A free couple of days as Mrs R was working at Elsham,so today after i had got some well earned sleep after my nightshift,i decided to have a day over in the Messingham area.
The forecast promised a cloudy start,then sunshine breaking through around mid-morning and that is exactly what it did.
I started by walking up to Manton first thing,seeing a few notables which included a Little-ringed Plover on a roadside pool,3 Pink-footed and a pair of Egyptian Geese with the local Greylags and a lovely pair of Grey Partridge which i managed to get some decent video of.
After this enjoyable,if short wander,i then drove around to Messingham Sand Quarries nature reserve for the remainder of the day.
As i arrived at Messingham the weather began to break,with the sun coming through nicely and i began to explore.
It was really great to get to grips with some macro photography again and record some insects and i managed to find a new species for myself.
While looking at Alder-leaf Beetles i found a Hoverfly which at first i thought was a Xylota species,but the habitat was wrong.After reviewing the photos and looking up the ID,it is Chalcosyrphus nemorum,a really nice find and as mentioned a new species for myself and most probably a new species for the reserve and the area.
This species frequents damp Alder woodland,so where i found it was spot on.
There are too many insect highlights to mention all here,so i have included some of my favourite photos from the visit,but they included Hawthorn Shieldbug,Parent Bug,Clarke's-mining Bees,Brimstone Butterflies,Nursery Web Spiders,Slender Groundhoppers etc.,what a great day.
Bird wise a few migrants were noted and included my first Common Terns of the year,a pair watched on the raft down from the car park on the first lake.It was really great to see these lovely summer visitors,a true sign of spring.
Other migrants included at least 6 singing male Willow Warblers,35+ Sand Martin and a handfull of Chiffchaffs,Reed Warblers and Blackcaps,but only 1 Sedge Warbler.
It was really nice to see some spring flowers today also which included Meadow Saxifrage,Marsh Marigolds and the lovely coconut smell of Gorse.
A great day out today and i look forward to my next visit.
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| Tachinid Fly Sp. Gymnocheta viridis |
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| Clarke's Mining Bee. |
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| Dark-edged Bee Fly |
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| Male Nursery-web Spider. |
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| Chalcosyrphus nemorum,A New Species For Me. |
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| Hoverfly Sp. Dasysyrphus venustus |
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| Hoverfly Sp. Syrphus ribesii. |
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| Harlequin Ladybird. |
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| Parent Bug. |
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| Green-shield Bug. |
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| Hawthorn-shield Bug. |
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