my local patch and wildlife - Ian McDonald

[Robert]

Hi Ian,

I am glad to hear that you are okay.

Here in the U.S.A. there is terrible violence all the time. I have to be very careful while out in the field. As I said, I try to stay "invisible". This is very necessary. For some reason, I look like an environmentalist which makes me a target for violence. I even have to watch out what I say. It is too easy to be completely misunderstood in the U.S.A. and be beaten. This is why I avoid people. I wish to stay alive. As an example, 2 days ago drug dealers tried to run over a little girl riding her bicycle on our street. They directed their speeding car directly at her from the rear. They came close but did not hit her. I saw the whole thing, so then they drove their car at me. I was able to get out of the way, but they turned around to see where I had gone. I was excepting them to pull their guns, but fortunately they sped away when others came out to see what was going on. This was the city of Sacramento where there is violence everyday, everywhere, even in the so called "good" neighborhoods. But there is even violence out in the wild. Here we need to be extremely careful everywhere. The violence is completely out of control. Only the mass shootings hit the international news.

[ian mcdonald]

There has been another fire on the site. Again, the nearest natural england employee to the site refused to attend. Today was warm and sunny. We went to count adders and found two males and a sloughed skin. Adders renew their skin prior to the mating season. After surveying the usual area for adders we decided to walk to a site for adders tongue fern, Ophioglossum vulgatum. The ferns were only just showing and the  fertile spike was not yet open. We will have to make another visit later. A yellow wagtail was heard calling as it flew over us. Because of the warm sun many butterflies were seen, mainly peacocks, also good numbers of orange tip. One of their foodplants, lady,s smock, was seen in a small ditch. A single small tortoishell was seen, also brimstones and speckled wood. We saw several large red damselflies, Pyrrhosoma nymphula,  the first of the year. Returning along one of the tracks we found several patches of barren strawberry, Potentilla sterilis. Roe deer and red deer were seen at a distance. There were good numbers of Green Tiger Beetles, Cicindela campestris, mostly on bare peat and some on old wood. Redshank were heard calling and we saw two fly from one pool to another. We had good views of a pair of marsh harriers. A single Bee Fly was seen. A few cowslips, Primula veris, were showing signs of possible frost damage to their flowers. Galls on birch, Betula pendula, were observed. These may have been caused by the gall mite, Acalitus calycophthirus.



Bee Fly.



Gall on silver birch.

[ian mcdonald]

One of the male adders with fresh markings.



Willow warbler.



Green tiger beetle.



Large red damselfly.



Small tortoiseshell.

[ian mcdonald]

Cowslips showing possible frost damage.



Adders tongue fern.







Barren strawberry.

Birds today were, song thrush, chiff chaff, teal, crane, mallard, shoveler, black headed gulls, buzzard, kestrel, reed bunting, linnet, stonechat, pheasant, crow, snipe, yellow wagtail, mallard, willow warbler, grey lag geese, canada geese, lapwing, wood pigeon, blackcap, shelduck, redshank, pied wagtail, jay, coot, black necked grebe, wren, marsh harrier and meadow pipit.

[ian mcdonald]

A mixed day yesterday which started out sunny then rain and thunder in late afternoon. More summer bird visitors are arriving. Whitethroat, cuckoo and sedge warbler were heard calling during the morning. One of us (with better hearing) recorded reed warbler and grasshopper warbler, later in the day.  We went along one of the smaller tracks and found a jumping spider, Evarcha falcata. This species is mainly southern in the uk. Later we found Agalenatea redii, another mainly southern species. Marsh harriers and buzzards were seen hunting, buzzards mainly higher up and the harriers were hoping to flush prey nearer the ground. Several cuckoo were calling from different areas and one was seen to fly past quite close. Cuckoos look like birds of prey when flying close by. A sedge warbler was calling from a stand of reeds by one of the tracks. Later in the year they are common on the site. A whitethroat was flying between small birch bushes, calling, giving the impression that several birds were present. A redshank was calling from a pool but was difficult to spot. Cettis warbler is still here but is very secretive, calling from dense cover. Water rail was heard in a ditch but again, it is a shy bird, preferring to hide among reeds and making a call which sounds more like a squeak.



An old log, which looked like a Dinosaur.



Evarcha falcata.



An interesting moss which I think is Aulacomnium palustre, Bog bead-moss.





Agalenatea redii.

