As readers will have ascertained from recent blog entries, the summer means a lot of insects but not that much in the way of local birdlife. On Sunday I carried out the monthly WeBS count, with two pairs of Tufted Ducks on the Great Broad (and another at Thorpe), three cygnets (plus two more at Thorpe) and a single Common Tern were the pick of the bunch. Mute Swan numbers were double the previous years equivalent count. Numbers of common species compared to last year below:
Mute Swan 124 (2017: 63)
Greylag Goose 55 (2017: 89)
Canada Goose 44 (2017: 64)
Mallard 44 (2017: 26)
Tufted Duck 6 (2017: 2)
In terms of other wildlife it was a good day for hoverflies, with my first Volucella zonaria of the year and another 10 or so species,some of which are pictured here.
Eristalis intricarius
Cheilosia illustrata
Parhelophilus sp.
Eristalinus sepulchralis
Meliscaeva auricollis
A Welsh Chafer was seen too, a new beetle for me, with a rather odd defence posture.
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