A Waldridge Naturalist

A couple of moths and a Bumblebee

2012-03-03T21:56:00.000Z

A misty, damp night but a Pale Brindled Beauty and 3 Hebrew Character moths were in the trap this morning. Several local Tawny Owl were calling when I was going through the contents, as they had been all night. and a Great spotted Woodpecker in the paddock drummed most of this time.

Hebrew Character

Pale Brindled Beauty

Busy most of the day so the only other things of note were a queen Red-tailed Bumblebee in the garden, a flyover Lapwing and a singing Skylark along Beany Lane.

Moths at last

2012-03-01T21:11:00.000Z

A nice sunny morning and though it was nearly cloudless last night and the temperature dropped to 2.1C, I still put the trap out. At long last I saw some moths in 2012. Five to be exact, of 4 species - the micro Tortricodes alternella, plus 2 Oak Beauty and single March Moth and Yellow-horned Moth.

Yellow-horned Moth

March Moth

Oak Beauty

The local Tawny Owls have started to call as if they mean it at long last too. They have been relatively quiet so far this year, unlike both Great-spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch that have been particularly conspicuous of late. I am concerned on the lack of Green Woodpeckers, I mentioned it last year and it's getting worse. Their numbers here have crashed of late. Only a few years ago there were 5-7 pairs within a short walk of the house. I have yet to even hear one this year so far. Last night I added another mammal to the year list with a Brown Rat in the town centre.

Goldfinch in garden

Bryophytes in the garden

2012-02-27T20:45:00.000Z

After Saturdays field trip with the British Bryological Society, yesterday was mainly spent trying to put what I learnt into practice. The field trip was very enjoyable, and with there being only five attendees there was plenty of time to learn quite a bit about the commoner urban mosses and liverworts. The plan was to survey the 1km square (now called a monad) around Ilford road Metro station. It included a corner of Newcastle town moor, South Gosforth Park and many, many walls. An hour after we started we still hadn't progressed beyond the confines of the station, and were on our hands and knees looking through magnifying glasses at mosses, much to the amazement of commuters I may add. One was even taking photographs us. Like I said, very enjoyable and we managed to find & identify 32 species, all common urban ones but excellent learning for a beginner like me.
So yesterday saw me in the garden most of the day slowly identifying the bryophytes on the lawn, on stones, fence-posts and in the greenhouse guttering. Eventually I was happy after checking them through the microscope and field guide to fairly confidently claim the following.
Rough-stalked Feather-moss (Brachythecium rutabulum)
Common Feather-moss (Kindbergia praelonga)
Redshank Moss (Ceratodon purpureus)
Grey-cushioned Grimmia (Grimmia pulvinata)
Common Liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha)
and
Crescent-cup Liverwort (Lunularia cruciata).

Six species, took me quite some time to wade through but it's a start.

Three Mosses (top to bottom)

Grey-cushioned Grimmia
Crescent-cup Liverwort
Rough-stalked Feather-moss

I did have a short walk in the afternoon through South Burn Wood but I generally left the mosses there for another day. Several Willow Tit and a Nuthatch were the best birds of the day with the now seemingly ubiquitous flock of Long-tailed Tit. My first Lesser Celandine flower of the year here at Waldridge (its been in flower since early January in Sunderland) was present, as was the small group of naturalised, for 10+ years at least, Winter Aconite.

The most unusual sight was a group of 7 male Greenfinch perched in a 2 metre tall Sycamore. They were all singing and doing short song-flighting despite the lack of a female and there was no sign of any territorial behaviour. They reminded me of a group of lads on a street corner, just hanging about and showing off to each other.

The Wood Mouse in the garden continues to perform well on the lawn under the bird table. I say the, this morning there were two of them feeding and chasing each other, and completely ignoring the Blackbirds, Robin, Dunnock and Chaffinch feeding on the ground nearby.

One Mouse, one Bee

2012-02-25T00:18:00.000Z

I have been a bit poorly, but now a good bit better, just as the weather is starting to warm up. It was 12C overnight so I had to put the moth trap out. I switched it off at midnight but it was still empty by then.
This morning I had just returned indoors having put some food out for the birds when our regular Wood Mouse appeared and started to scoff the seeds on the ground and put on a fine show.

Our Wood Mouse

A Song Thrush was also an early visitor as it was still dark at this point. I know some butterflies have been seen in the county this week and hoped one might put in an appearance at some point today but apparently I am going to have to wait. I will not have to wait for my first Bumblebee however as a queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee was seen feeding on the garden Daffodils.

Song Thrush in the garden

Running about all over the place

2012-02-12T20:01:00.000Z

Not much on my walk around the fell today but not surprising as there was a meeting of the Northern Navigators Orienteering Club with all the car parks full and people running all over the place. The paths are very muddy and thats before they start doing what they do and despite it being 6C all the pools are still frozen so no chance of any Snipe.
Several Great spotted Woodpeckers were drumming but rather worrying I have still to get Green Woodpecker here this year. They have been rapidly declining the past few years in the area. A Tree-creeper in Felledge wood was new for the year however. Willow Tits were also very vocal with birds at 3 different spots in the Daisy Hill area alone. 32 Common Gull along Beaney Lane may well be already on the move back north.

One of today's Great spotted Woodpeckers

Back in the garden, one male Blackbird has included the garden in his territory and is currently seeing off any rivals and not only other male Blackbirds. He is also getting bolder coming right up to the patio door.

The Boss

Unconfirmed reports and swan mauling

2012-02-11T20:27:00.001Z

I just don't like Februarys, I don't really know why, I just don't. It would certainly go into my Room 101. I just can't seem to get any enthusiasm going and with the weather being so windy/cold/wet it seems to be an easy excuse to not bother. January and the start of new lists is fine and by March spring is in the air, but February .... not really. But today I made the effort and went out.
A flock of 80 or so Siskin flew over the house as I was getting my things together and it was just below freezing, so things looked promising. What also got me going were a couple of 'unconfirmed reports' of a female Mandarin and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker down the riverside. Both had been looked for subsequently but to no avail.

Salix fragilis aka Crack Willow for an obvious reason

Anyway I went to the river to look for myself, and also failed to see either. I must be honest, where the woodpecker was reported does look spot on for them, and it would be a patch tick for me.
The trees did have quite a few birds in them including a flock of 30 Lesser Redpoll and a small tit flock including Long-tailed Tit and Nuthatch. A Dipper was singing here on the Lumley Park Burn and a Grey Wagtail flew over.

Song Thrush in the woods

I walked back to the Riverside Park just in time to see a Redshank flying up river. A good bird for here, I did not see one on my patch at all last year and so new for the Blog too. At the Riverside Park there was a mass of waterfowl

Waterfowl at the riverside

and gulls including 91 Tufted Duck, 5 Goosander and the winter resident Pink-footed Goose and Yorkshire Whooper Swan.

Pink-footed Goose

Gulls included a high count of 76 Herring Gull and nearly 400 Black-headed Gull.

Black-headed Gulls

A Kingfisher flew up river, then it all went a bit horrid.

A dog ran off from it's owner and attacked one, then another of the Mute Swans. Pandemonium broke out as everything scattered and the dog charged into the river to attack a third swan. Shouts of 'Bruno, Bruno' had no effect as it grabbed the wing of a Mute Swan which managed to escape leaving a mouthful of flight feathers in the mad dog's mouth. Kiddie's who had been watching and feeding the swans were now screaming and being whisked away by their parents before they were traumatised anymore. Bruno then swam towards the Whooper Swan which turned around to face it and raised it's wings in anger but it was no match for a savage dog. Fortunately our swan from Yorkshire got away with the loss of only a few feathers. The dog continued to paddle after the swans until it was presumably too exhaused and swam back to it's owner and they made a hasty retreat.

Bruno about to attack it's third swan

Yorkshire Whooper attempts to fend offthe mad dog

Snowdrop

Nothing new on the flowers but some nice groups of Snowdrops in the riverside woods and a few small patches of naturalised Winter Aconite were just coming into flower in the park.

During the week I did manage to get one interesting record. I was tidying up in the greenhouse and lifted up a some pots that were lying under the staging when out flew a Peacock butterfly. Obviously I had just disturbed it's hibernation. It flapped around a bit but I managed to get it back in a pot and put it back where it came from. It was only later that I remembered exactly the same thing happened in November, presumably with this same individual. The poor thing is not getting much in
the way of a winter rest.

Winter Aconite

Flowering plants    27
Birds            65
Butterflies        1

Spotting a near miss Roe

2012-01-29T22:24:00.000Z

Cold and frosty, -0.2C when I left this morning having already heard a Tawny Owl calling in the Hermitage Woods. Three Grey Lag Geese flew over at dawn. A surprising amount of bird song with Mistle Thrush, Blackbird, Robin, Collared Dove, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Chaffinch all doing a bit of the vocals first thing. Jays were particulary conspicious today having a number of the usual fleeting glimpses as were Bullfinch.

3 Grey Lag Geese at dawn

A Willow Tit was in the South Burn Woods, remaining hidden for most of its time but calling frequently, where the second new bird of the year flew over in the form of two Crossbill, which landed in the Sitka Spruce plantation.
I see Roe Deer not uncommonly on the fell, but I had two sightings today. Firstly 2 females, distantly beyond the far fence of Wanister Bog, then with a few walkers we watched a young one run across Waldridge Lane in front of, (though thankfully missing), a car.
The temperature just poked it's nose above zero by the time I returned home.
Birds now at 62 for the year

Still here

2012-01-28T21:25:00.000Z

No I haven't died, I'm still here, but I have not seen anything of note the last couple of weeks. 10 Grey Partridge along Beaney Lane and Ivy-leaved Speedwell and Petty Spurge being the only things of even slight interest, the 2 plants pushing the January flower total to a meagre 26.

Today was no better. Beaney Lane had a huge flock of Wood Pigeon, well over 200, feeding in the fields and a Great spotted Woodpecker was calling by the house. This weekend is the RSPB garden Birdwatch weekend but the garden had nothing more than a few Wood Pigeon and a couple of Dunnocks, Blackbirds and Robins. A Wood Mouse did show briefly to bring a little variety in the sightings. Forecast is cold tomorrow but at least its not strong winds or heavy rain so it will be nice to get out and try and see something.

Frosty Crocus & Snowdrops

2012-01-14T17:06:00.000Z

A heavy frost overnight still lingering this morning. There was no point putting the trap out last night, though I did a few nights ago. However, even though the minimum temperature was a sweltery 8.9C, there was virtually no cloud early on and a near full moon. The result was not surprising, zero.

A few flowers and birds added but not much in the way of quality - Early Crocus and Snowdrop, two garden escapes but quite well established were in flower on the fell. Also added were a few more 'weedy plants', Hairy Bittercress, Nipplewort and Autumnal Hawkbit. Three more birds were also noted, Song Thrush, Nuthatch and Coal Tit.

Hopefully, a bit more time in the field tomorrow will reap better rewards

60 species of bird
and
24 species of flowering plant.

A couple more grabbed

2012-01-08T22:02:00.000Z

Off site most of the day but before I left I managed to grab another two. A Great-spotted Woodpecker flew over the house and by the A167 as I passed the sewage works at the riverside, an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull flew over. This is an excellent spot for winter LBBGs, I have had them here in winter on a good number of occassions before.

A Reed Bunting showed well in the hedge by the house when I got back.