Birds noted were, teal, grey lag goose, lapwing, meadow pipit, black headed gull, marsh harrier, buzzard, coot, little grebe, willow warbler, cuckoo, pheasant, crane, canada goose, shoveler, crow, stonechat, chiff chaff, blackcap, wren, garden warbler, reed warbler, grasshopper warbler, kestrel, tufted duck, blackbird, cettis warbler, redshank, great spotted woodpecker, water rail, shelduck, black necked grebe and reed bunting. Butterflies seen were peacock and speckled wood.

[ian mcdonald]

Yesterday was warm and sunny, today started out fine but there were heavy rain showers later in the day. When I arrived on site yesterday there was a group of bird watchers present. Someone had seen a Red Footed Falcon and put a message on the "net." We had good sightings of the bird. People were still turnng up today although the bird seemed to have left yesterday afternoon. A pity the people who put rare bird sightings on the internet don,t bother to tell people when it leaves. One chap was wet through as he had not bothered to take waterproofs with him.I visited a small site (privately owned) where scrub clearance took place during the winter. This was to encourage a rare plant to spread. Bushes had encroached onto the area and the shade was detrimental to the plants, which were down to just a few. The early result is encouraging. The species is a late flowerer, so we shall monitor the site through the year, more later. The Black-headed Gull colony is busy and noisy, something like an out of tune football crowd. One of the bird watchers noticed a Little Gull on one of the ponds. Smaller than black headed gulls and with a flight which resembled a Tern. A good number of Hobbys were seen, 19 according to one of the watchers. They do not stay long on the site, feeding up before making their way to breeding areas. Grasshopper warblers were heard reeling in vegetation. They seem to throw their voice and are not easy to see. Yesterday we saw a pair of Redshank and a Dunlin on a pool. The Redshank were there today but the Dunlin seemed to have moved on. A Yellow Wagtail landed nearby as we were scanning the pools, not a common bird here. A freshly dead male adder was found on the main track, killed by a vehicle whose driver must have been in a hurry. Several 4 spot chasers were seen yesterday and also hairy dragonflies were reported. Today a large number of House Martins were seen flying with Swallows and hunting over water. Also, 30 Swifts were seen passing through. Two Water Rails were heard serenading in a ditch, one a squeek and the other a persistent monotonous single note. A Cettis Warbler was heard calling a couple of times, after a long wait to see if it was still in its usual place. Also seen in the bushes were a pair of Blackcap which seemed to be gathering food and flying off to some un-seen nest site. We had noted a pair of Shelduck on a pool for some weeks. This morning they had re-located to another pool. This afternoon they had moved again and as I was watching them another pair flew in. This seemed to cause an issue and a squabble broke out between the two females and one of the males, while the second male just watched on. Four species of Butterfly were seen today, Brimstone, Speckled Wood, Orange Tip and Peacock. Flowers are still slow to show themselves but I did see Jack-by-the-Hedge, otherwise known as Garlic Mustard, Alliaria petiolata. This plant used to be a common site growing in hedge bottoms but in this area hedges are rarer than Dodos. This plant is a food source for Orange Tip and Green-veined White butterflies.

[Maggi Young]

Your reports are  a delight, Ian - it's good to know that such places still exist.

[ian mcdonald]

Site cleared for rare plant.



The brown stem is one of the plants.



Jack-by-the-Hedge.



Female Blackcap.



Dead adder.

[ian mcdonald]

Four-spot Chaser.



Caterpillar of the Lackey.



Two pairs of Shelduck.



An argument.



Shoveler.

[ian mcdonald]

Found by an Entomologist yesterday. Eggs of Galerucella lineola/ Lochmaea caprea, Willow Leaf Beetle.

Birds were, black headed gull, coot, mallard, little grebe, teal, tufted duck, shoveler, chiff chaff, cuckoo, little gull, red footed falcon, hobby, reed bunting, sedge warbler, grasshopper warbler, barn owl, kestrel, whitethroat, redshank, lapwing, willow warbler, marsh harrier, pheasant, wood pigeon, gadwall, dunlin, crane, yellow wagtail, song thrush, missel thrush, grey partridge, blackcap, swallow, stonechat, grey lag geese, shelduck, crow, wren, black necked grebes, robin, linnets, meadow pipits, buzzard, blackbird, chaffinch, moorhen, water rail, cettis warbler, blue tit, great tit, snipe? swifts, house martins. Butterflies were peacock, speckled wood, orange tip and brimstone. Also seen were red deer and roe deer.

