I will summarise each family as i go along and describe what we encountered as there is always so much to see.
Birds:
A nice selection of migrants were seen today,with nothing really unusual,but one first record of the year for myself came in the form of 3 Whitethroat,2 singing males and a single female.These stunning little sylvia warblers are always a joy to see,scolding you as you pass by,usually from a patch of nettles,hence their country name of 'Nettlecreeper'.
Other niceties observed included at least 18 Willow Warbler,Yellow Wagtail & a few i can't mention due to their breeding status.
Lepidoptera:
Some good numbers of butterflies were recorded today,with Speckled Wood and Peacock being the commonest species encountered,with smaller numbers of Brimstone,Green-veined White,Orange Tip,Comma & Small Tortoiseshell.
Coleoptera:
The stars of this family,as on most spring visits here,were the stunning,metallic Green-tiger Beetles,with at least 30 individuals counted and fun was had attempting to try and get some photos of them,but it's not easy with my knees!.
Several Seven-spot Ladybirds were also observed as we searched for Large-red Damselflies(See seperate post on my Dragonfly sightings blog).
Heteroptera:
Only one notable species found today,which was a new one for Dave,the diminutive,but equally stunning Pied Shieldbugs which i found on a patch of Dead nettles along the side of Will Pitts scrape on Thorne Moors.This is only the 2nd time i have seen these and we managed to get a few decent images,but it's certainly not easy due to their size.
Orthoptera:
Only one species seen today and we saw quite a lot of them due to this site being perfect habitat for them,the lovely little Common-ground Hopper.We managed some fantastic views and even got a few images for posterity,but it's another crawling around on your knees job as with the Green-tigers....oooh my knees.
Diptera:
Today's rarest member of this huge family of insects was a single Tachina ursina,found near to the bailey bridge as you cross over from Crowle to Thorne Moors and i found them in exactly the same place last year.This member of the Tachinid family of flies is a parastic species,laying it's eggs in the body of it's host.
Other than the above,the usual suspects were seen on today's visit which included a myriad of Dark-edged Bee Flies,this species is doing really well in most of the woodland sites i have visited recently which is great to see.
Other species observed included several Eristalis intricaria & Helophilus pendulus.
Hymenoptera:
Quite a good representation from this family today,with another new species for Dave,when i found a stunning Median Wasp.At first glances,this species could easily be mistaken for a Hornet,but on closer inspection the inverted 7 with a chestnut centre on the thorax sides identify the species nicely.
Other members of this huge family observed,included Common Wasp,Common-carder & Early Bumble Bees.
Reptilia:
Only one species observed today,a single female Adder was observed on the edge of Will Pitts,but in usual fashion it was flushed inadvertently while looking for Large-red Damsels.
Mammalia:
Not too bad a visit today regarding mammals,as on some visits you can often not see anything.Today's star sighting went to a very majestic Red Deer Stag,who stopped briefly in his tracks when he saw the strange humans staring at him,great to see,next time i will remember to carry my big lens!.
Other species seen included a lovely Fox and a single Brown Hare.
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| Common Groundhopper,Crowle Moor NNR. |
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| Comma,Thorne Moors NNR. |
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| Median Wasp,Thorne Moors NNR. |
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| Speckled Wood,Thorne Moors NNR. |
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| Male Brimstone,Thorne Moors NNR. |
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| Pied Shieldbug,Thorne Moors NNR. |
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| Green-tiger Beetles,Crowle Moor NNR. |
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| Red Deer Crossing. |
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