Sand Martin Nest

It was last summer that I first noticed sand martins (Riparia riparia) on the river Kennet in central Reading.  This year I have been seeing them on and off since late April.  Yesterday I noticed several little heads peeping out from one of the rainwater runoff pipes on the opposite bank to the glass recycling bins at the bottom of Sidmouth Street.  This morning I went down with my camera and took some photos.

The parents were coming back about every minute or so.

But they would only remain just long enough to pass over the food they had gathered, before they were off again.

I saw other sand martins going in and out of a pipe a few metres to the right of this one, but they were going right up inside the pipe and there were no little heads peeping out, so presumably their brood was less well advanced.

Photos taken from Kennetside, Reading, UK, on 2010-06-24.

Update on Sat 2010-06-26 by Tristram Brelstaff

The four nestlings are now out of their nest and flying up and down the river, occasionally coming back to the pipes for a rest.

Muscid Fly

A male fly, a Helina sp. (Diptera: Muscidae), identified by Stephane Lebrun. [I originally had this as Phaonia angelicae.]

Photo taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-06-20.

Hoverfly

A bumble bee mimic hoverfly: Eristalis intricaria = E. intricarius (Diptera: Syrphidae).  At first I took this to be a Volucella bombylans, but the dark patches on the wings seemed too small.  I only realized its true identity when I came across a photo of E. intricaria while looking for something else on on Alain Ramel's Les Insectes site.

Photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-06-19.

Burdock Gall Flies

This year I have been keeping a watch out for great burdock in the hope of seeing the burdock gall flies that I saw last year.  However, there was no sign of it in the places where it grew last summer and I was beginning to give up hope.  Then, a few days ago I noticed a burdock plant on the dam at the lower end of the middle lake.  It was infested with black aphids so I got down and had a closer look and then I noticed that there were also little yellow flies on it.  On getting my photos back home I found that these flies were probably Tephritis bardanae (Diptera: Tephritidae) which are similar but not identical to the Terellia tussilaginis that I saw last year (see here and here).

I have noticed before that Tephritidae sometimes flap one wing at a time, as if they are signalling by semaphore:

Photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-06-19.

Hoverfly with Spotty Eyes

When I first saw this I thought it was one of those small black bees, then I saw the looped vein on its wing and realized it was a hoverfly.  Only then did I look more closely and noticed the spots on its eyes.  It is a female of either Eristalinus sepulchralis or Eristalinus aeneus (Diptera: Syrphidae).  For more on these species see here.

Photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-06-17.