John Martin

@pilning.bsky.social

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Birds, botany, insects and stuff mainly but not always in Shropshire and often Venus Pool

Flighty helice Clouded Yellow at VP this morning
Greylag summer flock is now building quite quickly, it seems.
Picture winged type fly with striking wing pattern. They're rather small
Distinctive looking critter with thick black front legs and elongated shape but good to have it confirmed by Nigel Cane-Honeysett, Salop spider recorder, as I know Jack Nabby about spiders
Clouded Yellow in flight showing the upperwing, which they rarely show when at rest
Red-tipped Clearwing in the pheromone trap in Shrewsbury garden. Had seen a couple before but not with lures.
Little Ringed Plover in juvenile plumage. Not bred at VP but possibly from somewhere fairly nearby
White-letter Hairstreak on Hemp-agrimony flowers. Underside with thin white W line, although tails have broken off
Green Sandpiper in the shallows at VP with a juv Moorhen
Big rhizomatous patch of Artemisia by the Severn
Heath Groundsel (Senecio sylvaticus) with a spike of Foxglove on a sandy bank
Currant Clearwing on Philadelphus flower in the garden
The closest showing by the heron all day, we were told, after our mid afternoon visit. Very jammy
Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera) near the visitor centre at RSPB Conwy
A glossy green beetle beetle with a very SW coast oriented distribution in Britain.
My first Ringlet butterfly of the year on a stone
Juv Kingfisher trying to get the hang of perching on a stick without overbalancing and sometimes getting it a bit wrong
Heath Spotted Orchid, Dactylorhiza maculata, flowering in species-rich grassland
Petty Whin flowering in heathy grassland near the Welsh border
Striped Hawk-moth in the corner of the moth trap with slight reflections. Phone pic. Might try proper pics later.
Pine Hawk-moth resting on egg box. Grey delta flyer with bold black head stripes and thin pink bands on the abdomen.
Alder Kitten on a tasteful eggbox. Something has taken a chunk out of it. Third for the garden after one in 2024 and one last year.
Light Knot Grass, which should be in the hills such as the Long Mynd but does wander occasionally, it seems. Yesterday my mate Rob caught one in another part of town so I went to have a look. Otherwise it would have taken me considerably longer to identify it than a second.
The rare Large Black Longhorn, Stictoleptura scutellata, on a huge dead Beech stump. I had seen it in the Norfolk Broads once, found by Nigel Jones that time.
Small Mottled Willow resting on the cross bar of the trap. A massive influx in progress in the SW but here, where any migrant is nice to see, it's still unusual
Red-belted Clearwing
Alder Moth on the side of the garage. We get them pretty regularly but they were rare in Pilning so always pleased to see them
Bugloss flower heads backlit in early morning sun
A patch of Plgiobothrys scouleri on a bare muddy hollow in the New Forest
Male Black-winged Stilt in flight over the water at Belvide after it was possibly startled by a gas gun to N of the res
Spotted Flycatcher in the obs garden in their favourite tree
Very fresh male Adonis Blue at Portland today
Flowers of Pale Flax
Lots of Black Mustard around this spring at the Bill but especially in the Crown Estate Fields owned and managed by the bird observatory
Puss Moth resting on egg tray. Furry front legs, intricate tracing of black lines and dots and a dash of orange on the veins.
Avocet at Venus Pool
Leucozona lucorum basking in the sun
Anancamptis morio at Venus Pool in the meadow.
Distant Black-necked Grebe in breeding plumage on The Mere with black neck, yellow ear fan, rusty flanks and steep forehead etc. Scarce migrants in Salop that have bred.
Big patch of Garlic-mustard (Alliaria petiolata) along the cycle path near Mereside. Will doubtless have Orange-tip although didn't see one this morning.
A Green-winged Orchid in flower in neutral grassland.
Male Redstart high in a large English Oak at Venus Pool against a blue sky with new young leaves of the tree
The endemic Viola palmensis on a rocky bank amongst a tangle of scrub high up near the top of the massive caldera. We looked in one spot for it but there was no sign, then saw this from the car as we drove by.
One of the Mandarins, a male quite high up in a tree. 2 males were chasing a female and calling
Wheatear male in sheep field near Pole Cottage, Long Mynd yesterday
Left wing with at least one damaged primary.
Wood Sorrel flowers on a log in woodland at Severn Valley Country Park. White with a little pinkish venation
Moenchia erecta on Lyth Hill with greyish green leaves and pointed sepals. I see far more of this now we are in Shropshire but always a treat
Kestrel hunting over the arable field at VP
White Stork along the edge of ploughed field
The rather stunning hoverfly Chrysotoxum triarcuatum, endemic to W Canary Islands, showing the red abdomen - various British Chrysotoxum species are all yellow and black.
Brindled Beauty in egg box
Pair of Little Ringed Plover mating at VP
Peacock basking in the sunshine at VP
Scill bithynica in flower on verge of the A49 south of Bayston Hill.
Zora spinimana, a pale wolf spider
Wood Anemone - good ancient woodland indicator, although we also saw it in decent grassland at nearby Sweeney Fen.
Big yellow flowers of Marsh Marigold on the edge of the site at Sweeney Fen