my local patch and wildlife - Ian McDonald

[fermi de Sousa]

Yes, that was what I was thinking of too Ian. Then again there are a lot of mediaeval accounts of monks behaving in ways that were maybe less than what was expected...

Wasn't that how the first season of "Blackadder" ends? with everyone dying from poison?
cheers
fermi

[Tristan_He]

It might well have been Fermi - also remember the Baby Eating Bishop of Bath & Wells from the Bank of the Black Monks in Blackadder II 

[cohan]

Lots of interesting plants and creatures as usual-- that magpie moth is lovely!

[ian mcdonald]

One of the local men has put more than 20 bird feeders in the trees up the hill. He has an injury so can,t get about to fill the feeders. His daughter appealed for help with the feeders until he is able to resume. Another local man has been filling the feeders and I decided to help as well. I went to the feeders this morning and noticed a small patch of white harebells. This is the first time I have seen this colour change in harebells, C. rotundifolia. I will have to get a photo. The bird feeders in the wild may be a topic of discussion but it certainly helps the birds and squirrels through a hard winter.

[ian mcdonald]

I,ve been looking at Moths and Fungi lately. If anyone can identify them please let me know. I,ll add the names where I can but might be wrong.



Twin Spot Carpet.



Northern Spinach.



Barred Red.



Chantarelle.



Russula sp.

[ian mcdonald]

I went for a walk by the golf course yesterday and noticed several white flowered harebells. I,ve not seen this colour change before in harebells.



Also seen were a couple of flowers with upright and shorter petals.



I noticed a grasshopper on a stone by the track.



There were bunches of Wavy Hair Grass, Deschampsia flexuosa, laden with rain water.



Today I went to see if I could get a better view of the Spoonbills I had seen a few days ago. They were still about 1/4 mile away and the heat haze didn,t help.

[ian mcdonald]

Yesterday I went to the coast to an area of wet marshy ground. The last time I visited the grass was green and there were many plants in flower, such as birds-foot trefoil, kidney vetch, sheeps-bit scabious and northern marsh orchids. Now the grass is parched and most of the plants have finished flowering. It seems, once again, that spring was late but once it arrived the plants hurried into flower then set seed quickly? It took quite a while to find the small colony of Baltic Rush, J. balticus. The plants were smaller than usual and blending in with other species.



Likewise, the few Slender Rush, J. tenuis plants on a bare path were short. This is a species which was introduced from America. For such a small plant it seems to have spread far in the UK. I have seen it on a track on Rannoch Moor.



At another locality on the coast a number of female Eider Ducks were resting on rocks and some others were with young.



Today I went to look for Phleum alpinum, a grass I had not seen for a number of years. I managed to find 45 flowering plants.



I noticed a small bird sitting on a rock, preening itself. This turned out to be a Snow Bunting. It allowed me to get quite close before dis-appearing among the boulders.



The forecast for the area was a 40% chance of rain. I think we got that and more.

[ian mcdonald]

Seen at the coast were several Scotch Argus, Erebia aethiops. They are fast fliers and don,t settle for long.



Bog asphodel, Narthecium ossifragum, are flowering well just now.



Alpine Saw-wort, Saussurea alpina, are fewer in numbers. Whether this is due to climate change or a short term alteration, I don,t know.



I am using a compact camera at the moment as my usual preferred one has a faulty switch and has been sent away for repair. I hope it can be repaired at a reasonable cost and I don,t have to replace it.

[cohan]

I've never seen a white C rotundifolia (our species has been changed to C alaskana) in spote of thousands of plants everywhere, here, though a friend from Northern Canada once sent me seeds (didn't get them sown!!).

[ian mcdonald]

I now have my camera back. I find it easier to use with the view finder rather than the compact camera. I went for a walk down by the river. Most flowers have gone over now. A few are in full flower, such as Mint. I noticed two beetles on St. Johns Wort, I think they maybe Knotgrass Leaf Beetles. I have been looking at Rose-bay Willowherb for some time, hoping to find the caterpillar of Elephant Hawk Moth. Yesterday I found one. Seeds of Rose-bay Willowherb and Creeping Thistle are waiting for a wind to carry them to another site.

[cohan]

That's a cool caterpillar!

[ian mcdonald]

A couple of friends were up for the week-end. We went to look at seals along the coast.





A small beetle was found, possibly a Cerial Leaf Beetle.

[ian mcdonald]

Wild fungi are appearing after the recent wet weather. I know little about them except many look similar also the same species can look different. The only thing I know is unless you are positive a wild fungi is edible leave them where they are.











The second one is Yellow Stags-horn. I think the third is a Penny Bun? The fourth is a Birch Bolete? The same for the last?

[ian mcdonald]

Purple Brittlegill Russula?



Young Fly Agaric?



Two Ravens.



Common Darter.

[ian mcdonald]

I have seen red squirrels at the bird feeders and noticed the different colours of their fur. Some have the usual brown coloured tails while others have dark fur on their tails. One squirrel has little fur on its tail with a whiteish tip. I have searched the internet for answers and the opinions seem to differ. I saw five squirrels at the same time. Two had dark tails, two had brown tails and one had hardly any fur on its tail. At the moment the local squirrels have very short or no ear tufts. It is said that red squirrels ear tufts grow longer for the winter. The squirrels have four toes on their front feet and five toes on their hind feet. They can swivel their feet in order to get a good grip either going up or down a tree trunk. They have long claws. The person who provides food for the birds and squirrels has also fastened deer antlers for the squirrels to chew.