Today was a good all round day, with lots of visible migration to be seen as well as local birds and other things of interest.
While five of us gathered near the monument to witness the movement of a steady stream of Chaffinches, accompanied by lesser numbers of
Siskins, a few
Bramblings, a couple of Reed Buntings and a Tree Sparrow, a Corn Bunting sang from a small bush nearby.
More unexpected was an apparent movement of small groups of Blue Tits, with smaller numbers of Great Tits and a few Coal Tits. At first I though these were
some of the local birds that feed on the Lees, but a couple of the groups seemed to leave, flying high and moving north.
Nearby a
Dunnock was in full voice, not the greatest song but a 10 out of 10 for effort. The noise of protesting Herring Gulls alerted us to the fact that several Buzzards were passing and a one time four could been seen close together, heading inland from the sea.
As we walked round Jack spotted this Dark-edged, or Major Bee-fly (
Bombylius major). Bee flies are true flies, belonging to the order
Diptera, in the family
Bombyliidae. With a furry body they have a resemblance to a small bumble-bee, but the long rigid proboscis separates them from bees. They use this to feed on nectar as they hover at flowers, rather in the mode of a small Hummingbird
Hawkmoth. The larval stages live as parasites in the nests of solitary bees where they eat the food stores and grubs of their host. In addition with saw
sveral butterfles, a Peacock, two Small Tortoiseshells, a Red Admiral, a Comma and at least four
Brimstones.
While five of us gathered near the monument to witness the movement of a steady stream of Chaffinches, accompanied by lesser numbers of Siskins, a few Bramblings, a couple of Reed Buntings and a Tree Sparrow, a Corn Bunting sang from a small bush nearby.
More unexpected was an apparent movement of small groups of Blue Tits, with smaller numbers of Great Tits and a few Coal Tits. At first I though these were some of the local birds that feed on the Lees, but a couple of the groups seemed to leave, flying high and moving north.
Nearby a Dunnock was in full voice, not the greatest song but a 10 out of 10 for effort. The noise of protesting Herring Gulls alerted us to the fact that several Buzzards were passing and a one time four could been seen close together, heading inland from the sea.
As we walked round Jack spotted this Dark-edged, or Major Bee-fly (Bombylius major). Bee flies are true flies, belonging to the order Diptera, in the family Bombyliidae. With a furry body they have a resemblance to a small bumble-bee, but the long rigid proboscis separates them from bees. They use this to feed on nectar as they hover at flowers, rather in the mode of a small Hummingbird Hawkmoth. The larval stages live as parasites in the nests of solitary bees where they eat the food stores and grubs of their host. In addition with saw sveral butterfles, a Peacock, two Small Tortoiseshells, a Red Admiral, a Comma and at least four Brimstones.
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