Alder flies

09 Thursday Apr 2026

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During one of last week’s walks, my route took me along the edge of our two local rivers, first the Ely, then the Taff, and on vegetation along the riverbanks of both, I spotted my first Alder flies of the year.

Though I can’t be sure about which exact species of Alder fly these are – distinguishing between the three British species requires ‘examination of the external genitalia (males) or anal plates (females)’ (Naturespot website) – I can tell you that their species is Sialis, the genus Magaloptera, and they belong to the family that includes lacewings and scorpion flies.

The Naturespot website also relates that the ‘adults only last long enough to mate and deposit eggs which are laid in large masses on vegetation near to water’. These are not something I’ve ever seen but I found images of the eggs (and the larvae) on the UK Wildlife website, so I’m planning some leaf turning next time I walk by those two rivers. Fingers crossed!

Lily beetle

08 Wednesday Apr 2026

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When you’re a bright red beetle, you’re probably trying to convince any potential predators that you taste so foul you’re not worth eating but it also means that it’s hard to hide from inquisitive humans, like me, especially when you’re sitting in plain sight on Alexanders flowers.

The gardeners amongst my readers may recognise this beetle and, if you grow lilies, you may have seen a beetle like this nibbling on the leaves of your lilies, hence its name: Lily beetle. The Naturespot website calls this insect Scarlet lily beetle but, when I recorded it, the insect’s name came up simply as Lily beetle (Lilioceris lilii).

As I don’t have a garden and don’t often visit ornamental gardens, the Lily beetle shown here was only my second ever sighting of this vibrant beetle in ten years of staring at plants. This is not particularly surprising though, as I’ve just been reading that this species only came to Britain in the early 1900s, presumably imported on lily plants, but, in the century since, it has managed to spread throughout Britain. That’s an impressive achievement for a beetle that’s only 10mm long.

First bee-flies

07 Tuesday Apr 2026

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I’m sure, if you’re one of my British followers, that you’ve probably already seen your first bee-flies of the year.

Though four species of Bombyliidae can be seen in Britain (you can download an excellent identification guide by the Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme), in my local area we only see one species, the Dark-edged bee-fly (Bombylius major). I saw my first, the fuzzy little beastie shown above, on 14 March in a local park.

And the very next day, in the small park just down the hill from where I live, I spotted two more of these busy little bee-flies.

The word cute is overused when it comes to many small creatures but it certainly applies to the appearance of bee-flies though they do have a dark side (see Bee-flies revisited, April 2023).

Bloody-nosed beetle

06 Monday Apr 2026

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When I spotted this little character pottering slowly across a path along the top of King Barrow Quarry on Portland, it was just over ten years since I had seen my first Bloody-nosed beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa); I wrote about that in The blood spewer, February 2016.

And I’d only seen them once in the intervening years, when I saw both an adult beetle and a larva (Botanising, with insects, May 2017).

So, it was a particular treat when I saw this handsome beetle, though it wasn’t easy to get a close look at or to take photos to show you all. This was a beetle on a mission, stumbling a little as it is made its way across small tufts of grass and lumps of sun-baked mud but always persevering, as if it had an urgent appointment and it was late. Or, perhaps, this is just how Bloody-nosed beetles live their lives, with focus and intention, ever onwards.

Chiffchaffs chiffchaffing

04 Saturday Apr 2026

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Here’s another bird that seems to be singing its onomatopoeic song from every tree at the moment – there’s even one flexing its vocal muscles in the garden as I write this.

With numbers of over-wintering Chiffchaffs increasing, it’s not always easy to tell which birds are new arrivals, though, from social media and the blogs of places like Portland Bird Observatory, I think a lot of the birds now singing have recently completed their inward migration journeys.

The bird above was one of several confiding birds at RSPB Lodmoor, while the fluffed-up bird below was an obliging local.

Bearded tit!!!

03 Friday Apr 2026

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Last Sunday 22 March was my last day in Weymouth and Portland, and I couldn’t have asked for a sweeter end to a brilliant week.

During that morning’s circuit of RSPB Lodmoor, I heard an unusual ticking call – a kind of tchoo, tchoo, issuing from the reed beds. (Many people describe this call as a ping, but that’s not what I was hearing. You can make your own mind up by listening to the call on the RSPB website.)

I had an idea about, a hope for what might be producing that sound so I waited and watched.

Then, suddenly, this stunning little male Bearded tit (Panurus biarmicus) popped up right in front of me.

I’d purposely not zoomed in too far with my camera lens because I didn’t know where the bird would appear, if at all.

When the tit did emerge, I was able to zoom in and get what are undoubtedly my best images of a stunning bird I rarely see.

It was simply magical!

A Portland Bill Kestrel

02 Thursday Apr 2026

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When I saw this Kestrel sitting on a pole near the Bill on the Isle of Portland last week, I couldn’t help but wonder how long they live. Why? If you look at my Birding at Portland blog from October 2017, about a trip to Portland with my local bird club, you’ll see there’s a very similar photo of a Kestrel sitting on the exact same pole. A quick google tells me the average lifespan for a wild Kestrel is four to five years so I’m guessing the bird I saw last week is a descendant of the 2017 Kestrel and the pole is simply the perfect place for a Kestrel to perch while surveying for prey.

A proliferation of Peacocks

01 Wednesday Apr 2026

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Let’s have a break from all the bird blogs (there are more insects coming next week, I promise).

Just as Friday 20 March was The day of the Wheatears, so Wednesday 18 March – a bright sunny day – was the day of the Peacocks.

A strong cool easterly was blowing across Weymouth and Portland that day but, in sheltered areas, the sun was warm and temperatures rose to the mid teens (Celsius), encouraging insects to emerge.

These were my first Peacocks of 2026, and there were a lot of them: two flitted up from the flowering Blackthorn trees as I walked a circuit of RSPB Lodmoor; four were found basking on the rocks in King Barrow Quarry and another three in the more exposed Tout Quarry; and I found five along the paths of RSPB Radipole late afternoon. I was in butterfly heaven!

Little owl

31 Tuesday Mar 2026

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Here’s another bird I never see in my local area in south Wales, a Little Owl (Athene noctua).

Fortunately for me, there’s a resident Little owl in a small abandoned quarry in the field next to Portland Bird Observatory, near Portland Bill, so I walked that way to see if it was at home that day.

I was in luck! I first saw a Little owl in this same quarry on a bird club trip back in October 2017 but, as these birds have a lifespan of just three years on average, the Little owl I saw last week is not that bird but probably one of its descendants.