Cock Reed Bunting

57 species of bird

Plodding away

2012-01-07T22:52:00.000Z

The wind dropped a bit for most of the day, though it did have it moments, and that allowed to get 11 species of bird new for the year. but still no Song Thrush, Coal Tit etc.
There have been some White-fronts and a Bean Goose not too far away in Gateshead and yesterday were seen to arrive from 'towards Chester-le-Street' so most of the time was spent checking the fields. I though the Tribly farm ponds area might have them, but of sourse they didn't. Still 2 Grey Lag and a Teal were new for the year here. 1, probably 2 Common Buzzard were over the fell which also had Sparrowhawk and Kestrel. An immature Grey Heron and 14 Lapwing flew over and a small flock of mixed Redwing and Fieldfare were feeding on the Rowan trees. Grey Partridge and 2 Stock Dove made up the rest of the new birds.

Redwing

Common Buzzard

Plodding away at the wild flowers and Herb-Robin, Hazel, Ox-eye Daisy and Oil-seed Rape were all found today.

Hazel catkins

55 species of bird
and
19 species of flowering plant.

Still struggling

2012-01-05T21:02:00.000Z

Still very windy the last few days and this has meant the only new bird was a Grey Wagtail fly over.
Struggling, but managed a few more plants for the year, all very common things - Red Clover, Hogweed, Thale Cress, Scentless Mayweed and Ivy-leaved Toadflax - roll on the weekend and a drop in the wind (if only).

Scentless Mayweed

Red Clover

44 species of bird (I was on 73 at this time last year)
and
15 species of flowering plant.

Weather 2 Naturalist nil

2012-01-02T23:35:00.000Z

Only had an hour or so to spare today and so just time for a quick walk around the Fell. I was only out for about 2 minutes when I fell like a big sack of tatties on my backside on the icy path. Only my pride was hurt and luckily no one saw me so I spent a few minutes regaining my composure before continuing. The (additional) fat on my rear end gained with all that eating and drinking over the festive period obviously cushioned the fall. But the ice also meant the ponds and much of the heath were frozen so no Snipe to be flushed today. In fact I struggled to get 6 species - Curlew, Reed Bunting, Bullfinch, Lesser Redpoll, Willow Tit and Long-tailed Tit but that was it. Ironically, a party of the latter were on the bird table when I returned home.

On the flora front, I added Annual Meadow-grass, Dandelion, Gorse and Cow Parsley (the Former and latter are species I did not see in December).

43 species of bird
and
10 species of flowering plant.

So soaked yesterday, crashed on the ice today, can't wait until tomorrow in the strong winds forecast.

A drowned rat

2012-01-01T17:47:00.000Z

Not a new mammal for the year but what I apparently looked like when I returned home from my walk about this morning. Apart from at first light, it rained non-stop when I was out. I got absolutely soaked. Not surprisingly this did not help getting anything like a decent list. In fact, it was pretty poor at 37.
The usual birds were down the riverside but elsewhere there was hardly a thing to be seen. 3 Pink-footed Geese were by the river which had 4 Goosander and a Dipper but no Kingfisher today, despite a kindly local dog walker telling me he saw one here and photographed it just the other day.

3 Pink-feet

Walking back along from the Riverside Park and through the woods by the A167 I saw nothing and I mean nothing, not even a waterprood gull flying over. Eventually I saw something, a male Pheasant, remarkably dry, especially compared to me. Passerines were virtuually non-existant, no Song Thrush, Redwing, Coal Tit, Woodpecker etc through I did see Goldcrest at 4 different spots.
A few plants were seen in flower today, despite the weather but did include a Dog Rose (Rosa canina) on the railway embankment. This is one species I didn't see last month.

So it finished with a total of
37 species of bird
and
6 species of flowering plant.

Oh and did I mention I got soaked .... Happy 2012

And that's it for another year

2011-12-31T16:16:00.001Z

Christmas is over and hopefully so is the stress. The weather, as well as my Mother getting taken into hospital with pneumonia just before Christmas, together with the lousy weather resulted in a very poor end to the year. It was also very sad to learn that a local birder, Brian Unwin, died two days ago after a long fight with cancer. I have known him for a very long time including finding the county's only Collared Pratincole together, me seeing my first Bonaparte's Gull following a message left by him of a 'Napoleon Gull' at Teesside and working together on the local Newspaper.

But hopefully things will get better, tomorrow is another year and hopefully a good one for natural history observations here at Waldridge. The plan is to be up early in the morning, walk down to the riverside, check along the river and then the Chester Dene and Hermitage Woods, walking over the back of Plawsworth to the south end of Felledge Wood, over the Fell, checking the Tribley farm ponds, back through the Cong Burn Woods and the village then South Burn Wood and home.

So the Waldridge lists finished at -

Flowering plants    339
Birds            106
Moths            246
Butterflies        20
Dragonflies        8
Hoverflies        14
Mammals            10
Bumblebees        6
Fungi            13

Plus I scraped together 31 species of plant in flower in December.

Tomorrow - its start again

Collared Dove on the bird table

The only things of note the last few days were a dark Common Buzzard seen on 27th by the A1(M) Chester slip road and regular visits by a pair of Collared Dove to the bird table.

On the icy riverbank

2011-12-18T15:54:00.000Z

Icy and cold, not much chance of anything on the fell so I had a little wander down to the river at the park. I hoped there may be a plant or two where it could be a bit milder on the riverbanks, but they were just as fozen as the fell. In fact the footpath there was so icy it was treacherous. No new plants were noted so I had a play with the camera. The Whooper Swan from last winter which had been rung at York [see my note] has returned and if anything is tamer.

all the way from ... York

Last winter's Pink-footed Goose has also returned but there are only 2 Canada Geese present which he (or she) associated with so this year it's on it's own, on the grass bank on the park side of the river.

Pink-footed Goose

The river also held 41 Tufted Duck including a particulary noticable male with some grey in its flanks. It's normal Tufted Duck bill and head colour I think rules out any hybrid origins.

Usual and grey flanked Tufted Ducks

12 Goosander, 120 Mallard,

Goosander

Grey Heron in riverside Willow
a Grey Heron and a couple of Cormorant made up the rest of the birds present,

Common Gull
though there there were in excess of 350 Black-headed Gull, plus a few Common, Herring and Great Black-backed Gull also there.

Herring Gull

On the path by the nearby sewage works (which had 25 Pied Wagtail and a single Grey Wagtail) , 5 Bullfinch were hopping around or feeding on the adjacent weeds, with 5 Goldfinch and a couple each of Goldcrest, Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tit in the adjacent trees.

Pair of Bullfinch

Great Tit

Car parks and flowerbeds

2011-12-15T21:36:00.000Z

Frost in the mornings and the days continuing to get shorter (for another week) so not much chance of seeing anything of note. If however you see some strange soul with his head down looking in empty council flowerbeds and cracks in the pavement in the half-light, then its probably me. If it's not then they need locking up. So I'm still looking for more plants in flower and even managed another two today thanks to those said pavements and flowerbeds. The two in question, both very common species -
Black Medick Medicago lupulina
and
Creeping Buttercup Ranunculus repens

The list creeps on to 31 for the month

More Hogweed, with a few flowers

Black Medick

Creeping Buttercup

It's as Bjork said

2011-12-13T10:25:00.000Z

As Bjork sung in her 1995 hit 'Its Oh so quiet' - at least on the Natural History front in the Waldridge area it is. Admittedly I have not put in much time but even so, I have seen very little.
A flock of 40 Curlew was the best of the birds, again probably coming from their roost at Washington to feed on the fields between the village and Hett Hills.
Only managed to find another 2 species of plant in flower these past few days -Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
and
White Campion (Silene latifolia)
The list goes to 29 for this month

Rain, hail, frost, snow and wind

2011-12-07T22:04:00.000Z

Bit busy on the weather front and had one or more of rain, hail, frost, snow and wind the last few days, though none lasted very long, one of the others soon followed. I have seen no birds worth mentioning at all.

Desperately trying to add a few plants in flower to the list and managed, with some determination I may add, five new species -

Cow Parsley Anthriscus sylvestris - in full flower but with a flowering stem of only about 9 inches.

Herb-Robert Geranium robertianum - flowering in both a sheltered hedgerow and along the main East coats railway line

Sticky Groundsel Senecio viscosus- under a wall in the town centre

Common Field-speedwell Veronica persica - on a field edge

and

White Deadnettle Lamium album - obvious very near the house, don't know how I missed it here earlier.

Herb-Robert (top) and Sticky Groundsel

The total now 27 species.

Record breakers

2011-12-04T20:36:00.000Z

Managed to get another three species of plant in flower today, all very common, but they all count.

Knotgrass Polygonum aviculare
Oil-seed Rape Brassica napus subsp. oleifera
Common Chickweed Stellaria media

Knotgrass

Which puts me on 22 species.

Despite the nasty weather, there was even had a little snow flurry today, there are still a few things in flower in the garden, uncountable of course, but also in one particular case rather unusual. This is Spring Starflower Ipheion uniflorum, as it's name suggests, it flowers in spring but this year, two clumps are currently flowering, and have been for about a month, for the first time ever at the back of the year.

Spring Starflower in winter

Very little bird wise but still a a fair few Fieldfare and a couple of Redwing in the hedges and Robins seemed to more noticable than usual. 3 Golden Plover flew over were the best birds.

Robin - particularly noticeable today

I heard via another birder that the county recorder has said that the White-fronted Geese I got yesterday were the largest flock ever seen in the county. This species, together with Bean Geese and Short-eared Owls and to a lesser extent, Hen Harrier and Bewick's Swan have have all been part of an unusal influx of birds from the near-continent into the noirth-east. With flocks of 40 and 60+ White-fronted Geese hanging around in the county, and more birds appearing (arriving?), I don't think my record will last for very long all the same.

Mr. Grumpy gets some White-fronts

2011-12-03T21:29:00.000Z

Had some light to look for some wild flowers today but today's excuses are that there was a 23mph hour westerly wind with heavy rain showers and even some sleet and hail that covered everything for a few minutes. With 2 days of frost I was never going to see much so foolishly left my camera in the house. What's a grumbling old sod I am these days!

A walk around despite everything I just said did find me some flowers, 11 to be exact, these being -
Ivy-leaved Toadflax    Cymbalaria muralis
Hogweed                    Heracleum sphondylium
Autumn Hawkbit            Leontodon autumnalis
Oxford Ragwort            Senecio squalidus
Common Groundsel    Senecio vulgaris
Feverfew        Tanacetum parthenium
Common Dandelion    Taraxacum aggregate
Scentless Mayweed    Tripleurospermum inodorum
Wild Angelica            Angelica sylvestris
Hairy Bittercress    Cardamine hirsuta
Meadow Buttercup    Ranunculus acris

Which puts me on 19 species.

Bird-wise it was very quiet and the light was going fast but then at 15:10 I was looking back over the fell towards Nettlesworth when I picked up a skien of geese heading slowly into the wind, generally WNW in my direction. The long V skien contained about 85 birds and I was wondering if they might be White-fronts when I saw the black lines and patches on the belly. They were indeed White-fronted Geese, new for Waldridge. With no new birds for the year for ages, two in two days.

Plus one Peregrine = minus one Pigeon

2011-12-02T19:17:00.000Z

The main corvid roost around Waldridge is at North Lodge between here and Birtley and I suspect most of the local Jackdaws and Rooks go there. I usually see a couple of hundred Jackdaws and a smaller number of Rooks at dawn or dusk on route to or from that direction. This morning, in the town centre however, there were many more than usual, mainly Jackdaws but well over 1000 birds in total, over the town centre at first light. They were soaring around, as opposed to heading to their usual feeding grounds. Then the resident flock of Feral Pigeons took off followed by a fair few of the Pied Wagtails that roost on the Morrisons (formerly Co-op) building. A few seconds later I saw the reason as a Peregrine swooped down from the gloom, hit a pigeon in mid-air, grabbed it in one talon, stalled and then consolidated it's hold with the other foot and shot off southwards. Nice little start to the day.
Still botanising in the dark but managed another 4 species, now on 8!

