#alertbirder

Cranefly caught in spiders web

Turnstone on Gorlestone pier 

A lovely walk along the side of Breydon Water this morning. Parked in  the superstore car park and walked under the new bridge towards the hide. Plenty to see with at least 20 little egret, flocks of black tailed godwit, avocet, dunlin, wigeon, shelduck, redshank, curlew, lapwing and golden plover. A coiuple of sparrowhawks were floating around, not really hunting, but enough to disturb the smaller waders. Pleased to see a kingfisher darting through. 

Beautiful sunny day. Woodland floor carpeted with sweet chestnuts, looking soft and inviting, until you stand on them. Fly agaric positively glowing in the sunshine.

female and young male Mallard sycnchonised feeding

Man has the greatest influence on the environment, sometimes for the better or through necessity, but just dumping things because you no longer need them; irresponsible, damaging and wasteful. Whilst this area was no beauty spot with a chalk stream, it was a series of ditches and dykes that supported amphibians and small fish as well as numerous invertebrates. 

 Ivy Bee, Colletes hederae , a relative newcomer to our native fauna, first described in 1993 and only in Britain since 2001 or so. It is spreading north. The are a solitary bee, each female builds it’s own cell for it’s young, but they nest in large colonies.. 

I assume these are the same species of cranefly, the one with the crumpled wings may have just come out of it’s cocoon.