TQ1666.. an update from north Surrey!

As with everyone else, things have finally started to pick up for me in my home square in North Surrey, with my list currently standing at 210 after an ID sesh' this evening. Dedicating more time to the immediate area around the house has proved to be a great choice, with the highlight of the year, a male Common Redstart, turning up on my local urban fringe site, Stokes Field yesterday morning, after a Red Kite drifted over last week. Redstart is a nice bird to find anywhere in Britain, but to find one in suburban Surrey, just a few hundred yards from the front door, made it all the more magical.

At the risk of boring you all with a long list, here are the most recent additions in the past few days. I don't think I'll ever be able to get over that Redstart being on the list!

No.       Latin                                         Common name                   Date              Location                

181	Gymnoscelis rufifasciata	Double-striped Pug	14-Apr	Garden	Moth
182	Chrysoperla carnea	Common Green Lacewing	14-Apr	House	Neuroptera
183	Chloroclysta siterata	Red Green Carpet	14-Apr	Garden	Moth
184	Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus	Springy Turf-moss	14-Mar	St. Mary Church	Moss
185	Phylloscopus trochilus	Willow Warbler	15-Apr	Stokes Field	Bird
186	Phoenicurus phoenicurus	Common Redstart	15-Apr	Stokes Field	Bird
187	Hirundo rustica	Swallow	15-Apr	Stokes Field	Bird
188	Polygonia c-album	Comma	15-Apr	Stokes Field	Butterfly
189	Aglais urticae	Small Tortoiseshell	15-Apr	Stokes Field	Butterfly
190	Bufo bufo	Common Toad	15-Apr	Stokes Field	Amphibian
191	Dipsacus sylvestris	Wild Teasel	15-Apr	Stokes Field	Plant
192	Tussilago farfara	Colt's-foot	15-Apr	Stokes Field	Plant
193	Bombus hypnorum	Tree Bee	15-Apr	Stokes Field	Hymenoptera
194	Eriocrania subpurpurella	N/A	15-Apr	Squires GC	Moth
195	Luzula sylvatica	Greater Wood-rush	15-Apr	Stokes Field	Plant
196	Pollenia rudis	Common Cluster Fly	15-Apr	Stokes Field	Diptera
197	Acleris cristana	N/A	15-Apr	Garden	Moth
198	Veronica hederifolia	Ivy-leaved Speedwell	15-Apr	Stokes Field	Plant
199	Erophila verna	Whitlow Grass	15-Apr	Squires GC	Plant
200	Viola odorata	Sweet-violet	15-Apr	Stokes Field	Plant
201	Vicia sativa	Common Vetch	16-Apr	Stokes Field	Plant
202	Eudasyphora cyanella	N/A	16-Apr	Stokes Field	Diptera
203	Anthophora plumipes	Hairy-footed Flower Bee	16-Apr	Stokes Field	Hymenoptera
204	Bombus terrestris	Buff-tailed Bumblebee	16-Apr	Stokes Field	Hymenoptera
205	Bombus pascuorum	Common Carterbee	16-Apr	Stokes Field	Hymenoptera
206	Bombus pratorum	Early Bumblebee	16-Apr	Stokes Field	Hymenoptera
207	Bombylius major	Bee Fly	16-Apr	Stokes Field	Diptera
208	Gerris lacustris	Common Pond Skater	16-Apr	Stokes Field	Hemiptera
209	Pisaura mirabilis	Nursery Web Spider	16-Apr	Stokes Field	Arachnid
210	Misumena vatia	N/A	16-Apr	Stokes Field	Arachnid
211	Pardosa saltans	N/A	16-Apr	Stokes Field	Arachnid

Quite a few bumblebees active at the moment. I've managed 5 species so far...

Tree Bee (brilliant name!) Bombus hypnorum

Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

Common Carter Bee Bombus pascuorum

Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum, note the orange tail just visible...

Hairy-footed Flower Bee Anthophora plumipes

Common Toads Bufo Bufo, 'hugging' in a small pond on the patch...

Pardosa saltans, plenty of these scurrying through leaf litter throughout the patch...

Ivy-leaved Speedwell...

Pollenia rudis...

Plenty of Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler about at the moment, with numbers significantly increased in the past few days as a result of yesterday's astronomical period of migrant activity into London...

Dark legs...

Pale legs...

Apologies for all the photos, but I haven't managed to update this space in over a month. As always, check out billsbirding.blogspot.com for everything else wildlife related.

Happy searching!

Bill