Shepherd's-purse Capsella bursa-pastoris
Nipplewort Lapsana communis
Smooth Sow-thistle Sonchus oleraceus
Petty Spurge Euphorbia peplus

Oh for the daylight of the tomorrow.

Flowers in the dark

2011-12-01T20:22:00.000Z

Dark when I left for work and dark when I came back so not unexpectedly my start for my wild flower winter month's count was pretty rubbish. Having said that I don't recall ever looking for flowering plants in the dark before! I could have added some more but I am going to stick to my patch, so the list just managed to get going with the grand total of 4 species in flower -
Daisy    Bellis perennis
Common Ragwort    Senecio jacobaea
Gorse    Ulex europaeus
Red Clover    Trifolium pratense

Winter months count preparation

2011-11-30T22:32:00.000Z

On strike today so had a bit of time to get out on the fell except a), it was raining and b). by the time it stopped the light was fading. I did manage to have a walk through the woods but the light really was very poor and after being out a short while I realised that most of the birds had gone to roost.
Earlier this the week I was tiding up the empty plant pots that had accumulated in one corner of the garden and out flew from one of them was a Peacock butterfly, no doubt disturbed from its hibernation.
Back to today, I did find a roving tit flock with Blue, Great, Coal and a single Willow Tit, 2 Goldcrest, 8 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Lesser Redpoll and 2 Bullfinch. Walking along Waldridge Lane, a Woodcock flew over and a Jay called in the woods. It was nice to see the Highland Cattle back on Wanister Bog, they did a grand job last winter, the bog looked better this summer than for many years.

A few fungi seen today including Birch Polypore, Turkey-tail (variable-coloured) Bracket Fungi, Beefsteak fungi and a couple still to identify.

Beefsteak Fungi

Turkey-tail Fungi

I have been a member of the Wild Flower Society for many years now and one of the things they encourage is the Winter Months Hunt. This is to see how many plants you can see in flower in the months of December, January and February. Being in the bleak north of course you cannot compete with the southern half of the country and even less with those in the Channel Islands. Never the less I usually have a go though with all the snow last year I obviously did not bother. I saw a few still in flower as I walked around today so used the walk as a bit of reconnaissance and will give it a go this winter, starting tomorrow. Wild Angelica was still in flower in South Burn Woods so hopefully will remain in flower for me to count it, probably at the weekend.

Wild Angelica

The first but I'm not that chuffed

2011-11-25T20:22:00.001Z

Bird-wise, several groups of Redwing continued to fly over but yesterday's reported group of three White-fronted Geese at Great Lumley were not reported until after dark and there were not a sniff of them this morning. 2 Goosander flying over was the best, A Winter Moth was on the window on Wednesday night and several more were seen in the headlights along Waldridge Lane lats night.

My records of Grey Squirrel at Waldridge have been gradually getting closer and closer to the house, so it was only a matter of time when the first was seen in the garden. I was off work today and there sitting on the bird table first thing, stuffing himself with the birdseed, Mr. Grey Tufty himself, the first Grey Squirrel for the garden. Right, how can I deter him?

Grey Squirrel - My first (but not the last) for the garden

Flowers and Hoverflies in the mist

2011-11-20T20:52:00.000Z

My little stroll today was in a rather cold 6.8C, it was sunny but I wasn't out too long before the fog rolled in and and visibility so poor I had to turn around. However sightings started early, becauae as I left, on the south wall of the house I found a Eristalis pertinax hoverfly, sunning itself, my latest ever.

Eristalis pertinax - a late one on the house wall

A few species of plant continue to flower, today I saw Feverfew, Hogweed, Ivy and of course, Gorse. The Ivy was still attracting a few insects that were hanging on, mainly flies but also 2 more Eristalis pertinax. Not many birds about, but more small groups of Long-tailed Tits, Lesser Redpoll and Siskin and a Grey Heron flew over. The former seem to have not only survived last winter but have had an excellent breeding season subsequently. They are commoner around Waldridge than their Blue and Great cousins at the moment. Raptors don't like the mist and cold particularly, so a list today of 2 Kestrel, a Sparrow-hawk and a Common Buzzard was somewhat surprising. A Goldcrest by Brass Castle Pond and 6 Redwing overhead in the mist on my way back were seen before I called it a day.

Nothing but a foriegn moth ... probably

2011-11-18T14:36:00.000Z

I'm haven't been dead, ill or even lost, this is my first post for a while simply because I've had so little time and subsequently seen virtually zero. Admittedly I was tempted away off-site into Northumberland to see a Greater Yellowlegs and a Grey Phalarope last weekend but that wasn't Waldridge so it does not count. Yes I confess I went twitching

I had a half hour walk last week but saw very little, it was early afternoon and it was already getting dark. The bit of sun earlier had produced a Red Admiral (this was the 12th November) and others were seen in Gateshead the same day. The walk itself produced nothing better than a Goldcrest, a few Siskin and Lesser Redpoll and three small groups of Long-tailed Tit. A few plants were still flowering with Dame's-violet and Cow Parsley being particularly late.

The best thing of the past couple of weeks was actually seen by someone else, goes back to September and wasn't even in Waldridge, but I think it's very interesting. So if you like detective stories, read on.

A lady from Low Fell in Gateshead sent a photograph of a moth found inside her house and this was passed to me to see if I could name it. Apparently "15-20mm from nose to end of wing and the 'almost crimped edges to the wing were lovely'". My attempts to identify it failed completely - I couldn't even get it down to a family. Was it some accidental import or was I just rubbish?

The mystery alien moth

To answer the question I posted it onto the north-east Moth Forum to see what others thought. Everyone seemed stumped so the county moth recorder emailed Martin Honey at the Natural History Museum and other county moth recorders.

Investigations are continuing but it appears to be a species of Cryptolechia probably the 4th for the UK, (another from Durham, one from Hampshire and one from Suffolk most likely from South Africa imported on flowers, possibly dried. The lady finding this one confirmed she had bought some dried flowers originating from South Africa weeks earlier.

The tale of the Suffolk specimen (which looks very similar indeed) was re-told by Tony Pritchard, the Suffolk County Recorder that was reported to him by the finder -

“However, the biggest piece of news to come out of Woolpit stems not from the trap but from the lounge curtains. A strange place to look for moths you might think? It all dates back to the 21st October when I stumbled across a rather strange looking moth sitting on the mat below said curtains. It looked nothing like any moth I had ever seen before. It was duly photographed and the image sent to a few group members who were equally stumped. Anyway, to cut a long story short, the moth was exhibited at the BENHS Exhibition in London where at first it generated little interest. That was until someone suggested that it could be a 'micro' moth from Asia or Australasia. Martin Honey from the Natural History Museum was invited to have a look and he recalled having seen something similar but couldn't place it. After a quick chat both the moth and pupal case were donated to the NHM in the hope that a positive identification could be secured.

That evening I tried to thing of anything unusual that had been in the house. All I could come up with was a somewhat 'woody' bouquet of flowers that had been given to my wife a few weeks before hand. Further investigation the next day revealed that the flowers had come from Marks & Spencer's where they had been sold under the name of 'Cape Flora'. The news was quickly relayed to Martin who replied by saying that he had already come to the independent conclusion that my moth was, indeed, South African in origin. Further more, he had narrowed it down to a species of Cryptolechia (a rather large family of micro-moths).

Sadly, that's where the story ends at the moment. Martin's still waiting to hear back from colleagues in South Africa and I still don't know whether I have an 'adventive' first for Suffolk and the UK. All I can say is "Stay Tuned Folks"”.

Today, still quiet but a very late queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee was flying around one of the flowerbeds in town.

A November Spring day

2011-11-06T15:02:00.001Z

Still not much about either this weekend nor during the week. Two groups of Pink-footed Geese flew over heading south, with 300 last Tuesday and 100 or so the next day. These are most likely birds moving south from the east coast of Scotland where they arrived and fed up from Iceland and are now heading to the Sugar-beet fields of Norfolk where they will spend the winter.
Apart from that, a few small groups of Meadow Pipit and Redwing and a couple of Skylark was really all that was moving.
Quite sunny but cold today, perhaps too cold for any late Red Admiral or any other invertebrate. In fact there was a bit of a frost this morning. The moth trap had nothing in it again so I've put it away and will use it only occasionally until March. To make up for it I put the bird table back up and spent a small fortune on food. A dozen Grey Lag Geese flew over, but unlike the Pink-feet, were probably from much closer to home and feral birds.

Grey Lags flying over

Two Kestrel were on the Fell, they seem to be getting a bit commoner again and for many years I am seeing more of this species than Sparrowhawk. A Skylark here was singing it's heart out, together with the sun in a cloudless sky made the day seem rather spring-like.

Kestrel

A single Siskin was in an Alder at Chester Moor and 30+ Golden Plover were in one of the adjacent fields for the first time this winter.

Golden Plover

A few fungi were found in the woods but with all the rain, most have already rotted off, however, Fly Agaric, Birch Polypore, Butter-cap and Fleecy Milkcap were found.

Buttercap

Fly Agaric

Wagtail Hawk melee

2011-10-30T20:35:00.000Z

A very quiet week but small flocks of both Redwing and Fieldfare were passing over most days including 12 of the former and 20 of the latter this lunchtime. 2 Goldcrest paid a short visit to the back garden on Wednesday morning. Red Admirals were still on the wing when the sun came out, the last being seen on Friday. Also on Friday, I was watching the Pied Wagtails coming into roost in the town centre, I counted 80, when the all went quiet. As I suspected I looked up to see a Sparrowhawk soaring overhead, followed by a 2nd bird. Then out of nowhere shot a third one, over the carpark and out the other side. This forced all the wagtails to take flight and then the other two hawks joined in the melee. I great spectacle for me, though not for a least one Pied Wagtail.
Not much showed itself on my walks around the fell but 3 groups of Lesser Redpoll, including a flock of 45 and 2 tribes of Long-tailed Tit were seen. A Carrion Crow, which certainly could fly hopped about 4 metres in front of for a good while and even changing direction onto the same path as me when I veered away. looking around frequently to ensure I was following it.....strange.

Carrion Crow

A few plants still in flower including Bladder Campion, Wood-sage and the Hawkweed, Hieracium vagum.

Bladder Campion

Bilberry was fruiting well all over the fell but not much in the way of identifiable fungi due to the rain.

Bilberry

Birch Polypore

A lonesome Teal

2011-10-23T17:21:00.000+01:00

Out and about for a short walk, it's still raining, its windy and though 14C and a southerly it still felt a lot cooler. A Seven-spotted Ladybird agreed for it sought shelter in the house instead of outside.

A few plants remain in flower, with Herb-Robert, Wild Carrot and Oil-seed Rape noted as well as the more common ruderals like Shepherd's Purse, Field Speedwell and Hairy Bittercress. The woods and fell, not surprisingly, were quiet except for a few resident birds. In South Burn and Cong Burn woods this included a Great spotted Woodpecker, 3 Goldcrest and a party of 12 Long-tailed Tit and 3 Reed Bunting and 5 Siskin flew over the fell. Small groups of both Redwing and Fieldfare continued to head west and I suspect the 60 odd Starlings in a few small groups were also immigrants doing the same. One of the pools by Tribley farm produced the best thing of the day in the form of a drake Teal.

