my local patch and wildlife - Ian McDonald

[Redmires]

I always enjoy your photos of invertebrates and I hesitate to suggest this as I'm sure I'm less knowledgeable than you, but is it possible your blotch-winged hoverfly was actually a pellucid fly? I can't see the 'obvious yellow-orange scutellum' mentioned for the blotch-winged hoverfly on your photo.

I was lucky enough to see a pellucid fly on my Origanum vulgare a few weeks ago. Rather beautiful - I had never seen anything like it and initially assumed it was some kind of glossy bumblebee, but when I fed my description to a search engine I soon came across Volucella pellucens. I'm afraid I don't have a photo of the one I saw as I've no means of taking photos at present.

[ian mcdonald]

Could be, I,m no Entomologist.

[ian mcdonald]

Fungi are showing after the recent rain. Fly Agaric will be known to many people.



While sitting on a bench by the river I noticed something jumping in the grass at the other side. It turned out to be a Fox, perhaps hunting a vole or other animal.



A young Dipper was sat on a branch in the river.



I found a patch of Small Cudweed, Filago minima, on a track. Not a common species here.



Sneezewort, Achillea ptarmica, is still in flower along tracks.

[ian mcdonald]

The recent rains have resulted in fungi appearing. I think this one could be Cauliflower Fungus, Sparassis sp.



This moth, seen in a pine wood, is a Small Wainscot.



A gall seen on Ash keys looks like those caused by the mite Aceria fraxinivora.



A couple of local Autumn views.

[Jeffnz]

Very attractive countryside, could be a NZ location.

[ian mcdonald]

Some of the Inkcaps are showing, Coprinus comatus.



Puff-balls are growing near the golf course. I think this one may be Lycoperdon perlatum.



While sitting by the river an insect landed on me. I think it is a Birch Shield Bug.



There are a good number of alien shrubs planted along the river. This is a red fruited snowberry. Symphoricarpos sp.



Guelder Rose leaves are turning to their Autumn colour, the fruits look good to eat but are poisenous.



When I was in the Junior School we had a Nature Table. We were encouraged by our teacher to bring wild leaves, berries, flowers etc. to put on display. I wonder if this is still done in schools?

[ian mcdonald]

Yesterday was a day of two halves as far as the weather was concerned. Warm and sunny in the morning with five Swallows flying above the garden. In the afternoon I went down to the river. A Treecreeper was working tree trunks for insects. On a patch of Michelmas Daisies were nine Red Admirals. I saw a Kingfisher on a post but could not get near enough for a good photo. A Heron was stood on the other side of the river, also looking for fish. A lone Goosander was on the river. It turned windy and cool with rain and the butterflies had taken shelter somewhere. I took shelter on the verandah of a hut but the rain looked like it was in for the rest of the day so I put my waterproofs on and went home for a cup of tea.

[ian mcdonald]

The weather has turned cold with sunny intervals and showers. There are still a few Red Admiral butterflies in sheltered areas. A Common Darter was on a tall privet hedge.



Most of the fungi along the river have gone over. This one was seen a couple of weeks ago. I think it is a Magpie fungus.



Two plants found on disturbed ground on the golf course were Slender Parsley-piert and Field Pansy.

[ian mcdonald]

A few views from the Golf Course showing Autumn is here.

[ian mcdonald]

There are many Autumn arriving birds in the area but apart from a few Pink-footed Geese I have not seen any. I managed a quick photo. of a Goldcrest hunting among the river-side trees.



Up at the bird feeders I was lucky to see a Crested Tit. They land on the table, grab a peanut and are away too quick. Sitting with my finger on the shutter release is the only way I,m able to get a photo.



After many weeks trying I at last managed to photograph a Jay. Usually they see me and fly off without landing. This one must be less timid or hungry as it stopped for a minute or two.

[ian mcdonald]

The Autumn colours are in full glory now. The camera does not do them justice.

[ian mcdonald]

It is said that there are more than 24,000 species of insect in Britain. Here are just five.



Scarce Vapourer caterpillar.



Banded Demoiselle.



Large Red Damselfly.



Sloe/hairy Shield Bug.



Clouded Yellow butterfly.