[ArnoldT]

Here's two local shots of a praying mantis egg case placed on a box hedge  and a group of fungi growing out of some wood chip mulch.

[ian mcdonald]

Yesterday it rained all day so I stayed at home. Today the forecast was for rain in the afternoon. It was cold, dull and spotting with rain so I decided to chance it. The rain came in early afternoon so I came home early. I noticed two large gulls on one of the pools. The light was not good and I couldn,t make out their leg colours very well. I assume they were either lesser black backs or herring gulls. A buzzard was seen circling above as I walked down one of the paths to look for Scarce Vapourer caterpillars. I only found one caterpillar, sheltering from the weather, it was a Yellow Tail. A marsh harrier flew quite close while I was looking at an old area of peat workings, the recent rain has made the workings dangerous with much water. This is good for Sphagnum and other bog plants. The flowers are still late this year, due to the cold weather. Swifts, house martins and swallows were hunting low over pools, so insects must have been on the wing. Warblers were singing in many areas but they seem to have spread out across the site now. Cuckoos were calling in the distance. I went to look in one of the woods, out of the cold wind. Along the track I came across four different sedges growing close together. Carex pendula (pendulous sedge), Carex otrubae (false fox sedge), Carex flacca (glaucous sedge, more common in calcareous districts) and another sedge which may be either C. distans or C. binervis. Neither of the last two have been recorded here in recent times. I have sent a photo. to another botanist for her perusal.
It turns out that the sedge I was not sure about is indeed C. binervis. This sedge is more common on upland moors where it usually has fewer flowering stems and they are much taller than the ones found on this site. As far as I am aware it is a new record for the site and seems to be colonising our area.



A bee sheltering from the weather.



Yellow Tail caterpillar.



Lesser black backed gull?



Common frog.



Sedge Warbler.

[ian mcdonald]

Pendulous sedge.



Glaucous sedge.



As yet un-identified sedge.



One of the Black headed gulls sitting tight.



A dull view.

Birds seen today were, mallard, shoveler, grey lag geese, reed bunting, crow, marsh harrier, buzzard, pheasant, swift, swallow, house martin, linnet, black headed gull, lesser black back/herring gull, gadwall, whitethroat, wren, willow warbler, chiff chaff, sedge warbler, blackcap, cuckoo, stonechat, lapwing and wood pigeon.

[Robert]

Hi Ian,

I have finally gotten back to your diary. It seems you have had some fine outings lately. Thank you for taking the time to write and post photographs. I enjoy them immensely. 

I do have one question. I follow a number of meteorological teleconnections. I have been watching the North Atlantic Oscillation go through several seemingly extreme fluctuations over the last month or so. After running steady and positive from 15 January 2019 to ~ 17 April 2019, the North Atlantic Oscillation has made some quick somewhat high amplitude fluctuations in both the positive and negative directions up to today. Have there been any unusual swings in precipitation or temperature during the period 6 April 2019 through 12 May 2019 in your area?

All of this seem a bit unusual including the behaviour of the jetstream. The weather pattern here in California may turn rainy and cool for the next 5 to 6 days. It would not be the first time this has occurred in May, but it is very unusual. There has been some of odd weather patterns this year to date.

[ian mcdonald]

Hello Robert, you are right about un-usual weather patterns this spring. Last spring (2018) was quite a prolonged cold and wet one. This year we had warm days towards the end of February but this is not un-usual. However, this changed in March when we in this area, experienced cold and windy weather. In the UK we have a saying, March winds and April showers. It seems in the last couple of decades that the weather patterns can no longer be predictable, even in the UK where our weather is constantly changing. Apart from an odd day or two since early April it has been mostly cold and wet in this area. This has had an influence on flowering plants which seem to be later coming into flower. I don,t often look at weather forecasts but I noticed yesterday that our weather looks like it is coming from europe (east) when it mostly comes from the prevailing west winds. At the moment we are set for a few dry warmer days. We are not really surprised at the weather conditions in the UK. If rain clouds are formed over the Atlantic, then we have a lot of water to the west, with prevailing wind from that direction. Most of the rain falls along the western part of the UK, with the Pennine hills running North-South this means it is usually drier in our part of the country unless we get winds from the East. The Flora along the Western part of the UK contains a greater variety of ferns, mosses and lichens due to the milder, wetter climate there. I hope this is of some use to you.