Where's The Time Gone

I'm not sure why I haven't visited Stratton Wood since June, but I managed a short walk there today and as I pulled into the car park, it was quite obvious there had been some huge changes since my last visit. All the trees to the west and north of the car park had been removed to make way for some electrical cables being laid down here. I'm not sure why its going to take months to complete, as the area being worked on isn't that large, but for some reason the car park is going to be out of commission from 1 Sep 14 to 31 May 15.

For those wanting to visit Stratton Wood from September to May, the only car parking available will be the lay-by on the south-bound carriageway of the A419, there's a footpath into the wood here or alternatively it will have to be via Stanton Park car park.

As Benji had the groom room my walk wasn't going to be long, so off we went. As we left the car park the evidence of tree felling was quite obvious, but fortunately it doesn't go far into the wood and at the top of the path cuts away to the right and heads towards the bungalows.

The path looking back towards the car park

And looking east from the path towards the bungalows.

A Collared Dove looks on at all the work being done.

Once we passed the pylons, it was back to normal. Not a lot has changed since May, apart from the fact that the wild grasses are taller and there was a lot Ragwort about, which was obviously a good source of pollen and nectar as most plants were covered with Honeybees, Drone Flies and hoverflies, especially Eristalis arbustorum. Further on into the wood a few Speckled Woods appeared and I also came across singles of Green-veined White, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown and a Small Blue.

Drone Fly

Honeybee

Hoverfly, Eristalis arbustorum

Speckled Wood

Green-veined White

Flying about in one of the Oak Trees along Kingsdown Lane there was an unusual Hoverfly. A 12 foot ladder would have come in handy as it wouldn't come down to head height. So alas I only managed a few photos of it looking up, which aren't brilliant and dont really help with identifying it. All I can say is that on my initial sighting of it I thought it was a wasp. I did try this website out Here, which is excellent, but what I really needed to do was get a photograph of its abdomen to see the pattern.

Hoverfly sp.

Hoverfly sp. high up in the canopy of an Oak tree

 Dotted around the wood there are a few new noticeboards and in one of the meadows a brand new bench, which will hopefully withstand any vandalism.

New information board

And a new bench overlooking one of the meadows.

In the meadows lots of Ragwort again and also small patches of Field Scabious, Knautia arvensis. Whilst in the hedgerows, there was evidence of a Robin's Pincushion gall, "caused" by the Diplolepis rosae gall wasp, which laid its eggs in either the leaves or stem of this Dog Rose.

Field Scabious

Robin's Pincushion Gall

As I headed back towards the car park I followed the path which runs parallel with the A419. Along this stretch there were at least 5 Dragonflies which looked liked Southern Hawkers. Unfortunately one of our cats caught one yesterday but left it in the garden, so I've got a good close up of one, albeit a dead one.

A female Southern Hawker - deceased

A real close up

Birds Recorded: Buzzard, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, House Martin heard, Robin, Blackbird, 2 Blackcap, 5 Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Jay, 12+ Magpie, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Bullfinch.

Butterflies Recorded: 5 Speckled Woods and singles of Red Admiral, Green-veined White, Small Blue and Meadow Brown.

Dragonflies Recorded: 5 Southern Hawkers (males and females)

Other insects Recorded: Drone Fly, Robin's Pincushion gall wasp, Hoverfly, Eristalis arbustorum and another hoverfly sp.

An Interesting Day

As I pulled the kitchen blinds up this morning, it was a bit of surprise to see the Buddleia covered in butterflies. Considering that yesterday I only saw 1 Large White, it was a bit of shock to count 10 Small Tortoiseshells on it today. Mind you when I checked the outdoor thermometer it was reading 20°C, so the heat was definitely a key factor in drawing them out.

Two of the 10 Small Tortoiseshell butterflies on the Buddleia this morning.

The pebbles help warm up a pair of Small Tortoisehells

As I stepped out of the back door a pair of very vocal Yellow Wagtails flew over the house heading in a southerly direction. In the opposite direction 4 huge flocks of Racing Pigeons flew fast and low over the house. The whoosh of of their wings was very noticeable.

