Clevedon Wildlife

 Two friends and I planned a mornings birding at RSPB ham wall but delayed our start following a huge tern passage up past our patch yesterday. Accordingly scopes were trained on the estuary from 6.30 am in anticipation. By 8.30 it was pretty clear no terns whatsoever were coming so we headed to Ham Wall anyway. While good views were had of Glossy Ibis, Garganey, and Great White Egrets , I had my macro lens on so won't trouble you with any images. Like wise the multiple birds of prey were best enjoyed by bins, including a flock of 8 Hobbies, multiple Marsh Harriers, Buzzards and Sparrowhawks with singles of Peregrine, Red Kite and Kestrel. The lens did come in handy though for Buttercup Blacklet (Cheilosia albitarsus) and Black Lagoon Fly (Eristalinus sepulchralis) though the single Snouted Duck Fly was photographed at home when my attempts in the field failed. I only managed one good shot before it zoomed off to freedom though. Buttercup Blacklet Black Lagoon Fly Snouted Duck Fly ...

A visit to the Somerset levels this week. While this was primarily to listen to Bitterns and see the first returning Hobbies I managed to get pictures of a couple of Hovers new for the year . Helophilus hybridus It's always a pleasure to see something different to  the typical H. pendulus, the Tiger Marsh fly aka The Footballer. The one pictured here is known as the Wooly-tailed Marsh Fly and at least the males are distinctive with the huge yellow patches. I have not yet seen the third member of the group with its yellow face but will keep looking. Another one, new for the year, was the Stripe-faced Drone Fly ( Eristalis nemorum ). Though I didn't get to scrutinise the patterns in detail this species is the only one where males hover over the female as she feeds Eristalis nemorum I also caught  Black-kneed Fen Fly (Neoascia tenur) which I could compare with the yellow-kneed from Poole.  A black fly sitting on some yellow flowers turned out to be Black Lagoon Fly. Under a ...

 Saturday was my first opportunity to join the Devon Fly Group on a field visit. I arrived at Lower Sharpham Barton Farm ,a wilding site near Totnes, via a lift from local dipterist Bob Fleetwood, The morning was spent following a track down to the river area and for myself, a look at the edge of a small woodland. Here group member Andrew pointed out a couple of Brachypoda hoverflies around a tree with an almost invisible sap run. A new species group for me.  These brown hoverflies don't really resemble any others but I wasn't able to get a photo in the field.  Identification relies on things such as the shape of a small pit on the inside of antennal segment 3 so I had to examine one under a microscope to confirm that this was Brachypoda scutellaris. Brachypoda scutellaris male Kidney shaped antennal pit I thought that this would surely be the highlight of the day but I was very much mistaken. As I walked back up the track for lunch I noticed a tiny hoverfly in a celandin...

 I am planning to do a few trips to new areas in the hope of catching different species from those in the South West. The first of these was to Poole where I could also catch up with an old school friend and entomologist. As the Premier Inn was booked I decided to forge ahead despite a poorish weather forecast. The first day was better weatherwise than suggested but not much seemed to be flying. Walking around the Lytchett Bay reserve I managed to see a few Drone flies and caught just 3 other flies. Two of these were new for the year, my first convincing Hairy-eyed Flower Fly (Syrphus torvus) and even better a Neoascia meticulosa (Yellow-kneed Fen Fly).  Yellow-kneed Fen Fly This flew into my net while I was catching a different fly ! They are tricky to identify as the yellow knees don't always stand out and you have to look at an area of chitin on the underside of the thorax as well as measuring the proportions of one antennal segment. Not one you can do typically in the fiel...

  The weather continued to be a hindrance until yesterday and then brightened considerably. I decided to try a local wood, famous for its bluebells, but concentrate rather on the large patches of Ramsons (AKA wild garlic) that were just starting to flower. I was very successful in finding the hoped for Ramson Hoverfly (Portivenia maculata). This looks very different from the typical yellow and black stripy fly we all grew up imagining as the archetype hoverfly. In fact, it much more closely resembles a house fly type with its chequered grey pattern. Ramson Hoverfly ( 3 pics) All the ones I saw today were males. I also managed to catch a couple of other species that were new for the year, A Common Copperback (Ferdinandea cuprea ) and a Common Dainty ( Baccha elongata ) neither of which I photographed. The second species was present the next day at Watercress Farm however when I managed a hasty photo or two:  Common Dainty Hoverfly Along with a few common garden species my year ...

 It has turned cold and windy again which has made life difficult for the flies and prevented me doing much. Last week I had a planned visit to Scotland to see family. This had been postponed earlier and the later date had me researching on iRecord and asking contacts where to go for a couple of species I would not get locally. Unfortunately the weather was against me and apart from a couple of Bumblebees I barely saw a flying insect during my stay. Now back down South there appears to be a slight improvement but still not exactly warm. However I have managed to turn up a couple of common Syrphus species, identified via the microscope, and photographed this indeterminate one in the garden today.                                                             Syrphus species The year list has continued to grow slowly with a couple of Long-...