Wildlife September - November 2012

[Anthony Darby]

That ones a spider, that ones a harvestman, that ones a spider, those two are harvestmen.  Not really that hard, Anthony. 

Of wait, you mean different TYPES of them. 

Yep, down to species level, and no not different types. About a hundred different spiders and six harvesters. Some spiders were instantly recognisable, but not the wee ones. In 1978 I spent £550 on a stereo microscope so I could identify them at home. Having decided the sex, you then looked at the reproductive parts and compared them with a drawing in one of two text books. One species, of which I caught the third Scottish specimen and first ever male, was actually described in British Spiders (Locket and Millidge) vols I & II as belonging to a different genus from the female! Volume three had sorted that out! Most of the spiders I caught were 2 mm long or less and were collectively known as money spiders! I collected from 85 pitfall traps set in 17 sites on Inchcailloch, and Island in Loch Lomond. The one time I had to row across to the island (I usually was ferried across in the post boat, but it was iced in) I took three pals from the honours lab, thinking many hands would make the job of collecting and refilling the traps (with formaldehyde and Teepol) easier. Fat chance! They vanished when we landed and ran off to play at commandos in the woods, occasionally bursting out of the trees to 'mow me down' in a hail of imaginary bullets!

[Paul T]

Impressive.  Fascinating that the male was thought to be a different species to the female in one case.

[Anthony Darby]

The distribution of the spiders was weird too. It suggested that these guys lived in the home counties and holidayed in northern Scotland, as several species were found in both areas but nowhere in between!  When volume two came out the female of Wideria polita was unknown. In 1970 Wunderlich discovered the male, then described as Erigone polita, was in fact the the male of Neriene incisa. Both genera were sunk into the genus Walckenaera, so the male Walckenaera polita became Walckenaera incisa. The names of these insignificant spiders are larger than they are, and yes, I would much rather have joined the commandos, even if they did miss the white fallow deer that live on the island!

[Paul T]

Anthony,

You were in your early 20s at the time I am assuming?  Given you were doing honours, I'm figuring not later post graduate?

[Anthony Darby]

No, not a post graduate, but the fourth year of an honours degree, and NZ Ministry of Education take note, this is a Scottish degree, not a fictitious "British conjoined honours degree". I was in my mid twenties then. Should have worked a bit harder.

[Anthony Darby]

These Eastern Rosellas didn't seem too bothered by Heidi and I on our afternoon stroll today.

[ronm]

Such a sad way to make an opening appearance, 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/9655994/Worlds-rarest-whale-seen-for-first-time.html

[Anthony Darby]

What a shame there is no picture. Five metres plus is a reasonable size of whale to been virtually unknown.

[Anthony Darby]

I wonder if this is the actual whale? http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/11/06/worlds-rarest-whale-seen-for-the-first-time-ever/

[TC]

The Waxwings have reached Ayr.  This afternoon we saw a group of 60 plus feeding on rowan berries in the car park opposite the station in the centre of town.
I hope they stay long enough to see them in sunshine.

[Lesley Cox]

How sad, only to see and identify a creature after it has died by whatever means. It would be great to think some more are still alive and swimming freely in the oceans. Perhaps they are best protected by never being seen by humans.

Talking of which, for the first time ever, yesterday I saw 4 shining cuckoos, a native species related to the northern hemisphere cuckoos but nothing much like them except that they heave out the eggs from the grey warblers' nests (which we also have in the garden) and replace with their own. I knew we had them because I hear their very distinctive call every day - a sort of rising whistle tew, tew, tew, a few times then a falling similar sound but hadn't seen them except a few years ago, a dead one which had crashed into a window which it thought it could fly through. We lived in what amounted to a large glass box, windows floor to ceiling on 3 sides and when the curtains were open in the day, many birds crashed, mostly tuis and pigeons but most sat stunned for a while then flew off.

Yesterday's quartet were in the beech tree singing madly then I saw (only in silhouette) 4 birds fly from the beech to the Turkey oak and the singing started again immediately, so the silhouettes MUST have been the shining cuckoos. The dead one was olive green on the top part of its body, lighter than a bellbird, creamy on the underparts with tan bars or stripes, a beautiful bird about the size of a thrush, maybe a little smaller.

[vanozzi]

Had a very welcome visitor last week to my garden

[Anthony Darby]

Wow.

[Paul T]

Paul,

Wow!  Given how rare they're becoming, that is pretty amazing.

[Lesley Cox]

Lucky you Paul. Do you have the right Eucalyptus species for him?