my local patch and wildlife - Ian McDonald

[ian mcdonald]

There are still some plants of blue fleabane, E. acer with flowers.



Yellow-wort, Blackstonia perfoliata demonstrates its latin name.





Three green sandpipers and a snipe were on one of the small pools.



A dead adder was found along a track with damage to its head and tail.

[ian mcdonald]

Birds seen this week were, grey lags, teal, mallard, green sandpiper, kestrel, buzzard, bullfinch, siskin, canada geese, lapwing, chiff chaff, cettis warbler, great spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, blackcap, wren, blackbird, spotted flycatcher, heron, hobby, marsh harrier, pied wagtail, sparrowhawk, whitethroat, pheasant, crow, stonechat, reed bunting, blue tit, pigeon, snipe and egret.
Butterfies seen, small tortoishell, peacock, small white, comma, speckled wood, red admiral, meadow brown and common blue.
Yesterday I met a bird watcher who travels to the site from away. As we were talking he noticed a raptor coming into view. As we watched the bird it kept banking in the wind. We saw that it had white wings with black patches. It was either a hen harrier or montagu,s harrier.

[Hoy]

Who killed the adder do you think? It is illegal to kill snakes here but many people do.

[ian mcdonald]

Hello Trond, we don,t yet know what killed the adder. They are a protected species here as well. It may be sent for examination.

[ian mcdonald]

This weeks weather has been dry and warm. I was on my own on the first day as my colleague was at work. Birds were few. The usual mallards, teal and gadwall were on one of the large pools. A green sandpiper was on  the mud on another pool. Most flowers have now gone over but common centaury, yellow-wort, scarlet pimpernel and wild carrot are still in flower. Ragworts and groundsel are being visited by various hoverflies and butterflies. I saw what I thought was a Brimstone on ragwort flowers. When I got closer for a photo. it flew a short distance to another flower. Its upper wings, as it flew, were a bright orange-brown. Obviously not a Brimstone. I managed to get some fairly close-up photos. but its identity remained a mystery until I got home and looked in the butterfly book. It turned out to be a Clouded Yellow. I have not seen this species for many years.



Clouded Yellow, Colias croceus.

Several plants of Sticky Groundsel, Sencio viscosus were in flower. The leaves, when squeezed have a strong unpleasant smell and are sticky to the touch. Often, seeds of other plants stick to this groundsel.



Two large patches of Yellow Toadflax, Linaria vulgaris, are growing along one of the tracks.



Wrens are scattered all over the site and can often be heard giving their alarm call. They are usually hidden in bushes and other vegetation. I managed to photograph one in the open.



Some of the tracks still show signs of the narrow gauge railway that was used to transport peat off the site.

[ian mcdonald]

A green-veined white was seen feeding on fleabane.



Small reddish-brown fungi were growing on the track.



While I was sat with a drink I noticed a mining bee excavating a hole.



On my second visit this week my colleague and myself saw that many fungi were now in growth in a variety of colours and shapes. I think this one may be The Blusher, Amanita rubescens?



A slime mould? was growing on a track, under trees.

[ian mcdonald]

Small colonies of a Coprinus sp? were seen growing on one track.



Dead mans fingers on an old tree stump.



Some of the oaks were showing clusters of Silk Button Spangle Gall.



Boletus sp. were frequent along some of the tracks.



One of the tracks.

[ian mcdonald]

A tiny black fungus was growing on one path. It may be a species of Entoloma?



Another fungus was by the side of a wet ditch growing on moss.



Two dragonflies were seen mating.



Scarlet pimpernel, which my camera thinks is orange.

[ian mcdonald]

Another very small fungus on a path.



There were small colonies of a green fungus. I had to alter the camera settings to get the camera to record the shade of green. My colleague told me the common name for this species is Mouse Pee Fungus. It smells just like it.



This weeks birds were, teal, mallard, gadwall, crow, pigeon, lapwing, green sandpiper, wren, kestrel, peregrine, marsh harrier, meadow pipit, stonechat, sparrowhawk, swallow, buzzaed, great spotted woodpecker, goldcrest, lesser redpoll, snipe, long tailed tit, great tit, hobby, swift, blue tit, shoveler, wigeon, pheasant, stock dove, grey lag and common gull.
Butterflies, small white, peacock, speckled wood, brimstone, small tortoishell, clouded yellow, large white and green veined white.

[Robert]

Ian,

I enjoy your postings immensely. I am encouraged by your reports, especially when rarely reported species are observed. From your reports I get the impression that mowing is a frequently used management tool in some location. How does the adder population hold up to mowing? Do the adders have specific habitat preferences that are well known and not mown? I am very curious. It also appears that there are many locations at you site that would become densely wooded if given a chance. Perhaps this is a mistaken perception on my part. Anyway, I enjoy your postings and the excellent close-up photography.

[Leucogenes]

Hemistola chrysoprasaria ...?

[ian mcdonald]

Robert, the mowing is prioritised for way-marked paths. It sometimes happens that Adders which are slow to move out of the way are killed by the machine. In some other areas which are not mown we have found dead Adders with similar injuries. A group of people are looking into the cause of injury but we have not yet heard anything back from them. There are Hibernacula which are more remote from paths where Adder population studies are undertaken, usually in spring when they are emerging from Hibernation. This year the mowing regime has been reduced due to the virus. You are right in thinking that woodland is taking over the site, mainly Birch. The time and money spent on scrub clearance has made little, if any difference. I have just looked at a photo. I took in 2005 where only light short scrub is in one area. At ground level the view is very different now.

[ian mcdonald]

I was on my own this week as my colleague is working. The first day was sunny and hot, the temperature was around 27C. The second day was sunny with a light breeze.





Butterflies are still around, including Speckled Wood, Pararge aegeria.



Along a track I came across an adder basking in the grass.



Some of the drains are overgrown with vegetation, such as Reed Sweet-grass, Glyceria maxima.

[ian mcdonald]

While I was sat with a cold drink a beetle landed next to me, a species of Water Beetle.



Some species of what I think may be Puffballs are now showing, Lycoperdon sp?



On calm days there is hardly a ripple on the pools.



I heard cranes calling in the distance. I saw them a good way off as they were flying towards me. They saw me and kept circling, eventually they flew right past. They make what I think may be an alarm call. It sounds similar to a frogs call.



Red Bartsia, Odontites verna is still flowering along the tracks.

[ian mcdonald]

One of the tracks in a remote part of the site.



Being a large site and close to sea level the views, when not obscured by scrub, are large.



This track is bordered by Birch, Betula pendula, and looks like a tunnel.



Groups of Pink-footed Geese have started to arrive.



Yellow-wort, Blackstonia perfoliata, whose flowers open when it is sunny , are putting on a display.