[Vinny 123]

Wonderful pic' of the crested tit!! I have never seen one, but have spent too little time north of the border   

I am unsure if there has been any more recent work published, but a few years ago now, a study of titmice in Scandinavia linked artificial feeding of the usual bird-table fare, to reduced breeding success the following spring. A broadly similar study elsewhere showed the same.

It has been known since at least the 1950's that sturnids and turdids cannot digest complex carbohydrates - they are naturally insectivores so they naturally eat essentially no carb's, so do not need the extra weight of organs associated with carbohydrate digestion. In hard weather, when turdids traditionally turn to fallen fruit, the birds lose condition very quickly as all they can digest/absorb are any mono-saccharides (frutose and glucose) in the fruit (there is vanishingly little fat and protein). Berries are often reasonably high in fats so are better food, but are still foods of last resort.
More recently, small amounts of data suggest that charadriiformes cannot digest complex carb's either - they are also normally eaters of invertebrates.

An interesting adaptation is that of the Ring Ouzel, which relies very heavily upon juniper berries where it over-winters. Juniper berries are actually highly modified cones, not berries, and have a highly unusual nutritional analysis for a "berry"............

Invertebrate food is also extremely easily (and quickly) processed/digested, so insectivorous birds have rather short and simple guts, which canot process any "hard" food - peanuts (and sunflower kernels) being a prime example. A robins' nest in the garden here was "full" of peanut fragments after the young fledged - they had passed through the nestlings, unchanged.

As the vast majority of birds do not eat fats from warm-blooded creatures, hard fats (eg. suet) are also very largely indigestible for birds. Invertebrates and other cold-blooded creatures contain only very soft/liquid fats - if they didn't, they would "set" in anything but the warmest weather.

Again, going back to at least the 1950's, tallow/suet was looked at as a fat/oil component in poultry feed but unless it was compounded with a great deal of vegetable oil, it was not digested by poultry. Presumably at high veg' oil levels, the tallow dissolved in the oil and could be processed by the birds' guts.
I have fed suet to captive birds and they produced some rather unusual, small, suet candles!!

Suet is extremely cheap as there is no legal use for it in any livestock feed. I have to say that I love suet dumplings, but in modertion only, as I too find the suet difficult to digest.

I do not recall seeing anything published about the digestive capabilities of any birds of prey, apart from bone digestion by lamagiers, and the horrendous conditions in the digestive tracts of vultures, which allow them to eat putrid meals with impunity.

[ian mcdonald]

Now that the leaves have fallen, lichens are more easily seen. This one is a Ramalina.



Another species is Usnea, a beard lichen.



A tree down by the river, which has been planted, is Southern Beech.



Starlings on a neighbours roof.



Down by the river was a Grey Wagtail looking for insects.

[ian mcdonald]

Yesterday was sunny and mild. I decided to walk down to the river. I had nearly reached the river when I realised I had not seen or heard anything. It was if I was walking through an empty landscape, where all the wildlife had been removed. Just before the river I saw a Robin land on a fence post, at least something was around. A few Mallards were at the far bank. Nothing else was seen for a few hundred yards until I came to some bushes where I noticed a Blue Tit and a Great Tit. A male Bullfinch was in a tree by the path.



Feeding in birch trees were several Redpoll.



 A Heron was stood by the far side of the river looking for a meal. Two Dippers flew past as I was stood by a Burn (small stream) which entered the river lower down. I heard bird calls which I knew but could not recall the name of the birds making them. I turned in the direction the calls were coming from in time to see a small group of Whooper Swans loosing height and disappearing behind a small wood. I could not get a better view of the birds as the Burn was between us and I was wearing shoes. I went home and put my wellies on and returned, paddling through the water. The Swans had landed in a field a good distance away so I walked along the track by the river to get a better look. As I did I noticed a Goldeneye on the river.



I walked closer to the swans which by now had been joined by another group  of Whoopers. Wanting to get a better view I walked up to a road which the birds were near to. Yet more swans came in and I counted about 50, including two juveniles. The birds had seen me and started making soft calls. I did not want to cause them to fly off so I walked slowly and pretended not to notice them. I have seen Whoopers in the past point skywards just before they take off. They seemed to accept that I was not going any closer and were busy feeding in the stubble field. I managed several photos. then left them to it. By now it was starting to turn to dusk, although it was only 3.00pm.