Last Monday lunchtime I got to hear a wonderful song. A Song thrush (Turdus philomelos) was singing loudly from an Oak (Quercus) tree. It’s repeated phrases made it easy to identify even though I couldn’t locate it visually. Their conservation status in the UK is red (see RSPB) so was nice to hear it. I have also seen one in the past but observations of Song thrushes are rare for me.
I haven’t noticed the young Bluetits (Cyanistes caeruleus) in the Rowan (Sorbus) tree for several days now. However while I ate my breakfast on Wednesday I
briefly saw a young Jay (Garrulus glandarius) instead. It didn’t remain for long, perhaps realising that it hadn’t landed on an Oak tree (a favourite of Jays as they love acorns). It was a great sighting; unfortunately in my sleepy state I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo.
The observations for the rest of the week were of insects. On my way to work I saw a Riband Wave moth (Idaea aversata).
Plants which their caterpillars feed on are Wood Aven (Geum urbanum), Primrose (Primula vulgaris), dandelions (Taraxacum) and dock (Rumex). I also saw another Cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae) on my travels. Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) is the main food source for their caterpillars. I often see these wildflowers around this area. I love to learn about plants that are beneficial for wildlife so I can undertake wildlife-friendly weeding. I allow ‘weeds’ to flower, remove seed heads before they set seed and control them via digging to prevent them from taking over a patch. With the exception of a few (which could remain in wild uncultivated areas of a garden) I find wildflowers can complement a border. I read an interesting article about this subject yesterday (see The Guardian).
I recently discovered that the collective noun for a group of Ladybirds is a loveliness. I saw loveliness of Seven spot ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata) on a geranium on Tuesday afternoon.
They were a bit pale so it is possible they had only recently emerged; their wings not hardened properly or developed from pink to bright red. At one point I counted 10 and eventually noticed a Green shield bug (Palomena prasina) nymph too.
This wasn’t the only encounter with ladybirds last week. On Thursday a Harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) larvae attached itself to my colleague’s t-shirt.
I have started noticing more moths lately, especially different species. I tried to discover the collective noun for moths. I couldn’t find an official word but one suggestion online was a whisper of moths which I like.
Another moth that I saw was a Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba).
Unfortunately it had a slightly damaged wing. It must have been disturbed because it isn’t a day flying moth. It soon sought shelter under the Hebe I photographed it resting on.
Bee in the Moment 