A few notable records in the Cemy the morning.

Friday 8th July 2022.

These Horse Chestnut leaves looking so green and healthy within the Cemetery. though I have found a few trees suffering from the Horse Chestnut moth caterpillars.

I knew today was going to be a hot one with the lack of wind and a clear blue sky forecast, but that did not stop me taking my dog Scruff for a pleasant walk around Highland Road Cemetery. However, Scruff is now 15 years old and his old bones are really struggling at the moment with his back legs not as good as they used to be. In fact, I was getting a bit worried for him and was seriously wondering whether or not to carry him back home. What with his very poor eyesight (he walked straight into a gravestone!) and hearing, plus a dodgy bladder that comes with old dogs (and us humans!)I had to walk slowly throughout my stay here.

These juvenile Blackbirds were being fed by their parents in our back garden this morning before my walk.

On a positive note, there was a lot of wildlife to check out along my walk, most notably good numbers of insects on the wing and a few bird highlights too. I’ll kick off with the birds. Though normally a very quiet time of year in the Cemy, there was a male Great Spotted Woodpecker calling high up in the Chestnut trees in the north-east corner and eventually, I saw the bird flying overhead and into the Holm Oak clump. Nearby, up to three Jays were seen, possibly a family flock which settled into one of the trees close to the pathway. A female Sparrowhawk was seen briefly, diving down over the Cemy towards the nearby houses on the east side, but not subsequently seen again. I heard the soft ‘hoo-weet’ of a possible ‘Phyllosc’ Warbler within the trees, but failed to locate the bird, which would have been a good sighting for this time of year.

Above, a pair of Jays sat together briefly then joined by another two in the same tree! Below, one perched on a gravestone.  

Above, a few Swifts could be seen soaring lazily high over the Cemetery. Below, one will always encounter a Wood Pigeon here, including this 'not so shy' individual. 

A few common birds were noted including a Robin, several Blackbirds and a Goldfinch were all seen as well as the obligatory Pigeons and Herring Gulls. A few Swifts sailed high overhead and today, I was trying out my old Panasonic Lumix Bridge Camera of which I am taking on holiday with me later this year. 

Above, there were plenty of butterflies on show, making the most of the flowering Buddleia including this  Painted Lady butterfly and below, a Gatekeeper.

Above, several Small White butterflies were noted and below, just the one Red Admiral was encountered during my walk.  

Both butterflies and Hoverflies were abundant today with up to 5 species of the former seen around the Buddleia bushes, that included Red Admiral, Small White, Gatekeeper, Holly Blue and best of all, a Painted Lady all happily nectaring on the Buddleia. However, there probably could have been more species about but I was more concerned with Scruff than to spend another 30 minutes here. I counted at least three Hornet-mimic Hoverflies around the Buddleia along with Drone Flies and several other species of Hoverfly as well as good numbers of Honey Bees and other Bee species. Again, I would have liked to spend a lot more time studying these, but needs must. The only moth seen on the wing was the micro moth, Pyrausta despicata.

Above, one of the many Drone Flies, Eristalis tenax, present and below, the impressive large Hornet-mimic Hoverfly, Volucella zonaria.

Later this afternoon, while having lunch with my wife in the back garden, I could see a lot of Gulls circling high above the house that included several Mediterranean Gulls among the many Herring and Black-headed Gulls. The temperature was climbing into the 80’s and I was glad I changed into shorts and t-shirt! I even saw a Falcon species high up, but was too slow to get my binoculars to get an ID on it, though it did look good for a Kestrel. One must be careful though as this mini heatwave set to hit the UK could be bringing in some rarities. We shall see.