My lonesome Teal

A pip in the wind

2011-10-18T11:47:00.000+01:00

Very windy yesterday and it's starting to pick up again today. Few birds were managing to fly and most seem to be just getting blown around. A flock of 65 Curlew in V formation, the largest so far this autumn, flew over, as usual probably from their roost to the fields beyond the fell to feed. Five Redwing also went over, heading west, though very very slowly, into the strong westerly wind. Late afternoon yesterday just as I was about to go into the house, something caught my eye as it was blow past. It was gone before I could make out what it was and as I was still thinking what it could have been when it flew past again. A Pipistrelle bat was doing it best at flying around the trees nearby. It made a few passes then was gone. I assume it had been blown out of it's roost.
Far too windy and cold for the moth trap overnight (it went down to 4.3C), so I was surprised to see a Red-line Quaker on the wall by the outside light this morning, especially as it had not even been on. Two Meadow Pipit and two more Redwing flew over as I left the house. With the temperature continuing to drop, but not the wind, and a frost forecast tonight, I'm expecting very little the rest of this week.

October?, no November & December

2011-10-16T16:11:00.000+01:00

With nothing in the trap 24hrs earlier, there was no chance of re-traps and a bit more cloud cover, so I put the trap out again last night. Present this morning, as well as 2 Light Brown Apple Moths and 4 Blair's Shoulder-knots were a December Moth and one of the Epirrata November Moths.

December Moth -but it's only October!

I didn't bother checking the latter with the microscope but having examined a number of these over the years here at Waldridge, the one that is generally unbanded, and poorly marked like this individual invariably prove to be November Moth Epirrata dilutata.

November Moth, probably

Also in the trap this morning was a Seven-spot Ladybird, perhaps looking for a hibernation spot.

A few butterflies were on the wing today were 3 Red Admiral, a Small Tortoiseshell and a Speckled Wood all being seen. A Garden Orb Spider Acleris variegana had it's web across the patch of Penstemon 'Garnet' still in flower and which just failed to hold one of the former butterflies in it's trap.

Garden Orb Spider

About 15 Meadow Pipit flew over, together with a couple of single Redwings, a male Sparrowhawk and a flock of 35 Curlew.

A few birds on the move

2011-10-15T22:03:00.000+01:00

Again nothing in the moth trap overnight, the temperature dropping to 5.6C due to the lack of cloud. A few birds were on the move however, this morning passing overhead whilst I was in the garden were, three small groups of Redwing, 9 Skylark, 3 Blackbird, a Song Thrush, 5 Meadow Pipit, 3 Chaffinch, 2 Goldfinch, a Great spotted Woodpecker and a small flock of 9 Golden Plover.

An Oleander scare

2011-10-13T11:43:00.000+01:00

It's been raining for 36 hours now though its mostly that fine drizzle that gets everywhere but doesn't threaten to flood. The wind is now a South-easterly so things will begin to move despite the weather I reckon. It's already started this morning with small groups of thrushes, both Redwing and Fieldfare flying over and a few Chaffinches which I suspect are also immigrants. There were 3 Goldcrest now by the railway station so perhaps these are also non-local birds.
I heard that a friend of a friend had photographed a big moth last week and would I like to see the picture to see if I knew what it was. I said yes why not but nearly fainted when I saw the photo of a superb Oleander Hawkmoth. Then the penny dropped. 'Was this taken in Turkey where they were last week?' I asked. 'Yeah of course, you don't get big moths around here' was the reply. Oh b@**£&

Oleander Hawkmoth - not something you get in Waldridge [But I can dream]

Quite a few of the Aqueligias are sporting leaf-mines at the moment in the garden. After keying them out, they belong to a Leaf-mining Fly, the Columbine leaf miner (Phytomyza minuscula), a common species but not something I have noticed before.

Still nowt

2011-10-11T20:11:00.000+01:00

A Silver Y and two Light Brown Apple Moth was all that bothered to enter the moth trap overnight. The birds were only slightly better with another Grey Wagtail and 3 groups of Redwing flying over this morning and a Goldcrest in the trees by the railway station tonight.

Last night's Silver Y

Nowt about

2011-10-09T21:08:00.000+01:00

I've seen very little the past few days, more to do with the weather than anything I suspect. The moth trap was out on Friday night but was completely empty when I checked it the following morning. The complete zero.
A Red Admiral in the garden on Friday was the best thing of the last few days. Today all I did was have a watch from the garden. The wind and rain put paid to most things but a few birds were seen flying over. The few that did brave the conditions were, little groups of 11 and 12 Redwing flying over, my first of the autumn, together with 10 Skylark, a handful of Meadow Pipit and a Grey Wagtail. That was it.

Not quite at Waldridge

2011-10-05T21:37:00.000+01:00

Last Sunday I left my patch, even if it was only a few miles away, to have a scout around Ravensworth Fell in Gateshead. I was lucky enough to flush a Short-eared Owl which gave good views and I managed to get a few pictures. It's been a while since I had one in Waldridge but this wasn't far away and seems to be a good year for them, so fingers crossed. In fact I could see the fell in the distance as I watched this bird, but that still doesn't count.

A nice Short-eared Owl at Burdon Moor

The weather has deteriorated dramatically and so as the natural history. Very little around for the last few days and last night it was cold and windy so not surprising that this morning there was only 10 moths of 5 species in the moth trap. Luckily, included was my first Red-line Quaker of the autumn (and year) but the rest was the usual late autumn fare.

My first Red-line Quaker of the year

A nibbling spider

2011-10-01T13:04:00.000+01:00

October arrived during the night but it was uncharacteristically warm, never dropping below 17.3C. It was a clear night and the time of year was never going to produce a big count. 20 moths of 12 species was the result including my first Garden Rose Tortrix of the year (I never get many), my latest ever Ypsolopha sequella, the first of the autumn's Chestnut, a Silver Y and another Flounced Chestnut. A couple of 7-spotted Ladybird also their way in.

A late Ypsolopha sequella

Garden Rose Tortrix

Single House Martin and Skylark flew over and Nuthatch and Great spotted Woodpecker called just outside the garden. In the garden a couple of Syrphus ribesii hoverflies and more Seven-spot Ladybirds were around the last of the Lilies.

Indoors a very large Giant House Spider (Tegenaria duellica) was caught, a female by the size of it. The latter can have body lengths of up to 18mm. A 1p piece has a diameter of 20.32mm so as can be seen this one was at the upper end of the range. This species is the only one of its family that can bite through human skin. I could just feel her biting but she did not get through my callously fingers.

Giant House Spider

Which flies faster - Sandhill Crane or Cory's Shearwater?

2011-09-29T13:18:00.000+01:00

The moth trap was out overnight and I had 16 moths of 9 species, nothing new and probably just what could be expected on a late September night. The full list was

4 Light Brown Apple Moth
3 Spruce Carpet
1 Pine Carpet
1 Garden Carpet
3 Red-green Carpet
1 Blair's Shoulder-knot
1 Rosy Rustic
1 Green-brindled Crescent
1 Silver Y

A Great spotted Woodpecker bounded over the garden as I cleared things up.

On the way to work 4 juvenile House Martin were over the Front street in the town, feeding over the shop roofs and not showing any sign of heading south.

Off patch, a very rare Sandhill Crane that had been present in Scotland earlier in the week headed south and was seen at various spots on the Northumberland coast. I perched myself up on the roof at work waiting for it to fly over. Though a bit of a heat haze, there was an excellent panoramic view where I was, and if (when) it went past, I should see it well. After 5 minutes it was reported at Marsden heading south, I had made the right decision, it wouldn't be long ....... wrong.
One hour, thirteen minutes later it came on the Rare Bird pager, it was going over Hartlepool Docks, 17 miles to the south! I have no idea how it managed to sneak past me, or other people at spots down the coast. Apart from the resident birds, all I had was one lonesome Swallow heading south.

It was a bit like 2 weeks ago when I was at Saltholme, Teesmouth and a Cory's Shearwater was heading south past Marsden/Whitburn. We reckoned it would take about an hour to get to Hartlepool but by the time the message had appeared it was going to be tight. A mad dash got us there 51 minutes after it had been seen at Whitburn, but we had missed it by a minute, it had just gone 'round the corner'.

So what have I learned, basically Cory's Shearwaters fly faster than Sandhill Cranes.

Quality not quantity

2011-09-27T11:49:00.000+01:00

Though not the 'Indian Summer' they said it was going to be, it was quite warm yesterday so I stuck the moth trap out again last night. The temperature dropped to single figures, just, 9.7C so wasn't surprised to see only a few moths in the trap. In fact there were only seven, of six species, but three rather nice ones with

Canary-shouldered Thorn - one of the most photogenic of UK moths

Flounced Chestnut only ever caught about half a dozen of these

Green-brindled Crescent - with only a hint of green, but also new for the year.

together with a single Sallow and Garden Carpet and two Red-Green Carpet, I was well pleased as it was certainly quality as opposed to quantity.

Garden disruption

2011-09-26T20:24:00.000+01:00

Though the moth trap was not out last night, the bit of garden tidy up yesterday must have unsettled a few bits in the garden. On the wall, window sand fence this morning were the same or another Frosted Orange and Angle Shades

Angle Shades

Frosted Orange

and 2 Pine Carpet, the latter being the first of the year.

Pine Carpet new for year

A couple of fly over birds this morning were also seen, 2 Skylark and a Grey Wagtail, both species perhaps on the move.

Another go at the moth trap

2011-09-25T16:36:00.002+01:00

I decided I'll to have another go at the moth trap last night as it will soon be packed up for the winter (sort of). Only 1 Tawny Owl called night. Ib took the previous night's catch taken for a walk to avoid duplicates, the contents were examined this morning and consisted of 14 moths of 11 species -

Brown House Moth (Hofmannophila pseudospretella) 1
Clepsis consimilana 1
Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) 2
Red-green Carpet (Chloroclysta siterata) 1
Common Marbled Carpet (Chloroclysta truncata) 1
Spruce Carpet (Thera britannica) 1
Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum) 1
Blair's Shoulder-knot (Lithophane leautieri) 2
Sallow (Xanthia icteritia) 2
Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) 1
Rosy Rustic (Hydraecia micacea) 1

Nothing new so the Waldridge moth list for the year list remains on 239

2-3 Peacock butterflies visited the garden this afternoon, where I disturbed a number of Seven-spot Ladybirds during a tidy-up.

The Hermitage Owl Choir

2011-09-24T16:05:00.001+01:00

There was still a singing Chiffchaff on Thursday, looking at him closer reavealed it was a young bird getting a bit of practice in before next year. Also practicing were the Tawny Owls in the Hermitage Wood with lots of various sorts of hoots, whoos and k-vicks coming from at least 4 birds during the night. They were at it most of the evening and night. Presumably this was again young birds practising, and by some of the sounds coming from the trees, they certainly need to practice. This was not the best performance of the Hermitage Owl Choir.

Unknown at the moment (Sawfly?) larvae

With the chance of only a very light shower and the temperature staying in double figures overnight I set the moth trap up in the evening. The result was 15 moths of 9 species with three being new for the year.

Lunar Underwing

Brown-spot Pinion

Hook-marked Straw-moth - very worn and very late

The Hook-marked Straw as can be seen in the photo was very worn but not surprisingly as it was also very late, my latest by several weeks and probably one of the latest ever in the county

The full list was
Hook-marked Straw-moth (Agapeta hamana) 1
Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) 2
Red-green Carpet (Chloroclysta siterata) 1

Red-green Carpet

Lesser Yellow Underwing (Noctua comes) 1

Lesser Yellow Underwing

Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum) 2

Setaceous Hebrew Character

Blair's Shoulder-knot (Lithophane leautieri) 4

Blair's Shoulder-knots

Brown-spot Pinion (Agrochola litura) 1
Lunar Underwing (Omphaloscelis lunosa) 1
Silver Y (Autographa gamma) 2

Silver Y

4 Siskin, 2 Meadow Pipit and a Pied Wagtail flew over the garden this morning and a White-tailed Bumblebee braved the grey overcast conditions.

