June 2025

24th. A great example of how managing small spaces can make big differences - the churchyard of St Uny's Church in Lelant, home to the very scarce and beautiful large scabious mining bee Andrena hattorfiana.

Field scabious Knautia arvensis is encouraged here - the food plant of the large scabious mining bee.

iPhone snap by Hetty.

Brown-banded carder bee Bombus humilis too.

There was a very active colony of black mining bees Andrena pilipes on Ayr Lane, St Ives.

A sand-tailed digger wasp Cerceris arenaria carrying something too.

23rd. 3 storm petrels feeding offshore from the Island St Ives, early evening. In the day we visited the Cadgwith area on the Lizard. I

photographed at a colony of large shaggy bees Panurgus banksianus on the coast path towards Kennack Sands.

Buffish mining bee Andrena nigroaenea

Sand-tailed digger wasps Cerceris arenaria were present.

I photographed an ornate tailed digger wasp (Cerceris rybyensis, female, confirmed by Adam Roberts) entering a burrow there too. It appears to be the second record for Cornwall, and the furthest west by some way.

Sea centuary.

15th. A first-summer desert wheatear was found at Somerdale playing fields, Keynsham on 14 June - a bizarre record indeed. We went to see it the next day when it showed all day, though I forgot my extender.

Feeding on an orthopteran?

2nd. Forest of Dean. 2+ tree pipits and tiger beetles at Crabtree Hill. Nagshead - male redstart, 2 pied flycatcher, and a spotted flycatcher. Ed Drewitt was ringing the pied flycatcher chicks.