Marsh Sandpiper at RSPB Rainham Marshes

Spent this morning waiting for the Marsh Sandpiper to wake up! I was told it had been active earlier, so it must have worn it's self out and was a sleep with two Greenshanks right at the back of Aveley Pools so distant! But this is the first to be seen in the London area for 34 years, so quite rare for the capital.

Marsh Sandpiper asleep with two Greenshanks

still asleep!

A secretive Water Vole

Whimbrel on the foreshore

Avocet on the foreshore

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly

Walking along The Thames there was a proper gale blowing, ideal yachting weather but unusually for Rainham it was a warm blow!

Safer Neighbourhood Police

On three occasions recently I have seen fishing at Mayesbrook Park, it will always happen when the Park Rangers have knocked off and on a Sunday. THERE IS NO FISHING ALLOWED on either of Mayesbrook's two lakes.

Since losing the Parks Police anti-social behaviour has increased across all of our urban parks. Mayesbrook Park has three Safer Neighbourhood Police, I'm not sure what powers they have. So in an emergency always call 999 for everything else call 101

There is also a Facebook page Met Contact Centre @MetCC They are available for non-emergency enquiries between 8am-10pm. In an emergency call 999

For more information see HERE

Mayesbrook Park

Spent a few hours this morning at Mayesbrook Park. An overcast start which soon cleared to a bright sunny and again a hot day. I reckon it has been 55 Days now with no rain locally and everywhere is looking pretty scorched and dry.

The northern fenced pond has dried out now, hope all the tadpoles metamorphosed  into froglets and escaped the drought, the Smooth Newts should be fine.

Oh for some green grass

Our lonely Great Crested Grebe

has found a mate and is building a nest, yipee

Grey Herons have another two youngsters

pair of Tufted Duck have six ducklings

and they split up, mum looking after three and dad with the other three at the other end of the lake

Willow tree reflection

Myathropa florea male

Brown Argus underwing

Brown Argus wings open

Myathropa florea female

Mayesbrook Park

A few hours this morning in the sunshine was a pleasant experience at Mayesbrook Park. Among other things I was pleased to find a Red-tipped Clearwing moth and hear then see my first Whitethroat for the year.

Red-tipped Clearwing

Red-tipped Clearwing

Red-tipped Clearwing

The Red-tipped Clearwing Synanthedon formicaeformis was not easy to photograph as it was continually moving and feeding low down about a foot above the ground. With a wingspan 17-19 mm, this moth derives its English name from the reddish patches at the tips of the forewings.

It can be found locally throughout much of England, southern Scotland, south Wales, and scarcely in parts of Ireland, and flies between May and July.

The species inhabits fens, marshes and other damp localities, and feeds as a larvae inside the stems of various species of Salix, especially osier (S. viminalis). See more at UK Moths

Helophilus hybridus 

 As well as a number of hoverflies there were lots of butterflies, damselflies and dragonflies.

Holly Blue

Essex Skipper

Small Skipper

Emperor Dragonfly

Mayesbrook Park

20th June - Spent a couple of hours looking for inverts, the first hour the sun was out and I walked the southern path beside the railway line. It was along here that most species were seen. 

Xyphosia miliaria

Xyphosia miliaria

Xyphosia miliaria is a species of tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae.
Length: 4-6 mm. This fruit fly is mostly orange with black patterned wings, typical of this family. Found on thistles where it causes galls to form on the host plant. Can be seen May – September. Common and widespread over much of Britain.

Large Skipper Butterfly

female Green-veined White Butterfly

Helophilus hybridus male

Helophilus hybridus has a wing length 8.5 to 11.25 mm. In size and general appearance this species is similar to H. pendulus. The male is usually distinctive in having continuously broad yellow sides to tergites 2 and 3, whereas there is a dividing black bar near the posterior edge of tergite 2 in the female, and in both sexes of H. pendulus. The hind tibia of H. hybridus normally has the distal 2/3 black. Around pond and ditch margins where the water is shallow, and submerged grass grows on the blackish mud. Can be seen April to October with a peak in July and August. Larvae have been observed feeding in the decaying rhizomes of Bulrush. Widespread but sometimes local in Britain.

Blue-tailed Damselfly

Thick-thighed Flower Beetle - Oedemera nobilis

The Thick-thighed Flower Beetle is 8 to 10mm in length. The green elytra (wing covers) are pointed and gape apart. The male and female of this beetle can easily be told apart, as the male has large green bulges on its femora or thighs, while the female does not. The male is unmistakable, but the female could be confused with other Oedemera species, however its size, gaping wing cases and iridescence distinguish it. Flower meadows, gardens and waste ground where they visit flowers between April to September. This beetle is a pollen feeder. Widespread from southern England northwards to the Wash and north Wales, but less common further north than that.

Ringlet butterfly

Mayesbrook Park

Mid-morning walk in the hope of photographing some invertebrates. Annoyingly it was overcast with light drizzle to start with. It did dry up and the sun shone briefly while the temperature rose a little. I did manage a few images.

Anthophora bimaculata the green eyed flower bee

Our smallest Anthophora with a frenetic character, bright green eyes and a high-pitched, hovering flight that often attracts attention. It is one of two smaller, banded Anthophora species. Females can be separated from females of the other species (A. quadrimaculata) by the more conspicuous hair bands of the abdomen and the partially-yellow face with two large black marks below the antennae (face all-black in female quadrimaculata). Males have a yellow face and lack the pair of large black marks below the antennae found in male quadrimaculata. Like the female, they also have conspicuous and intense abdominal bands.

A. bimaculata is a southern species associated with very sandy habitats such as heathland, coastal dunes, soft-rock cliffs, sandpits and sandy brownfield sites. Most records are south of the Severn-Wash line but a few sites occur in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. 

Nesting occurs in sandy ground, both flat areas and sand faces. Colonies can be large and conspicuous, especially on warm, sunny days when the bees emit their high-pitched hum. The cuckoo-bee Coelioxys rufescens can sometimes be recorded around nesting colonies or on flowers nearby. Adults fly from June until September and visit a wide variety of flowers, including brambles, lamiates like Black Horehound, Viper's Bugloss and Asteraceae like Cat's-ear and ragworts.

Anthophora bimaculata the green eyed flower bee

female Common Blue Damselfly

female Common Blue Damselfly

One of eight young Egyptian Geese

Hoverfly Eupeodes sp male

Helophilus pendulus male

 

The hoverfly Helophilus pendulus is a common find, particularly around water or damp habitats. The black stripes on the thorax give it the common name 'The Footballer'. However, there are other hoverflies in the genus all with a stripy thorax.

Not sure on the ID of this bee

Poecilobothrus nobilitatus

 

This is an attractive fly with a lime green thorax. The male has conspicuous white wing tips and is easy to identify. The hairs on top of the thorax are in two neat rows.

It lives in damp places with lush vegetation and is often seen resting on mud or on the water surface. And can be seen May to August. A mating dance precedes copulation.

Quite common and widespread in England and Wales, fewer records from Scotland.

female Thick-thighed Beetle - Oedemera nobilis

Volucella zonaria male