The Lyons Share

This is the majority of a flock of around 400 Linnets that were feeding on a cattle grazed stubble-turnip field during a farm visit today. The noise was intense! It started off slowly today with a fly over Lesser Black-backed Gull being the only addition to the list (actually the first  I've seen on all the farms). Then this bad boy drifted right over head, new to the site. I have now recorded Red Kite on 3/6 of the farms.

As I was counting the huge Linnet flock, I flushed three Grey Partridge, also new to the site and the first decent view I have had of one since I have started these surveys, a great result and lovely to hear them again at close range. Before I had even marked them on the map a Corn Bunting burst into song about 100 m away, another new record for the site and the bird was still there over an hour later, singing away like a musical hand grenade.

Invertebrate-wise it was very quiet, I noticed about a dozen of these bright red weevils on a rubbing post, the only shot I could get is of it legging it away from me so you can't see the rostrum. I think it is Apion frumentarium after keying it out in Joy but I think I'll need to get this one confirmed. It was about 4.5 mm long.

I turned over a few stones and was surprised to find lots of these very brightly coloured and very active carabids scurrying around! I have only ever seen this species before in a pitfall trap so it was a tick for me, it's Badister bullatus and is quite common apparently. Nice to see a really well marked beetle, there are actually seven individuals in this photo, I wonder what they were doing? That leaves me on 3117.