Also by the trap was the small green caterpillar at the top of the page which I think is probably a Sawfly but which I have still to identify. It's looking very grey overhead now so it's an excuse to get my reference books out and try and get a name for the little critter.

Swift questions

2011-09-21T19:49:00.000+01:00

Work and weather stopped me seeing much so far this week apart from a Speckled Wood butterfly on Tuesday and 65+ Linnet at Smith's Field this morning.
That is apart from a late Common Swift this evening. I see the odd late Swift, even later than this one but what I don't understand is what it was up to. Most late Swifts are fly-overs/ fly-throughs but this one was happy to be feeding around the train station and the Avenues area as long as I watched it. Now this area is the main brreeding area for the species in Chester-le-Street and there could be well over 75 pair breeding here mid summer. But they all left more than three weeks ago. Pesumably this could not be a late bred youngster as I pass this area most week days once or twice per day and there have been no sign of Mummy & Daddy or any Swift for, like I said, three weeks. So is this just a bird from further north that has stopped off to feed and perhaps even and roost, over this area by coincidence or is there something much more instictive happening? I couldn't see it well enough to tell if it was an adult or ypung bird but what made it decide to stop off here, presumably on it's journey from the north? Was it a bird born and bred here previously? Plenty of questions,bu no answer.

All you need is time

2011-09-18T21:08:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I only had time for a half hour looking from the garden and with the rain on Friday night, I decided to leave the moth trap for 24 hours. There was a little bit of visible bird migration during my stint, probably in front of the band of afternoon rain that was heading my way. In the 30 minutes or so I was there looking skywards, I counted 17 Swallow, 6 House Martin, 3 Starling, 2 Wood Pigeon, 2 Greenfinch, 1 Jay, 1 Goldfinch, 2 Yellowhammer and best of all a late Sand Martin, all of them southbound. I only get a few Sand Martin over the house, and this was my latest ever here, so that was nice. Another thing I only get occasionally at home is the 14-spot Ladybird (Propylea 14-punctata). This is the small yellow species with a variable number of black spots, merging together. There was one sitting on the car yesterday, until it flew of when I went for the camera.

I put the trap out last night and managed to get 2 new species for the year in the form of Blair's Shoulder-knot and Frosted Orange.

Blair's Shoulder-knot

Frosted Orange

The weather was variable to say the least today with sunny spells, thick cloud, light rain and heavy showers all getting a turn. However as I had some time to look properly it shows that there is always something to see at this time of the year.
A flock of 60-odd Grey Lag Geese flew south-east over the fell and may have been Icelandic birds, as opposed to a flock of the very many feral ones that are around these days.

A Skien of Grey Lag Geese flying SE

More Swallows were also heading south today, I counted 46 during my walk, as well as 4 Siskin. Despite the lack of wind and the showers, it was good for raptors, with Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and a Red Kite all being seen and I could hear a Common Buzzard mewing from the trees in the Cong Burn but it didn't reveal itself. A Great spotted Woodpecker perched up on an isolated tree amongst the heather.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

A few Common Darters were around on the fell and on the pools at Daisy Hill, with one of these small areas of water also hosting two Southern Hawker Dragonflies.

Souther Hawker

The only butterflies seen today were single Large White and Small Tortoiseshell.

One of the adjacent fields was ploughed just a few weeks ago but already a host of arable weeds were in flower with Field Pansy, Redshank, Pale Persicaria, Long-headed Poppy, Fat-hen, Common Fumitory, Common Orache, Black Bindweed and Scentless Mayweed all being present.

Field Pansy, one of a host of arable weeds in one of the fields.

So a good day, despite the weather showing all you need is the time.

Oh so quiet

2011-09-15T13:30:00.000+01:00

The wind has finally dropped, it's not raining but it certainly feels like autumn. The overnight temperature with the clear skies dropped to 4.6C last night, the coldest night since spring I put the moth trap out overnight but knew it was a mistake on a cold, starry night in September. It was only because it was the first time for four days that it has not been too windy. Of course it was rubbish and with the contents after midnight of a single moth, to save on electricity I gave up and switched the power off. The results of the overnight trapping session equalled one Garden Carpet, not even a Yellow Underwing.

The total contents of last nights moth trap - 1 Garden Carpet

Prior to this it has been extremely quiet because it has been extremely windy, with a record breaking 40.6 mph registered on my little weather station. Hence the lack of sightings. Last Sunday a single Red Admiral and a singing Chiffchaff was the best, and since then, the odd southward bound Swallow flying overhead on a couple of days was all there was to be seen.

With the cloud, came the rain and wind

2011-09-10T20:29:00.000+01:00

Three Small Tortoiseshell yesterday but nothing else. A rather clear night last night to start but with the cloud, came the rain and wind. Only 17 moths of 11 species in the trap when I checked it, plus a couple of Common Wasp. A late Phoenix was my only one this year and 3 Mouse moth were the best there was.
Apart from that it was very quiet, a couple of flyover Siskins weren't much compensation neither was my first Common Evening-Primrose (Oenothera biennis), growing on the grass verge along Waldridge road.
Just back to work and the remains of a hurricane to look forward to.

A bit of a Devil in the wind

2011-09-07T23:38:00.000+01:00

Started the day in the car park of the vet, awaiting the result of our cat's enema - what fun. As I waited, a Nuthatch was calling in the wood opposite and I watched a family party of Long-tailed Tit playing dare with the passing traffic as they flew across the road and back.

A walk later was never going to produce much due to the strong southerly wind and occasional shower. Even the Swallows decided to stay indoors in the barn instead of sitting on the wires.

Sheltering Swallows

A nice patch of Devil's-bit Scabious was found on the edge of the South Burn, sheltered from most of the wind.

Devil's-bit Scabious

This clump saved the day as not only was it new for the year but acting as a very busy restaurant for flying insects, especially when the sun poked it's nose out. 3 Peacock and 6 Speckled Wood butterflies were feeding on it,

Peacock

Speckled Wood

as were 4 species of Hoverfly.

Hoverfly - Eristalis pertinax

This in turn is what probably attracted 3 Common Darters.

Common Darter

Dribs & Drabs

2011-09-06T12:40:00.000+01:00

Bit delayed as this all relates to yesterday but I'm now on a shiny new computer. Not much about so just really seeing dribs and drabs at the moment.

The Moth trap in the garden was rather poor on Sunday night. The rain and wind and that I moved it to another part of the garden probably all had an effect on the contents. 17 moths of 7 species was the result, but even this poorish catch still turned out a new one for the year, the rather drab non-splendid micro-moth Cydia splendana.

A Chiffchaff was singing in the woods this morning and a Large White butterfly was on the wing. I managed to identify 5 species of Hoverfly but nothing new, the number of Marmaldae Fly have now dwindled down considerably. A few White-tailed and Carder Bumblebees were around and probably the most Honey-bees I have seen this year

The number of flowering plants was boosted by one more when I saw found the little patch of Green Speedwell by the road to the Leisure Centre.

The lists for Waldridge (on foot from house) for the year include

Flowering plants	335
Birds	104
Moths	233
Butterflies	20
Dragonflies	8
Hoverflies	14

Adding a few plants to the list

2011-09-04T16:54:00.000+01:00

A bit of sun this morning called for a wander around the fell, which I did with the intent of adding a few more plants to the list. I deliberately went looking for a few species I have seen in previous years but haven't seen this year. One of the first things I noticed was a Robin's Pincushion Gall which is produced as a chemical reaction by the Dog Rose induced by the egg laying of a Gall Wasp Diplolepis rosae. There's a good write up of the life cycle on Wikipedia

Robin's Pincushion Gall

In South Burn Wood, the Apple Mint is still hanging on but I was surprised to find a much larger clump near Brass Castle Pond. The latter I hadn't noticed before and though its a good sized clump I'm surprised I've missed it. It's growing next to Water Mint here so I'll keep an eye out for some hybrid with the hybrid (Apple Mint Mentha x villosa is itself a hybrid between Spearmint and Round-leaved Mint).

Apple Mint

A few birds were around, particularly noticeable was the number of Song Thrushes. Also seen here were Willow Tit, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Great spotted Woodpecker and a singing Bullfinch. Siskins flew over here and twice over the fell as I walked around. After a bit of looking I found a single plant in rather deep shade of White Ramping-fumitory. This is one of only a handful of sites in the county for this species. Bladder Campion was still in flower on the fell,

Bladder Campion

as was Field Bindweed. Marsh Hawksbeard, Harebell, Heath Groundsel and masses of Eyebright. One area was white with flowers of the latter.

Eyebright - large population

Among the more interesting grasses were Tufted Hair-grass, Heath-grass and Mat-grass. Near one of the car parks is a clump of Bifid Hempnettle, there is a good population of it's relative Common Hempnettle in South Burn Wood. Both species vary in colour but the separator is that in Bifid, the lip colour of the flower goes right to the edge as opposed to being only in the middle of the flower, and the bottom lip has a slight notch. The plants around Waldridge tend to be all white (Common) or pink (Bifid) but it's not always the case.

Bifid

and Common Hempnettle

A few butterflies were on the wing, Wall, Small Heath and Green-veined White.

Green-veined White

Watery things

2011-09-04T00:24:00.003+01:00

The moth trap was out overnight and 15 species managed to find a way in during the night. One was new for the year, a Brown China-mark. This is one of a small family of moths that are unusual in that their larvae are entirely aquatic feeding on water plants. Needless to say they are never far from water, and with all that rain ...

Brown China-mark

2 Marmalade Flies were also in the trap this morning.

Marmalade Fly

A brisk walk this afternoon along the river Wear in the park found that the Pink-footed Goose was still on the river but little else

Pink-footed Goose

except 3 Tufted Duck, a few Canada Goose and lots of Mute Swan and Mallard including a late new brood of the latter.

Mallard brood

A Hawker Dragonfly zoomed passed me but unfortunately was not seen again. I suspect it was a Common Hawker but will have to stay unidentified.
Still a few things in flower along on the riverbanks including some late flowering Wood Stitchwort, Creeping Yellow-cress and several of the knotweed family - Japanese Knotweed, Equal-leaved Knotgrass and Redshank

Three Knotweeds, Japanese (top), Equal-leaved Knotgrass
and Redshank (bottom)

Cold autumn mothing

2011-08-31T20:02:00.000+01:00

A rather cold night and the day wasn't much warmer. Put the moth trap out overnight and 31 moths of 15 species present this morning, including two new for the year, Heath Rustic and The Sallow, both very much autumnal moths.

Dusky Thorn

Flame Shoulder

Heath Rustic

The Sallow

The Bat Station

2011-08-30T20:54:00.001+01:00

A very battered Speckled Wood butterfly flying around today showed how much this weather has been giving a battering to some of the wildlife. It landed or flopped onto the road until the draft of a passing car was enough to blow it out of sight and safety onto the bank of the grass verge.
A party of 10 or 11 Long-tailed Tit moved through, many of them being juveniles but 3-4 adults probably meant it was a family party with Mum, Dad, the bairns and an aunty or uncle or two.
The Durham Bat Group got a call from the local vet that a bat had been found by the train station a few days ago. The tiny little thing was a young one and had been brought down by the rain and unable to feed. It was the commonest of the bats a Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus). After a few days of T.L.C. it was fit enough to be released. So tonight, I was at the station with one of the members of the group, and at about 8:30pm there were two Pipistrelle Bats flying around. The youngster, after a bit of hesitation, joined them feeding over the trees along the railway line. A good job done.

Pipistrelle Bat ready to leave its perch

Weather station delivering bad news.

