my local patch and wildlife - Ian McDonald

[Hoy]

What kind of trees in the dry wood?

And what's the understorey there?

[ian mcdonald]

Trond, mostly birch with some oak. The understory is mainly bracken. The wood contained Rhododendron, these have been cleared. I have not surveyed this wood in detail due to the dense cover of Rhododendron in the past.

[ashley]

Ian, how 'permanent' has the rhododendron clearance been? 
Here in SW Ireland myriad seedlings appear in (& beyond) 'cleared' areas so the problem multiplies.  Herbicides would seem the only solution but can also cause more widespread damage.

[ian mcdonald]

Ashley, I was told that it takes three years of spraying to kill Rhodos. Re-growth has occurred and I don,t know if there will be money available to carry on the scrub management. The management season has now ended while birds are nesting on the site. Our main problem is the failure of the Archimedes Screw that controls water levels. The experts don,t seem to know how to fix it.

[ian mcdonald]

Wednesday was mild and sunny. I saw m first swift of the year and heard my first sedge warbler singing from a patch of reeds. Also seen were three cuckoos. Two male and a female adder were seen on a path. Birds seen were, chiff chaff, blackcap, willow warblers, black headed gulls nesting, mallard, teal, grey lag geese, shoveler, reed bunting, marsh harrier, buzzard, kestrel, wren, lapwing, coot, cuckoo, swallow, house martin, pheasant, swift, sedge warbler, crane, crow, robin, wood pigeon yellowhammer. Roe deer, water scorpion. I have only found one plant of deer grass on the site, making this the rarest species there. On wednesday I noticed that there were two small plants in addition.



water scorpion.



|Hover flies.



Large red damsel fly.



Male adder.



Female adder.

When I got home I found an email informing me that the "new" archimedes screw was to be turned on the following day (Thursday). I returned on Thursday to find that the Screw was in attendance and was working. Lets hope that it is now in working order and that the water levels on site will be maintained as proposed.

[Robert]

Ian,

The Adders seem very common now. Is it their mating season? In North America, some species of Rattlesnake congregate during the wintertime, then disperse in the spring. During this spring season Rattlesnakes can be seen more often. Maybe it is a similar pattern for the Adders?

[ian mcdonald]

Robert, the adders are shedding their winter skin now and getting ready for mating. The young are born in September and October. The adults look for a suitable place to hibernate in late Autumn. They spend the winter underground, quite often in holes near trees. The young have a poisonous bite even when small, although it is not usually fatal for humans. The adders eat small lizards and other small animals. They usually detect the approach of humans through the ground vibrations as we walk and scurry away into cover. If they have just come out of hiding and the weather is cool it takes them some time to warm up. The male I photographed was in the middle of the path and I nearly trod on it. Sometimes they will hold their ground and hiss at you. Three times I have had to make a small detour to avoid adders which would not give way. As with most wildlife, if you treat them with respect you can get some good views without conflict.

[Robert]

Ian,

Thanks for the information. 

My encounters with rattlesnakes is similar. Most of the time they move away quickly when humans approach. With cool weather, I often encounter them sunning themselves. Depending on the temperature they can be very sluggish. In our area, many people kill rattlesnakes when they see then. I never do this. They eat lots of rodents and are actually nice creatures to have around. The raptors will sometimes catch small rattlesnakes to eat.

[ian mcdonald]

Today was sunny and warm. The new pump is not working again. The wind turbine is still on the ground instead of on its mast, charging the batteries. As I was driving to the site I noticed some cars by the side of the road. There were people with telescopes so I stopped. In the field by the road were 14 Dotterel. On the site were many song birds, including blackcap, willow warbler, reed warbler, sedge warbler, whitethroat, chiff chaff and cettis warbler. An unusual visitor was a Whinchat. Hobbys were diving for prey and marsh harriers were hunting low. Several red deer were seen by a track and they ran off through the water into the wood. There were quite a few butterflies including large whites, brimstones, peacocks and a speckled wood. Birds today were, magpie, willow warbler, hobby, black headed gull, marsh harrier, whinchat, reed bunting, reed warbler, whitethroat, cuckoo, wood pigeon, crow, wren, mallard, blackbird, robin, chiffchaff, blackcap, pheasant, buzzard, grey lag geese, shoveler, cettis warbler, teal. The Dotterel were still in the field as I left.



