A pleasant walk in the Cemy.

Sunday 21st November 2021.

Feeling very wintry today in the Cemetery.

It was a much brighter day with unbroken sunshine throughout however, the temperature had dropped considerably, especially with the northerly wind blowing. Isabelle and myself took Scruffy for a walk around Highland Road Cemetery this morning, for Isabelle wanted to see if her Pumpkins she put there were still present. She took her bike along with her, though soon started moaning about how cold it was!

Young Herring Gulls enjoying their advantage point looking over the Cemetery from the Chapel. 

An adult winter Herring Gull flying overhead.

There were a total of 14 species noted this morning with the Jays putting on a good show, flying from tree to tree, squawking as they passed overhead. As per usual, most of the expected birds were present and correct, but no sightings of any Woodpeckers or Sparrowhawks around today. Both the Goldfinches and Greenfinches were showing well, mostly over the northern end of the Cemy, but with the temperature due to get a lot colder next week, I expect to see more winter Thrushes on show.

Up to three Red Admiral butterflies were seen today, including this individual in the Cemy.

There were an abundance of Hoverflies in the Cemy including this female Tapered Drone Fly. 

Also abundant were the Common Drone Fly, including this female. 

There is a very large flowering Ivy bush in the south-east end of the Cemy and out of the wind, it produces a good number of Hoverflies (both Common & Tapered Drone flies), Common Wasps and a couple of Red Admiral butterflies! In fact, the whole bush was swarming with insects and made quite a spectacle. I wonder if they will still be around once this cold spell hits? A few plants were still showing including Yarrow, Smooth Sow-thistle and Nipplewort to keep me entertained as we walked slowly around the Cemetery, taking in the sunshine and fresh air.

Honey Fungus.

Nipplewort was still in bloom in various areas today.

I found a fresh clump of Honey Fungus growing over the northern end of the Cemetery, close to the main road, but no other fungi or toadstools were encountered here today. Earlier today, my moth box produced just the four moths: 2 Light Brown Apple Moth, 1 Common Plume and 1 Double-striped Pug. To be honest, it does not bode well to get anything much more than this and I am considering just putting the moth box somewhere like The Oaks Crematorium where there is a chance to see some of the woodland moths.

It was nice to see that someone has put stones with poppies painted on them on some of the War Graves.