23rd February 2019
I made time for a couple of hours at Thorpe Marshes on Saturday - the sunny weather made for a pleasant visit but also meant that there wasn't much birdlife visible on the marsh as there were a lot of other people about. There were about 120 Tufted Ducks, 3 Goldeneye and a Pochard on the broad, whilst a Sparrowhawk was flying up over the ridge. A couple of Meadow Pipits flew up from the marsh, a Linnet was in song and a Nuthatch called across the river somewhere in Whitlingham Woods.
There were few flowers out to attract insects, Lesser Celandines along Bungalow Lane were the main ones. I focused on the small woodland area, hoping I might find a moth resting on the bark, and found a few bits and pieces. A Drinker Moth caterpillar seemed very early, whilst joint highlights were the larvae of a False Ladybird beetle (looking like a cross between a Woodlouse and a Trilobite!) and an unusual red creature, which has since been identified as the larvae of a type of thrip (one of the Phlaeothripidae)
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