Dotterel



Chaffinch



Whitethroat



Cigar gall on phragmites

[ian mcdonald]

Willow tit



Four spot chaser



The broken wind turbine waiting for someone to decide when to repair it.

[ian mcdonald]

Last week I heard then saw a bird I did not recognize. Talking to the bird recorder for the site today I described what I saw. He told me the bird I had seen was a Montagu,s Harrier. A first for me and not a common bird in the UK. Today was another hot and sunny start which then clouded over in the afternoon. I met someone who told me that there were several people at the "new" pump. They were trying to fix it again. In the end they left it running but it will still not perform as it should. I saw a roe deer as I entered the site and another one later on. There were hundreds of four spot chasers rising from the paths as I walked along. Six cranes were seen. The black headed gull colony was noisy. They have had to find another site as the preferred one is still under water. Quite a few Hobbys were hunting dragonflies. Several pairs of Tufted Duck were on a pool. Shovelers and a Shelduck were also seen. Both male and female Marsh Harriers were about. As I left I flushed a Buzzard from a ditch and it landed on some overhead wires. Many small birds were heard, including warblers of various kinds.



Common Crane.



Black Headed Gulls.



Tufted Duck.



Shoveler.

[ian mcdonald]

Flowers are starting to put in an appearance now.



Field Pansy, Viola arvensis.



Field Forget-me-not, Myosotis arvensis.



Water Boatman, found on the flooded track.



Buzzard.



I wondered what this was until I enlarged the photo. A cluster of catterpillars on a willow.



Birds today were, mallard, grey lag geese, blackcap, chiffchaff, marsh harrier, tufted duck, shoveler, whitethroat, cuckoo, wren, chaffinch, reed bunting, coot, black headed gull, linnet, sedge warbler, reed warbler, crane, wood pigeon, hobby, willow warbler, pheasant, kestrel, canada geese, shelduck.

[ian mcdonald]

Yesterday was dull with a cold wind. I met two other naturalists and we went looking for caterpillars. Many Lackeys, Malacosoma neustria, were seen in clusters. They spend their early life in tent-like structures. Scarce vapourer, Orgyia recens, an uncommon species in our area was seen in small numbers. Several Yellow Tails, Euproctis similis, were seen. One Garden Tiger, Arctia caja, was found.



Lackeys.



Scarce vapourer.



Yellow Tail.



Garden Tiger.

[ian mcdonald]

Also seen was a Drinker, Philudoria potatoria. Many Four Spot Chasers, Libellula quadrimaculata, were in the reeds, keeping out of the wind.



Drinker.



4-Spot Chaser.

Birds seen were black headed gulls, shoveler, tufted duck, mallard, teal, reed bunting, sedge warbler, marsh harrier, hobby, grey lag geese, swift, chaffinch, cuckoo, wren, blackcap, oyster catcher, roe deer and red deer.

On Saturday a party of Naturalists are visiting the site. Moth trappers are putting out Light Traps on Friday. I hope a wide range of Natural History groups will be represented.

[ian mcdonald]

Today I helped a couple of Botanists record the plants in old sand quarries in the area. Many plants were seen. The least common in our area were Shepherds Cress, Teesdalia nudicaulis. Spring Vetch, Vicia lathyroides ( a very tiny flower). Henbit Dead-nettle, Lamium amplexicaule. Also seen were several Small Coppers, Lycaena phlaeas. Also a Cinnabar moth.



Teesdalia.



Spring Vetch.



Henbit Dead-nettle.



Small Copper.