my local patch and wildlife - Ian McDonald

[ian mcdonald]

This week has been cooler and dull with rain at times. On Tuesday my colleague and myself decided to go and look at an old pit heap near the site. The heap has been there for many years and has evolved into an interesting landscape with different habitat types. The purpose of our visit was to look for moths. We did not find the two species my colleague hoped to see but did find more than twenty Crescent Plume Moths, Marasmarcha lunaedactyla, on Rest Harrow. These were first found at this site last year by my colleague and a friend who works for Natural England. On the way to this site we saw several Clouded Borders, Lomaspilis marginata. Another species seen was Shaded Broad Bar, Scotopteryx chenopodiata. Latticed Heath, Semiothisa clathrata, was also seen on vetch. Several Emerald Damsels were flying among bracken fronds. A whitethroat and a lesser whitethroat were singing from cover. Birds were not so plentyfull on the site but a declining species, Turtle Dove, was heard calling from a bush. An unusual find was a large Clematis tangutica growing over a fence along the track from the local site to the pit heap. As we were leaving the area my colleague saw a Little Egret flying past but I was too slow to turn and it had disappeared over some trees. Fern Grass was seen growing among a scatter of ballast in one place.  Last week I went to look at Greater Hay Rattle and noticed a black deposit on the leaves of one plant. Thinking it might be a Gall I sent a photo. of it to a Gall recorder. He said he didn,t think it was a gall and sent the picture to a Mycologist. He thought it was interesting and asked for some samples. Yesterday I collected some infected leaves from several plants and have sent them to the Mycologist. I also went to check the Epipactis dunensis on site and counted 18 flowering spikes among bracken and horsetail.  As I was leaving yesterday I saw a pair of Roe Deer in their usual area. As I watched them they ran off and the Doe easily cleared a baulk with heather growing on the top.

[ian mcdonald]

Crescent plume moth.



Clouded border.



Shaded broad bar.



Latticed heath.



Emerald damsel.

[ian mcdonald]

Turtle dove.



Clematis tangutica.



Fern grass.



Dune helleborine.



Cinnabar caterpillar on ragwort.

[ian mcdonald]

Hedge brown.



Sneezewort.



Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon seedhead.



Peacock caterpillars on nettle.



Green veined white.

[ian mcdonald]

Figwort.



Roe deer in high jump record bid.

Birds this week were, whitethroat, lesser whitethroat, cuckoo, turtle dove, magpie, chiff chaff, grey lag, lapwing, swift, heron, little egret, jay, tufted duck, mallard, marsh harrier, sedge warbler, long tailed tit, pigeon, crow, house martin and a pair of roe deer.

[Maggi Young]

Roe deer in high jump record bid.   

Bounce- Whee - Looks like the winner  to me!

I haven't  seen a  turtle dove here for  years. They were  never  frequent visitors but  it  was  lovely  to see  them once  in a  while. Used to see rock doves  from time to time  too, but  not  now. Collared doves  used to be  around  all the  time - again, not  now.  Changed days.

[ian mcdonald]

Maggi, maybe Peregrines are on the increase?

[Maggi Young]

Maggi, maybe Peregrines are on the increase?

Now  that's a  possibility- we  have  a  number  of  pairs  nesting  around the  city.

[Hoy]

Wouldn't mind any dove in my garden! We have a roosting pair og common wood pigeons outside our windows. They make a lot of noise!

Ian, I was about to ask of the figwort. Seems to be a shoreline figwort, not the common one? Here we only have the common one.

[ian mcdonald]

Trond, we have S. nodosa and S. auriculata. I was not paying too much attention due to looking for moths etc. Thats why I didn,t give it a specific name.

[ian mcdonald]

This week has been rainy, despite that my colleague and myself braved the elephants. The first day we went into one of the woods out of the direct rain. Progress was slow due to looking for invertebrates. Quite a number of fungi were seen including an interesting looking birch bracket with "frass" or similar, hanging underneath. Birds were few or they were keeping quiet. A Cettis Warbler was singing from a bush. A Peregrine was seen sitting on a small tree stump, waiting to chase something. A Lapwing with a juvenile was prodding the wet peat for insect food. Swifts have returned after an absence of several days. On our second visit this week, during low skies and drizzle, the swifts were joined by a good number of Sand Martins, House Martins and a few Swallows. Cuckoos are still calling from different parts of the site. Some small frogs were in the wood in wet areas. As we were leaving on the first day a pair of Cranes flew up from a field. The second visit was nearly called off due to the forecast of 80% chance of rain but reducing to 20% by afternoon. We decided to walk along a short path which is fairly dark due to trees on both sides. The weather being dull did not help with the photography of small moths etc. I saw a couple who were out walking and they told me they had seen three Egrets. Later, I was looking at plants along a track when I noticed two large Raptors. Looking through the binoculars at them, Marsh Harriers, I noticed in the background, two large white birds. Too far away for an identification. A flock of 66 Grey Lag Geese flew in and landed on one of the larger pools. A Little Grebe was also on the pool. Among the rushes at the far side of the pool a Wigeon was playing hide and seek. At the end of the dark track we found a single plant of a tall St.-Johns-Wort. This turned out to be Hypericum maculatum, Imperforate St.-Johns Wort. A new record for the site. Another new record was a single plant of Epipactis helleborine, Broad-leaved Helleborine. My colleague spotted a pink grasshopper. The unusual colour is said to be caused by genetic mutation. This is only the second time I have seen this.

[ashley]

... braved the elephants.

It's getting better & better Ian
Life would be duller without auto-correct.

I envy you seeing cranes so regularly, and well done on the new plant record.

[ian mcdonald]

Ashley, it,s surprising what a seemingly dull track can contain.



Birch Polypore with "attachments."



We are being watched.



Knapweed.



Part of the geese flock.



Rest harrow.

[ian mcdonald]

Spear Thistle.



Vapourer Caterpillar.



Argyresthia goedartella.








Imperforate St. Johns-wort, Hypericum maculatum.

[ian mcdonald]

Broad-leaved Helleborine, Epipactis helleborine.



Gipsywort, Lycopus europaeus.



Pale toadflax, Linaria repens.



Pink grasshopper.

Birds this week were, peregrine, black headed gull, lapwing, mallard, teal, grey lag geese, gadwall, chiff chaff, cettis warbler, blackcap, crow, swift, sedge warbler, tufted duck, linnet, cuckoo, whitethroat, chaffinch, blackbird, crane, marsh harrier, sand martin, swallow, little grebe, house martin, yellowhammer and wigeon. Butterflies were scarce owing to the wet weather and bees were feeding on thistles and knapweed but looking bedraggled.