Just a few of the Racing Pigeons that were released this morning

As I walked around to the back of the house a large butterfly caught my eye. A Painted Lady, my first of year was also feeding on the Buddleia. Most come from the continent, this one was in pristine condition, so maybe a British hatched one! 

My first Painted Lady of the year.

In pristine condition.

Other butterflies to arrive were a Large White and a Green-veined White. A couple of Small Tortoiseshells caught me out. They were so pale and worn, that for a fleeting second I thought one of them was a damselfly. The wings were so transparent, that the only part of its body you could see clearly was the  abdomen. It really did look like a small damselfly. The other was just battered and in shreds.

A very worn and battered Small Tortoiseshell

As I turned to go back indoors a Red Admiral landed on the wall of the house and began sunning himself.

Red Admiral

Red Admiral

In the afternoon we visited Dawn's Mum and Dad in Aldbourne and as soon as we got out of the car, we had fantastic views of a Red Kite sailing over the house. As ridiculous as this sounds it was so close to the rooftop I couldn't get far enough away to photograph it. In fact I had another opportunity later in the afternoon, but yet again it was too close. Other birds of interest were juvenile Goldfinches, Blue Tits and Long-tailed Tits passing through the garden. There was also a Song Thrush having a good feast on a snail.

Song Thrush

With a snail

Long-tailed Tit

Small Tortoiseshell

On the way back to Swindon, I noticed what look like a dead Buzzard in the sheep field on the right-hand side of Lottage just as you come out of the village. If it was a Buzzard it look like a light phase. Further up the road a Weasel scampered across the road and as we dropped down into Liddington a Fox was hunting in a recently harvested field.

Squirrel

Thank you to Tony Martin for the ZJ246 Squirrel Army Air Corps helicopter. Not sure where Tony photographed it, but lovely shot.

ZJ246 is one of the helicopters from 670 Sqn AAC at Middle Wallop. More Here on 670 Sqn.

ZJ246 Squirrel Army Air Corps helicopter courtesy of Tony Martin

Back Garden Wildlife

In the back garden today a Red Admiral, 2 Small Tortoiseshells and 3 Large Whites on the Buddleia. Also a Light Brown Apple moth on the garden shed and a Drone Fly sunning himself on the patio chair. The nettles are providing to be a good food source for at least 5 Comma butterfly caterpillars and a few are now venturing onto the Blackberry leaves.

Red Admiral

The first for a few days, its been mainly Small Tortoiseshells, but today there were only two!

Large White, one of three on the Buddleia today

A Drone fly soaks up the sun on the patio chair

A Light Brown Apple moth

A bit of flash to brighten it up

A Comma butterfly caterpillar on the Blackberry bush.

I'm not sure if this is also its food plant

But this nettle certainly is.

Drones and Tortoishells

With a day of sunshine and a lot of showers, there wasn't much chance of going for a walk. So instead it was a bit of back garden wildlife hunting. On the Buddleia maximums of Small Tortoiseshells were 4, with no other species of butterfly venturing out. The only insects to join them were 3 Drone Flies and my favourite hoverfly the Volucella zonaria. Unfortunately Volucella flew off before I could photograph it. The photograph below is one I took two days ago, so possibly the same hoverfly! The Comma caterpillar is still munching away on the nettles and seems to be doing okay. For more facts on Drone Flies click Here.

Small Tortoiseshell

Small Tortoiseshell

Small Tortoiseshell using a macro lens within 5cm of it.

With sun disappearing behind the clouds this Small Tortoiseshell gets a little bit of warmth from the stones.

A Drone Fly shares the Buddleia with one of 4 Small Tortoiseshells present today. Compared with the other Drone Fly images I took, this one here shows a lot of white across its abdomen and the back of its head. Not something I've seen before.

As there were only 3 Drone Flies present, when viewed from above like this one, there is no white markings showing at all.

Drone Flies mimic the Drones of a Honeybee.

Here a pair feed on the nectar from the Buddleia.

And then rest up on the leaves for a bit of heat.

A close-up

And even closer

The Caterpillar of the Comma butterfly is doing very well on the nettles.

Though I didn't photograph it today, here are a few of the hoverfly the Volucella zonaria from two days ago.

Volucella zonaria

Volucella zonaria

Volucella zonaria

Volucella zonaria