Sunday 31st May 2020 — Just A Bird

Glanville Fritillary - Mont Herault, 31 May 20

The second half of May and the transition from birding to insect-hunting, with the hope of a nice rarity always in mind. It was disappointing that a couple more trips to the Track Marais didn’t produce anything new and perhaps the under-watched area isn’t hiding quality birds after all. But, it may just be an access issue, as even with the increased effort on my part, it can be a right pain getting in there! Nevertheless the male Marsh Harrier from there started appearing more often over the house which I am hoping means that chicks have appeared.

Male Marsh Harrier - over the garden, 18 May 20

Evening at the Track Marais with a field full of Hemlock Water-Dropwort

On 20th May conditions were quite promising for perhaps some late migrants at Pleinmont, so I gave it a wee bash. There wasn’t a great deal but I had singles of Wheatear, Whinchat, Yellow and White Wagtail, plus a nice Cuckoo that I watched in flight on two occasions. I also extracted my scope from the car - for the first time all spring! - to look at the shearwater flock which was already starting to build up off the headland. As last time, they were so distant but I felt that they were more or less all Manx Shearwaters, with none suggesting to my eyes that they were Balearic, but it was impossible to know for sure. A ten by ten estimate of about 450 birds was made.

Bird-wise, that was it for the month apart from a lone Spotted Flycatcher at Pleinmont on 27th. So no rarities seen and a couple of dips which I shall quickly gloss over and pretend never happened.

No doubt due to the lockdown and working at home a lot, I have been more observant about the local breeding birds than I usually am. A pair of Collared Doves decided to make a nest on next-door’s outside lights which I thought was a daft place since it had no protection at all from predators. And so it transpired when, one morning, I saw a Carrion Crow chase the dove off the nest and fly off with an egg. The birds soon abandoned the site. I wonder why some individual birds are so much smarter than others? Maybe it is just a the way these creatures learn.

One day I saw that some of the local House Sparrows were taking the odd bit of Willow’s fluff from the garden for their nests. So after the next groom, I collected the fur into a box and put it into the gap of the trellis. They couldn’t get enough of it! There was an almost constant procession of sparrows taking the fur away for home-improvements, our garden became the avian IKEA. A Great Tit also joined in.

Collared Dove - next door neighbour’s, 20 May 20

Pheasant with chicks - Grand Pre, 18 May 20

The moth trap did not produce anything out of the ordinary during this time, although a tiny Poplar Hawk-moth was very strange - it only had about a 6cm wingspan including body.

Miniature Poplar Hawk-moth - garden, 28 May 20

During the last week of the month, since it was half-term and didn’t have to work from home, I visited the south coast three times for some quality walks and insect hunting. I walked west from Les Tielles on 25th, did the area above Petit Port on 29th and the cliff-top at Mont Herault on 31st. The highlights were the Glanville Fritillaries, with 3 at the usual Tielles quarry, plus the one below from a bit further west near the Long Cavaleux. At Mont Herault I had 3 individuals including one which fed on an umbellifer for ages without flying away which is unusual for this flighty species. With my arm at full extension, I managed some great macro shots. The Glanvilles appear to be decreasing at the moment so it was great to see them in three different locations.

Glanville Fritillary - West of Les Tielles, 25 May 20

Wasp Beetle - Les Tielles, 25 May 20 - good numbers noted during the week.

Melanocoryphus superbus - Les Tielles, 25 May 20 - a new species of bug for me and very distinctive. This is a continental species which does not occur in the UK. Continental bugs seem to be increasing year on year here with many new heteroptera bei… — Melanocoryphus superbus - Les Tielles, 25 May 20 - a new species of bug for me and very distinctive. This is a continental species which does not occur in the UK. Continental bugs seem to be increasing year on year here with many new heteroptera being found. (note the strange asymmetry on this one)

Sibinia arenariae - Les Tielles, 25 May 20 - a tiny weevil, but luckily quite easy to identify due to the ‘keyhole’ mark on the top. Apparently quite common in Sea-spurrey clumps (where this one was) but a new species for me.

Adela Croesella - Petit Port, 29 May 20 - there seemed to be a lot of these on the cliffs this year.

Mont Herault, 31 May 20 - by the end of the month with practically no rain, the short vegetation on the cliff tops was very dry.

Bishop’s Mitre Shieldbug - Mont Herault, 31 May 20

Ancistrocerus parietum - Mont Herault, 31 May 20 - a wasp in the same family as normal wasps but much, much smaller. they are Difficult to identify and, since I use english guides to identify this kind of thing, there is always the possibility that … — Ancistrocerus parietum - Mont Herault, 31 May 20 - a wasp in the same family as normal wasps but much, much smaller. they are Difficult to identify and, since I use english guides to identify this kind of thing, there is always the possibility that this may be a similar continental species.

A new species of beetle for Guernsey that I identified from a specimen, Paederus fuscipes. Similar to the more familar P. littoralis but with slightly different proportions.

Just A Bird

Just A Bird

Mark Lawlor's Nature Blog

Just A Bird

Just A Bird