The return of the Terrapin

Pete

May 4

Another bright but cool day for my weekly walk on the local patch. This seems to be the story of spring so far. Days are either wet or cool and bright, neither of which bodes well for recording invertebrate life.

The gardens were pretty quiet, except for bird songs. The Blackcap and the Chiffchaff are now firmly established and singing in the trees between the gardens and the golf course. They were joined today by a very vocal Song Thrush who added to the accompaniment of Wren, Blackbird and Robin. A Mistle Thrush could also be heard more distantly. A single Tree Bumblebee and a couple of Honey Bees were the only insects of interest

Moving onto the Tarn, there was a small group of Syrphus sp Hoverflies near the entrance, but too active to get photos. Along the northern side of the Tarn, the Red-eared Slider was out on one of his favourite perches. This is the first time I have seen him this year.

In the scrub were some Dark-edged Bee-Fly and some Hairy-footed Flower Bees

The one Greylag goose pair that seem to have nested have 5 goslings and there are still 2 occupied Coot nests

Walking back through the Wooded area on the south side I met another (or the same?) Moorhen plus this week a group of 5 Greylag Geese.

Lots of Grey Squirrel activity too

All around the Tarn, the Bluebells, both English and Spanish varieties are in full bloom

So no butterflies this week and apart from those mentioned above the only Bee was a white / buff-tailed worker near the Tarn. I do hope things warm up soon or this is going to be a very slow summer.

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