2011-08-28T16:54:00.000+01:00

I set up my little weather station in the garden just after last Christmas and it just keeps giving me bad news. Since the 11th of this month it been telling me every time it rains (which it has every day this week), that its a new record for the total amount of rain in a month this year. It told me on Thursday it was the heavy hourly downpour of the year and on Wednesday the heaviest amount of rain in a day. It's now stopped raining so what does it tell me, the strongest winds of the year.
I put the moth trap out last night as it correctly predicted this was only a small chance of rain and it did stay dry. I suppose 48 moths of 19 species was acceptable and did include 4 species new for the year, but that's probably more to the fact I've been trapping far so little due to the weather, than anything else else. The four were -

Udea lutealis

Flame Carpet

Dusky Thorn

Grey Chi

together with Square spot Rustic I forgot to add in, the yearly total for Waldridge is 238.

Unfortunately the rain, and now the wind, has put the chance of seeing anything interesting in the invertebrate or bird front as virtually zero. A few Siskins flying over was the best of the birds but numbers of some species are increasing. There were over 250 Starling on the telegraph wires by Smith's Field the other day and a similar number of Black-headed Gulls on the roof of Morrisons. The latter group also had a few Common and Lesser Black-backed Gull as I always check them in case the Mediterranean Gull of a couple of winters ago may again make it's return. I have subsequently seen it at the Riverside Park and Great Lumley so fingers crossed it may end up back on the roof.

Autumn colours

2011-08-22T22:16:00.000+01:00

Always an excuse with moth trapping. No rain and the minimum temperature was 13.1C but there was little to no cloud and therefore quite bright moon. The result, a rather low count of only 36 moths of 16 species. Only one species new for the year but it was a favourite of many people, including myself, a Canary-shouldered Thorn .

Canary-shouldered Thorn

The best of the rest was another Centre-barred Sallow, 2 Setaceous Hebrew Character and a Lesser Swallow Prominent. The moth list for the year is now 223

A couple more flower photographs


Autmnal Hawkbit showing the characteristic outer rays striped with red

Hemp Agrimony at the entrance to Fell edge Wood from Waldridge Lane

A few butterflies in the garden today, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral and Peacock. The numbers of Marmalade Fly seem to be diminishing a bit, though there still good numbers about but they seem to be getting replaced with Seven-spot Ladybirds, the numbers are building up nicely. Also in the garden was another young Chiffchaff and the Nuthatch was heard in the paddock again, having been quiet (or gone) since late spring.

A few of the fungi seen yesterday included

Macrolepiota procera - Parasol Mushroom


Birch Polypore

Amanita crocea – Orange Grisette

plus a few more.
Autumn has arrived with it's Yellows - Centre-barred Sallows and Canary shouldered Thorns, Oranges - Grisettes and Reds - Red Admirals, Fly Agaric and red stripes on the Autumnal Hawkbit.

Fungi season

2011-08-21T21:36:00.000+01:00

Another downpour last night so the moth trap stayed where it was, I'll leave it until tonight.
On Friday, a very quick look for butterflies around the Fell in the late afternoon sun produced Speckled Wood, the first of the new brood Common Blue and Wall
Yesterday another quick look whilst passing did produce a Grey Heron flying over and about 40 House Martin and half a dozen Swallow feeding low over the ground. The fell is at it's peak at the moment with the purple Heather putting on a beautiful display. It was rather breezy for butterflies but a Wall and a Speckled Wood were flying around. Later, a Red Fox was calling on and off at home, for what seemed like most of the night.

Wall

There was no sign of the House Martins today during my walk around, but there was a small but steady movement of Swallows heading south. A Green Woodpecker called, the first for a while and 4 Willow Tit at three different spots was quite good. Quite a few juvenile Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps were scattered throughout and a few butterflies were on the wing, namely Red Admiral, Wall, Small White and Meadow Brown. A couple of Shaded Broad-bar moths were flushed from the tall grass by Brass Castle Pond. Also here were a large flock, at least for this time of year, of 20+ Siskin, with a few more flying over the fell. Presumably these are local birds. Fell Edge Wood had nothing unusual but did have a flock of 15 Long-tailed Tit and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.
A leaf-mine on oak in keys out as that of the tiny micro moth Stigmella ruficapitella.

Leaf mine of Stigmella ruficapitella.

There are still 100s if not thousands of Marmalade Flies around but surprisingly I could not find anything else apart from a few of another half dozen species of hoverfly I have already seen on several occasions already this year.

A few flowers were added today Berberis vulgaris (Barberry), Dryopteris affinis (Scaly Male-fern), Stachys palustris (Marsh Woundwort), Hydrocotyle vulgaris (Marsh Pennywort), Hieracium agg. (Common Hawkweed ) and Succisa pratensis (Devil's-bit Scabious).

Devil's-bit Scabious

Marsh Pennywort

We seem to to be in fungi season and the Fly Agaric in particular is putting on a fine show. Every bit of wet birch wood seems to have some at the moment as well as a number of other species which I'll post tomorrow.

Fly Agaric

What is the first sign of autumn?

2011-08-18T21:21:00.003+01:00

So what is the first sign of autumn?
The Common Swifts have all gone or the Swallows gathering on the telegraph wires or the first of the Sallow moths of the year appearing. This morning it was yes to all of them. Autumn is approaching, and at a rapid pace.

Centre-barred Sallow - A sign of autumn

Put the moth tap out last night and it was quite good, at least for species and especially as the temperature dropped to single figures.84 moths of 29 species were present this morning including 7 new ones.
These were:

*Aspilapteryx tringipennella*
*Blastobasis adustella*
*Agriphila straminella*
*Scoparia pyralella* Acleris laterana
Purple Bar
Centre-barred Sallow

The Aspilapteryx tringipennella took some working out as admittedly its not the most exciting of species, and four more were also rather drab micros. I am saying Acleris laterana as opposed to Acleris comariana which can be virtually identical mainly because of the time of year. Though both species have occurred in the garden in the past, this one was the first this year.

Aspilapteryx tringipennella

The Purple Bar was the best of the bunch but it was on the outside of the trap and as soon as I got the camera near an eruption of Large Yellow Underwings flushed it and it was gone. As I said, the first of the Sallows was also present, a Centre-barred Sallow, my earliest ever (by 6 days). I always regard getting my first of the Sallows as a sure sign that autumn is just around the corner. The moth list for the year moves to 219. A few other nice moths were in the trap too including

Sallow Kitten

Gold Spot

Also in the trap this morning, as well as a half dozen Common Wasp were 2 of the Big Black Dung beetles Nicrophorus humator, a Heather Fly and another of the smaller dung beetles, this one being Aphodius rufipes, which occurs not uncommonly in moth traps.

Aphodius rufipes

Though it was dull and overcast when I got home I did see a Speckled Wood near the house and a small party of Mistle Thrush flew over.

Rivulets in the rain

2011-08-16T13:25:00.000+01:00

Great, it's raining again. Yesterday had a bit of sun so I thought I would be ok to put the moth trap out overnight. But of course it rained. Still managed 121 moths of 30 species including 5 new for the year including 2 new Rivulets to add to the Small and Grass Rivulets seen already this year. So it was worth standing in the rain getting soaked checking them early this morning, but only just.

The five were -
Square-spot Rustic
The Rivulet
Barred Rivulet
Nut Bud Moth
and Light Brown Apple Moth

Nut Bud Moth

Again, the majority were Large, Lesser and Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings, but also more Cherry Fruit Moth, Trachycera advenella and Mouse Moth, all that were new for the year just a couple of days ago.

The Rivulet was on the outside of the trap and got away before I had time to pot it up, though I had enough time to confirm it only had the single indentation confirming it was this species. It looked bigger right from the start too.

The Barred Rivulet took some working out and really I have identified it by elimination of everything else though I'm perhaps not 100% certain, so if anyone tells me I'm wrong I'll not be too surprised.

Barred Rivulet

The Light Brown Apple moth was a surprise, but only in that it's so late to see my first. I was one of the first in the north-east to catch this species which comes from Australia and only reached the UK 80 years ago. Its been spreading quickly north and up to a couple of years ago I was frequently catching double figures in a night. Last year the numbers dropped by half and I hadn't caught any this year. I assume they have not been able to cope with the last two winters.

Another two Crossbills flew over the house in the rain this morning but very little else to report except for a Common Buzzard in the valley below Great Lumley soaring around in yesterday's sunshine.

Cherry Fruit & Peas

2011-08-14T20:24:00.000+01:00

The moth trap went out last night and there was only a little bit of rain. 117 moths of 23 species was alright but there wasn't anything particularly exciting. Not surprisingly, more than half were Yellow Underwings but there were three new for the year present, the micro moths Cherry Fruit Moth and Trachycera advenella and Mouse Moth.

Cherry Fruit Moth

Trachycera advenella

Mouse Moth

As usual there were a few other invertebrate present, including 6 Common Wasp, a Black Carrion Beetle (Nicrophorus humator) and three what were new for me, another carrion beetle, a much smaller one with the name of Aphodius granarius (I think) though not 100% certain on the identification as from the quick bit of research I did it seems to be more of a spring beetle.

One of the small Carrion Beetles possibly Aphodius granarius

A very vocal Tawny Owl last night which I suspect was a current year bird, appeared in the garden briefly in the early hours but flew off as soon as I looked through the window. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was the only other bird of note today, though one of the nearby field had 80 Common Starling and 120 Black-headed Gulls present.

A few butterflies were about in the sun when it did appear, mainly Small White but also Small Heath and Meadow Brown were on the wing. Also a few more hoverflies are beginning to appear, dozens of Episyrphus balteatus (Marmalade Flies) and quite few Syrphus ribesii, plus a lone Eupeodes luniger.

I added one more flower for the year when I came across a patch of Narrow-leaved Everlasting Pea (Lathyrus sylvestris)

Narrow-leaved Everlasting Pea

What a wet week that was

2011-08-13T11:08:00.000+01:00

My little weather station reported on the 10th that it was the wettest month of the year with 21 more days to go! Yesterday was the first anniversary of me starting this blog and the first thing I said then was 'So, spent the morning (after it stopped raining....' so not much change there. So I haven't seen much all week

A few Common Swifts were seen moving through in the rain, heading south. Mine have gone, so these were presumably from further north. A young Chiffchaff was on the fence briefly before jumping back in the bush but continued to call frequently and I managed one butterfly. One brave Speckled Wood flitted around the shelter of some Ivy in the big hedgerow on Tuesday. Hoverflies found shelter in teh greenhouse with more than a dozen Marmalade Flies buzzing around in there during the week.

In the town centre, like last year the Greater Burnet-Saxifrage is in flower now, but with all the rain is looking a bit battered. I noticed last night its spreading westwards presumably its seed is being blown down Station Road, and now has a small colony in Wesley Terrace.

I didn't risk putting the trap out last night due to the weather as I haven't got a spare bulb at the moment should it go pop. It should be a bit better tonight so I'll leave it until then. So my moths this week consisted of 2 Shuttle-shaped Darts and a Brown House Moth that had found a way into the house, a Common Rustic hiding in one of teh plant pots and a couple of Large Yellow Underwings banging of the patio doors despite the rain.

and then the rains came ......

2011-08-06T21:12:00.001+01:00

The moth trap was out overnight and surprisingly it did not rain. 116 moths of 29 species were caught, 6 being new for the year

I catch this insect quite frequently in the trap but have never been able to identify it

The six new ones were -

True-lover's Knot
Small Fan-footed Wave
Small Dotted Buff
Rosy Rustic
Flounced Rustic
and Dun-bar.

True Lover's-Knot

Flounced Rustic

Rosy Rustic

Not surprisingly most of the moths in the trap were three species of Yellow Underwing, Large, Lesser and Lesser Broad-bordered, Dark Arches and Common Rustic agg. More surprisingly were 13 Shuttle-shaped Dart, a large count for me. Single Marmalade Fly, Common Green Lacewing and several species of Caddisfly including the striped chocolate brown species shown at the top that I catch on a regular basis but have still been be unable to identify.

