Bird and Bug Watching - Marshside 12/05/19

I paid a visit to Marshside after work for a bit of from the road bird and bug watching. It was beautifully sunny but with a cool north easterly wind. The visit turned out to be fairly quiet for birds, apart from the usual jobs and I spent most of the time keeping my eyes open for insects.

In one of the sheltered areas there were good numbers of Hairy Shieldbugs with several mating pairs.They are striking insects.

Hairy Shieldbug

mating Hairy Shieldbug

I saw several of, what looked like miniature crickets, and I think, from having looked it up on the internet that they could be young bush crickets with this one possibly being a young Dark Bush-Cricket. It is something that I will need to look into further.

? young Dark Bush-Cricket

There were a fair number of Damselflies about and I saw mainly Azure with a few Blue-tailed.

female Azure Damselfly

male Blue-tailed Damselfly

I caught sight of an attractive red and black insect and on looking it up it is a Corizus hyoscyami. I took a photo of it both in the sun and in the shade as in the shade its patterning showed a little better.

Corizus hyoscyami

Corizus hyoscyami

I came across a smart Hoverfly that I think is a Scaeva pyrasti or selenitica. I am finding identifying insects pretty tricky at times and I could be wrong. Hopefully, gradually, I will be able to learn more about insects and get better at identifying them.

? Scaeva pyrastri or selenitica

I saw Several Common Wasps during my visit and also several Scorpion Flies.

Common Wasp

female Scorpion Fly

Blackcap and Whitethroat were in good voice and a Cetti's Warbler joined in now and then. A Wren was busily collecting food and a few Swallows were hawking for insects above. I came across a Common Lizard that was basking in the sunshine and a little further on saw a Sphaerophoria Hoverfly ? scripta.

Common Lizard

Sphaerophoria Hoverfly ? Scripta

I saw a small beige Ladybird sharing a leaf with a spider I cannot identify at the moment. I think that the Ladybird is a 16-spot Ladybird Tytthaspis sedecimpunctata. I saw another spider that was carrying an egg sac and I think that it is a Pardosa and possibly Pardosa nigriceps as apparently that is the only one found above ground level. I am not finding spider identification easy.

16-spot Ladybird Tytthaspis sedecimpunctata

? Pardosa nigriceps

I saw good numbers of a small beetle with a blue/green metalic sheen.I am not sure at the moment what they are. I thought they were going to be Dock Beetles but they did not have a golden or bronze coloured sheen at any point. I also saw an attractive beetle that, again, I am not sure what it is but wonder if it is a Chrysolina polita. Unfortunately it never moved so I could not get a better picture.

? Chrysolina polita

There were also several of, what I think are, Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus. I also had a  Hoverfly that I am not sure what it is at the moment.

Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus

A male Marsh Harrier flew past and I saw both Sparrowhawk and Kestrel. I may not have been able to go far today but I saw an interesting range of wildlife. I finished off the visit by just sitting and listening to Reed Warblers singing and Marsh Frogs calling. A female Blackbird perched in a nearby bush and, though it is taken through the windscreen, it was nice to be able to get a photo as she looked beautiful in the light.

female Blackbird