

Hedgerow Crane's-bill.

Common Blue.

Meadow Grasshopper.

 Common Blue.

More Qs than Answers

Hoverfly sp - Edit - Eristlis sp - possibly E. arbustorum, on Hemp Agrimony - thanks to Neil for all the identifications - hugely appreciated!

A brief walk on Orcombe produced 1 Willow Warbler and a fly-over Ringed Plover. Nearby there was a single Turnstone on Maer Rocks and at least 13 Sandwich Terns were offshore with a Common Tern. 

Counts off Mudbank produced 40 Mallard and 37 Whimbrel. Otherwise - an hour spent mooching around the edge of Blackhill Quarry, this afternoon,  served to highlight how poor I am at identifying invertebrates. Some flowers got me scratching my head too...

Common Calamint.

Grasshopper species.

 Sticky Groundsel

Canadian Fleabane.

Grayling - above and below.

Grayling.

I thought I'd be able to identify this bee quite easily. Edit - Common Mourning Bee Melecta albifrons - a cuckoo of Hairy-footed Flower Bee (thanks again to Neil).

Field Grasshopper.

Mottled Grasshopper.

Green Leafhopper Cicadella viridis.

Black-tailed Skimmer.

Wood Sage.

Field Grasshopper.

micro sp.

Hemp Agrimony - close-up.

Chinese Character.

Mullein Wave.