Then the rain came, and the thunder and the lightning and I saw nothing else the rest of the day.
So I added a few pictures of some Blue butterflies I saw in Switzerland A Waldridge Naturalist in Switzerland.

A single Hummer in a week of gloom

2011-08-05T21:22:00.000+01:00

After a week at work and the weather (and work) gloomy when it was either raining or foggy so it was great to see a bit of sun at last today
The butterflies seemed especially pleased as this afternoon there were good numbers of Meadow Brown and Speckled Wood around as well as Large, Small and Green-veined White plus a couple of Red Admiral. During the week the only things apart from 1-2 of those mentioned were single Peacock and Painted Lady. A couple of moths were flushed in the mornings as I watered the plants, but nothing exciting, Large and Lesser Yellow Underwing and a single Scalloped Oak except on Tuesday evening when a Hummingbird Hawk-moth was feeding on the Honeysuckle in the garden. I dashed back indoors for the camera, but it was gone when I returned.

No Hummingbird Hawkmoth photo so this Scalloped Oak on the window will have to do

I had seen the odd Marmalade Fly Episyrphus balteatus during the week, especially on the lilies but there were at least 50 there in the sun this afternoon. On the bird front, one word sums it up - quiet. The best bird I have seen this week were probably a Sparrowhawk. I have however noticed how many Lesser Black-backed Gulls are around now, and may even be getting commoner that Herring Gull. In the Front Street on Wednesday, for the first time I can remember, it was this species feeding on the previous night's Donner Kebabs, Fish & Chips and other human regurgitation., not Herring Gulls.

Hissing Frog and flyover Crossbills

2011-07-31T23:36:00.000+01:00

Had a walk over the fell, particularly around Daisy Hill this morning but things were quiet. It was rather dull for butterflies but a few species were on the wing in small numbers, particularly Small Heath, Meadow Brown and Small White. The best were single Small Copper and Red Admiral. A single Common Darter was also present but I managed to see a Common Hawker on my way back, just before you enter the Felledge wood. It checked me out several times before flitting off again over the Heather. The latter at the moment is at its peak with masses of purple.

Soldier Beetles - Rhagonycha fulva - 1000s of them

Nearly every umbel of Hogweed had one or more Soldier Beetle on them, there must have been thousands on the site. The first photo is unusual as its rare to find them singly, often there are mating pairs, hence the old country name of 'Bonking Beetle'. They feed on small, soft-bodied insects that some to feed on the flowers.

There were lots of young birds around with Meadow Pipit and both Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff having what looks like a very good breeding season. 30 Swallow and a few House Martin were feeding low over the fields and as I watched them, the birds of the day flew over in the form of a group of 4 Common Crossbill, my second record of the year for this species.
A few more plants were added, eight species in all were new for the year, though I know I have seen a couple earlier but forgot to count them.

Galeopsis tetrahit (Common Hemp-nettle)
Angelica sylvestris (Wild Angelica)
Euphorbia helioscopia (Sun Spurge)
Festuca ovina (Sheep's-fescue)
Lotus pedunculatus (Greater Bird's-foot-trefoil)
Odontites vernus (Red Bartsia)
Teucrium scorodonia (Wood Sage)
Euphrasia nemorosa (Common Eyebright)

Common Hemp-nettle

I can't remember ever seeing so much Red Bartsia as there is at the moment at Daisy Hill, there's masses of it. This species is a parasite on grasses and seems to be doing an excellent job of keeping the grasses under control.

Red Bartsia

There were also masses of that common Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus and walking back through South Burn Wood I added another hoverfly for the year Leuconza glauca.

Hoverflies

Leuconza glauca

Episyrphus balteatus

Eristalis tenax

As I walked through I heard a strange sound coming from a clump of vegetation. The noise was quiet hiss, a bit like a short release of air from a tyre. It took a while to locate what was in there and it was a smallish Common Frog. I don't recall hearing that sort of noise from one before.

The 'hissing' Common Frog

My OFFH lists for the year are

Flowering plants - 322

Birds - 104

Moths - 203

Butterflies - 20

Dragonflies - 8

Hoverflies - 14

Mammals - 10

Bumblebees - 6

Moth list goes past the 200.

2011-07-30T21:47:00.001+01:00

Put the moth trap out overnight for the first time since before my holidays.

Total of 59 moths of 24 species was ok but there were a few new ones for the year

Agriphila tristella
Scalloped Oak
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
Dotted Clay
and Cloaked Minor.

Poplar Hawkmoth - 2 caught, common but still impressive

Also the Red & Black Carrion Beetle - Nicrophorus investigator

The moth list for the year goes over the 200 mark.

I added a few more bird sightings from my hols on the blog A Waldridge Naturalist in Switzerland.

Two shots of formic acid please

2011-07-29T23:56:00.000+01:00

Just time for a walk along the riverside this afternoon, having spent most of the morning tidying up the garden. I was happy to see that my mining-bees Colletes succinctus have returned, with a few buzzing around the plants. It appears I now have two colonies of Common Garden Black Ant (Lasius niger) one in the front garden under the paving stones and one in the back in a big clay pot of garden pinks. I need to have a word with those in the front and tell them to stop coming into the garage. A quiet cheeping call made me turn around at on point to find a young Chiffchaff flicking around in the Honeysuckle. A lone Meadow Brown butterfly ventured into the garden which considering the complete lack of sun and cool breeze, was a bit surprising. I only noticed today but there were no Swifts over the house, have they gone already?
My walk along the river later gave me another six species of flower, bringing the total to 313 species I have seen this year in the area. The new species were

Greater Celandine
Japanese Knotweed
Water Forget-me-not
Reed Canary-grass
Creeping Yellow-cress
Tansy

Creeping Yellow-cress

The Greater Celandine, which was along the Cong Burn just before the second bridge, is the first I have seen around here. Though not native to the UK, it is a long-established introduction of roadsides, hedge banks and waste ground and so not rare but always nice to find a new plant on your patch. A juvenile Blackcap called and was seen briefly in the nearby bank side bushes.

Greater Celandine

Talking of ants, very nearby was a small colony of the Red Ant (Myrmica ruginodis), which aren't also called Red Stinging Ants for nothing, even the two I picked up for a better look gave me a shot of formic acid, bless them.

Back from Switzerland

2011-07-28T22:31:00.000+01:00

Just back from two and a bit weeks in Switzerland hence the lack of entries. I'm back now and had a little wander but it was only a short walk over the fell. Far too much unpacking, washing, lawn cutting etc etc for anything more at the moment. I have done a separate Blog to show my little wanderings whilst I was away called A Waldridge Naturalist in Switzerland.

I'll gradually put on my sightings of the birds, butterflies and flora I saw over the next couple of weeks.

Meanwhile back at Waldridge, I sneaked off for 45 minutes this afternoon and it's surprising how the flora has changed in a couple of weeks. The common umbellifers are now Upright Hedge Parsley and Wild Angelica and a walk through the South Burn Woods and around Brass Castle Pond added another nine species.

Campanula rotundifolia (Harebell)
Centaurium erythraea (Common Centaury)
Circaea lutetiana (Enchanter's-nightshade)
Eupatorium cannabinum (Hemp-agrimony)
Galium palustre (Common Marsh-bedstraw)
Lysimachia verticillaris (Whorled Loosestrife)
Mentha aquatica (Water Mint)
Rumex conglomeratus (Clustered Dock)
Senecio sylvaticus (Heath Groundsel)

False Fox Sedge

Water Mint

Harebell

Not surprising considering the time of year and time of day there was little in the way of bird life. A few butterflies were around, in the way of Meadow Brown and Small White and a single Peacock on Hemp-agrimony at Brass Castle Pond. I spent ten minutes or so examining the heads of the umbellifers for hoverflies. Two new ones were present though one, the Marmalade Fly - Episyrphus balteatus, I had seen in the garden earlier today. The other was another common species, Syrphus ribesii. Also present in very large numbers was the Soldier Beetle, Rhagonycha fulva.

Hoverfly Syrphus ribesii

When bulbs go pop in the night.

2011-07-10T22:12:00.000+01:00

I put the moth trap out again last night as I hoped to catch a couple more moths to take me over the 200 mark. After the previous night's totals it was sheer greed and I got my comeuppance. When I checked this morning the bulb was dead and a relatively small number of moths were still inside the trap. I'm not sure what time it popped, nor why, but it was a noisy night with 2 different burglar alarms and a car alarm all going off it one time or another.

The moths that were present numbered 52 of 19 species and nothing new for the year. The best being Buff Arches, Silver Y, Antler moth and 3 Light Arches.

Antler moth

This afternoon, the forecast rain stayed away and it warmed up a bit.

I thought I would have a look on the fell for some butterflies, Hairstreaks in particular, as both Purple & White-letter have been seen in the Gateshead area the last couple of days. Despite a bit of searching I failed to find either today but there were a lot of butterflies about. Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Small Skipper, a couple of Common Blue and three Whites (Small, Large and Green-veined) were all out in decent numbers. Also several Small Tortoiseshell, two Red Admiral and a Painted Lady. My first Common Darters here this year were also seen.

Red Admiral

Painted Lady

When I moved here in 1999, I used to see Small Skipper and Large Skipper in about equal numbers. Small Skipper have been gradually increasing, especially over the last few years whereas the Large Skipper I saw regularly, though in decreasing numbers until 2006 but not since. I don't know why they declined here. Therefore I got a bit of a shock when I found that a worn skipper perched up on some Bracken was actually a Large Skipper, my first here for 5 years.

Large Skipper

On the way back through the South Burn Woods, a Southern Hawker buzzed me a few times before flying off.

I also managed to add four more flowering plants to the OFFH year list. Common Honeysuckle, Bladder Campion, Perennial Sow-thistle, and Mouse-ear Hawkweed.

OFFH List this year

Flowering plants - 298
Birds - 104
Moths - 198
Butterflies - 20
Dragonflies - 7
Hoverflies - 11
Mammals - 10

A full moth trap cheers you up

2011-07-09T13:05:00.002+01:00

After a week of rain, threatened redundancies and general unpleasantness it was great to have the time and inclination to put the moth trap out. Having seen virtually nothing of interest the past few days, I was glad I did, with a box full of moths this morning. After a very nice couple of hours going through them all the final total was 298 moths of 76 species.
No less than 19 were new for the year, bringing the moth yearly total to just under the 200 mark at 197.

The nineteen new for the year were as follows:
Clepsis consimilana

Eucosma campoliliana

Catoptria falsella

Eudonia mercurella
Phlyctaenia coronata
Emmelina monodactyla
Small Dusty Wave

Barred Straw

Dark Marbled Carpet
Narrow-winged Pug

Small Yellow Wave

Lilac Beauty

Common White Wave
Antler Moth
Small Angle Shades
Common Rustic agg.
Uncertain

Spectacle

Small Fan-foot

At lunchtime I was in the greenhouse and added number 198, when my first Lesser Yellow Underwing was flushed out.

A few pretty moths

2011-07-04T21:48:00.000+01:00

110 moths of 33 species during the night with the temperature dropping below 10C. There were 8 new for year once I sorted them all out, those being -
a Ypsolopha sequella, one White-shouldered House Moth, 2 Clouded Border, a single Swallow-tailed Moth, one Barred Red, two Short-cloaked Moth, a Dot Moth and a Smoky Wainscot. Another 4 Common Footman proving it's a good year for this species.

