Return of the Tiger

The decline of the Garden tiger has been well documented and in the last three years my garden trap has only produced 2. I was pleased then to see 3 in my trap yesterday.
David Painter

Bombus hypnorum in the Garden

I am delighted to report that this evening around 6:30pm Bombus hypnorum was seen visiting flowers in the garden. I rushed inside to get the camera but it was gone by the time I got back outside. This is the first time I've seen this species. There is a possibility that this is the first record for Neath Port Talbot, however, with it being recorded a number of times in neighbouring counties to the West and to the East, it may well have been recorded before today. If anyone knows otherwise I would be most grateful if you could let me know.

Butterflies at Horton

Grayling

Mating Brown argus

Gatekeeper

During an hours walk from Horton to Slade yesterday morning (19th July) I saw 25 Graylings (8 together in a quarry), 17 Brown argus including 2 mating pairs, 1 fresh Comma, 2 Red admirals, 12 Meadow browns, 2 Small heath, 7 Large white 8 Green veined whites 1 Small white, 1 faded Large skipper, 7 Common blues and my first Gatekeepers of the year (8). In spite of the rain we're getting this is a much better season than 2009.
David Painter

Med Gulls at Bracelet Bay

At least 4 colour-ringed birds were among the 24+ Med Gulls present this morning, these being:
White 34K6 [a new bird for me at least]
White 3K80 [a Belgian bird first with us in 2006]
White 3E40 [a Belgian bird first with us in 2005]
Red YHE8 [the Serbian bird reported earlier]
As the tide was in they were on the grass verge and posing nicely for the camera.

2 juveniles (1st calendar year)...

1st summer (2nd calendar year)...

2nd summer (3rd calendar year)...

adult summer (4th calendar year or older)...

An hours seawatch off Tutt Head produced 12 Storm Petrels, 623 Manx Shearwaters, 12 Fulmars, 13 Gannets, 2 Sandwich Terns and 12 Guillemots, all headng west.

A new species for Wales at Oxwich Marsh

Sam Bosanquet photographed the small but beautiful Cosmopterix lienigiella during his first day surveying the fen vegetation at Oxwich Marsh on the 7th.

This is certainly new species for Glamorgan and most probably Wales. Sam is set to return to the site in August to complete the survey of this excellent site, so watch this space...

Bee sightings

Yesterday I saw another Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum) on Bramble flowers in a hedge at Pontarddulais showground - unfortunately I did not have my camera with me as I was walking the dog in the rain.

Today in the garden there were a few bees around in very threatening conditions, including a male B. lapidarius on Viper's Bugloss (photo above) and Cornflower, B. terrestris on Opium Poppy and B. pascuorum also favouring flowers of Viper's Bugloss.  

New Bladderwort site

Rob Ladds wrote 'Delighted to find this flowering in upper Bishopston valley. The large, dammed pond is only about ten years old, and these weren't there two years ago.'

This is a excellent discovery as the species is only known from Oxwich Marsh in our area.