Ypsolopha sequella

Clouded Border

Swallow-tailed Moth

Short-cloaked Moth

Dot Moth

The moth list for the year at Waldridge is now 178 species

Birds on a wire

2011-07-03T22:12:00.000+01:00

Yellow hammer - 1 of a number of species on the wires over the fell

It was late afternoon before I got a chance to have a look around today, but it was still warm and sunny and very pleasant to be out and about.
Walked through the South Burn Woods, the first part of Fell Edge Wood and over the fell to Daisy Hill and back home again.

Butterflies were in abundance today, with Meadow Browns, Ringlets, Small Heath and Small Skipper out in force, together with a few Small White, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral and Common Blue.
Still a few warblers singing, particularly Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs and a Grasshopper Warbler singing by the edge of the hugely overgrown main pond at Daisy Hill. Still not that many hoverflies about but did manage to add two species Eristalis pertinax and Myathropa florea and it was too late in the day for any dragonflies.

Eristalis pertinax (top) and Myathropa florea both on Hogweed

Willow Tits were noted at 2 spots on the fell. It was nice to note good numbers of singing Yellowhammers and Linnets here, especially as both have nearly disappeared from the adjacent farmland. Interestingly I had several pairs of Reed Buntings in the hedgerows where in the past these would have been occupied by Yellowhammers, whereas the fell was the domain of the Reed Bunting.

Several Greenfinches were also on the wires

Added a few more to the flora list today, with the Small-leaved Lime along Waldridge Lane, Meadow-sweet, Phragmites, Reed-mace (Typha), Marsh Thistle and Common Valerian at Brass Castle Pond, Wavy Hair-grass, Creeping Soft-grass, Rough Chervil and Apple Mint in South Burn Wood, Fen Bedstraw at Daisy Hill and Tufted Hair-grass, Purple Moor-grass and Mat-grass on the fell.
The Apple-mint is a hybrid species and has been here as long as I have lived here.It's a tall, wooly mint and I got it's identity confirmed by an expect a number of years ago hence my confidence in it's identity.

Linnet - the fell still has a very healthy population

OFFH List this year

Flowering plants - 294

Birds - 104

Moths - 170

Butterflies - 17

Dragonflies - 5

Hoverflies - 11

Mammals - 10

Owls, tigers and magpies

2011-07-02T21:28:00.001+01:00

I got an email from Kevin who lives nearby saying, last Tuesday he saw a Short-eared Owl whilst out jogging. Now this got me excited. I could not go and check the site, which is by the A167 until last night, but check it I did and got a surprise. To be honest I'm not 100% certain I ended up at the right place but within a few metres of where I though I should be I saw an owl. However it was not a Short-eared Owl but a Long-eared. After watching it for a while two young started calling from nearby and the adult bird I was watching flew over to feed them with some small rodent I could not identify. Unfortunately something spooked them and they all flew out of site but what an excellent sighting. Now have I gone to the right place or is there a 'Shortie' out there still waiting to be seen by me? Time will tell .....

Everyone's favourite - the Garden Tiger - 1 of 15 that were new for the year

The overnight temperature dropped to 8.2C but I put the trap out last night as it was the night for the National Garden Moth scheme. Despite the dip in temperature it was a very good night with 207 moths of 47 species counted (it took me a fair while to sort them all out I can tell you). No less than 15 were new for the year. The first micros of the year - Bird Cherry Ermine, Helcystogramma rufescens, Blastodacna hellerella, Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix, Spruce bud Moth, Agriphila inquinatella and Eudonia pallida were all present. The Helcystogramma was my earliest by a month and it was only my 2nd Spruce bud Moth and possibly only the 4th for the county. The last and the earliest of either were on the same day - 1st August 2008, how's that for a coincidence? Eudonia pallida was also my earliest ever.

Spruce Bud Moth - Uncommon but plenty of Spruces in the nearby woods

The macro moths appearing for the first time this year were Buff Arches, July Highflyer, Magpie Moth, Light Emerald, Garden Tiger, Purple Clay, Slender Brindle and Straw Dot.

Light Emerald - the dark red tip at wing tip is diagnostic

Buff Arches - One of the species expanding here in the north-east

The Magpie Moth - particularly fond of currant bushes

Slender Brindle - not a common moth but another species
that occurs with regularity in the garden

The moth list for the year is now 170

Footmen & Drinkers

2011-06-30T14:45:00.007+01:00

Overnight temperatures back to normal, minimum last night 10.8C. A lot of moths in the trap but certainly it was more quantity than quality. There were 137 moths of 25 species present, 6 new for the year after eventually identifying a micro moth as Gypsonoma dealbana. The others were a Flax Tortrix and four larger species, a bit larger with Willow Beauty, several The Clay, Common Footman and The Drinker.

The Drinker - named after it's caterpillar's likeness for dew but
to me, they always seem a bit of a biffer who likes a pint or two.

Considering 99 moths were one of three species Heart & Dart (41), Garden Grass Veneer (31) and Dark Arches (27). I've only had a few Drinkers and there were 5 Common Footman present which was a good count for the garden so quite a fair night overall.

The Clay - one of the Wainscots - the male
has a triangular area of black hair on the underside of it's abdomen

Common Footman - five were caught last night,. They get their
name apparently, because they fold their wings straight
back like a liveried servant standing to attention or two.

Late this afternoon, a Ringlet was in the garden, though briefly. Nearby a Speckled Wood and a Grey Squirrel were seen.

Grey Squirrel - Still a timid creature around here

Root vegetables

2011-06-29T23:02:00.000+01:00

Tried with the net again last night, the result was only 3 moths, single Large Yellow Underwing, Double Square-spot and a Shaded Broadbar. Never mind, practice makes perfect (who am I kidding?).

A Common Tern was again on the Wear this afternoon, by the roadbridge.

A short walk in the sunshine this afternoon produced quite a few butterflies, with Small Skipper,

Small Skipper, the commonest butterfly today

Ringlet and Meadow Brown being the commonest, but also single this year brood Small Tortoiseshell and Comma as well as good numbers of Shaded Broad-bars. Dozens of Large Red-tailed Bumblebees were around too.

One of many Large Red-tailed Bumblebee on the wing today.

Single Common Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, Chiffchaff and 2 Blackcaps were heard and my first Willow Tit for a while

I added another 5 (well 4 actually, I had forgotten to count the Sandwort) to the flora list. These were Autumn Hawkbit, Three-nerved Sandwort, Wild Parsnip, Lesser Stitchwort and Hairy Tare. I had also found some more Common Corn-salad, in the carpark opposite Wilkinsons in the town centre earlier.

Lesser Stitchwort - new for the year

Wild Carrot - spreading in the Chester-le-Street area

Wild Parsnip - another root vegetable

The flowering plant list for the year here moves on to 280

Another beauty

2011-06-27T22:08:00.001+01:00

I knew I would have not time this morning to check the trap and with it being so warm I did not want to leave any moths caught inside so I didn't put the trap out. Instead I had another go with the net and torch, and again I managed another one new for the year, despite my technique not being any better.
A nice Marbled Beauty managed to find it's way into the net

Marbled Beauty

as did a Mottled Beauty and a Bordered White.

Bordered White

Today I checked the riverside after work, well actually the little bridge over the Cong Burn by the miniature railway compound and found what I was looking for, in the form of 3 Banded Demoiselle dragonflies (damselflies). This is a very good spot for them, though others occur at several spots along the Wear here too. The best sighting I had of this species was in June 2006 when in the main Front street one morning I found one fluttering against the window of the Red Lion public house.

When I got home I added another new species for the year in the form of a Red Admiral in the garden.

OFFH List this year

Flowering plants - 275

Birds - 104

Moths - 149

Butterflies - 18

Dragonflies - 5

Hoverflies - 9

Mammals - 10

A peppering of moths

2011-06-26T21:11:00.000+01:00

Temperature minimum last night was 14.7C so I put the trap out. 118 moths of 32 species, the commonest being Heart & Dart (37), Garden Grass Veneer (26) and much more surprisingly, Peppered moth, with 10 being present. Five new ones for the year, a Skin Moth, the grass moth Agriphila straminella, Grey Dagger, an early Six-striped Rustic and two Pale Mottled Willow.

Six-striped Rustic - another early this year

I say Grey Dagger, but cannot rule out Dark Dagger. This moth cannot be readily distinguished as an adult from Grey Dagger except by examination of the genitalia, although in the caterpillar stage this is not a problem as the species are quite different. Considering how rare Dark Dagger is in the county (about half a dozen county records - all confirmed?), compared with Grey Dagger which is common, and certainly all that have been checked in the garden have been Grey. I have also found several larvae on the fell, again all Grey as opposed to zero Dark.

Probable Grey Dagger

As well as the moths caught overnight, there a Common Green Lacewing and a Heather Fly (Bibio pomonae) in the trap this morning.

Heather Fly, the moorland cousin of the St. Mark's Fly

The warmest day of the year, with my little weather station showing a record maximum temperature (I got it at Christmas) of 28.7C at 13:50 hrs today Scorchio!

Common Whitethroat and Garden Warbler were both singing today and an Oyster-catcher flew over Chester Moor. More unusual was a small party of Goldfinch that contained an adult Siskin. Not sure where the Siskin came from as I haven't seen one since early March.

Common Whitethroat - still singing

Bulbous Buttercup, Meadow Cranesbill and Wild Carrot were added to the Flora List.

Meadow Cranesbill - some nice plants along the
Chester Moor end of Waldridge Lane

Butterflies were out in force with good numbers particularly of Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Small Heath and Small Skipper plus a few very fresh looking Small Tortoiseshell.

My first Strawberry of the year, though these wild ones aren't exactly filling

OFFH List this year

Flowering plants - 275
Birds - 104
Moths - 148
Butterflies - 17
Dragonflies - 4
Hoverflies - 9
Mammals - 10

Rain, bees and pollen

2011-06-25T17:53:00.000+01:00

I was going to put the moth trap out but after more particularly heavy downpour and more to follow I decided against it and leave it until tonight. In between the showers I kept popping out with a light and net and caught a few things, though nothing new. Considering I'm not that good with a net I was fairly pleased with my catch of
1 Snout
3 Large Yellow Underwing
1 Double Square-spot
5 Heart & Dart
3 Dark Arches
1 Setaceous Hebrew Character
1 Garden Grass Veneer
and best of all 1 Ghost Moth.

But the ones that got away, that's another story

I added 4 more flowering plants to the list Large Bindweed, Common Knapweed, Rosebay Willowherb and Timothy, all in or around the garden.

Lots of Bumblebees in the garden with the foxgloves being very popular with the Garden Bumblebee Bombus hortorum.

Bombus hortorum, the garden bumblebee

Hoverflies, have all been a bit scarce so far this year. I did have a Syrphus species, probably vitripennis and a couple of Eristalis tenax in the garden this morning but we need a couple days of some sun to get them out properly. What has appeared in the garden in vast numbers is the Common Pollen Beetle (Meligethes aeneus). This is that small black beetle with a metallic blue-green sheen that gets everywhere.


Common Pollen Beetles in the garden - Huge numbers at the moment

Both Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff were heard singing while I was in the garden though much of the bird song has now stopped

OFFH List this year

Flowering plants - 272

Birds - 104

Moths - 143

Butterflies - 17

Dragonflies - 4

Hoverflies - 9

Mammals - 10

Summer solstice arches

2011-06-22T18:22:00.000+01:00

As last night was the longest day, despite the heavy rain showers, I put the moth trap out and was rewarded with 84 moths of 31 species, eight of them being new for the year.
These were a Poplar Hawkmoth,

Poplar Hawkmoth - My first of the year here but he's not too happy

a Burnished Brass,

Burnished Brass

a Wormwood Pug, a Light Arches and four species of micro moth - Scoparia ambigualis, Dipleurina lacustrata, Eucosma cana and a Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix. Amongst the rest there were three Green Arches and 9 Dark Arches, the numbers of the latter, together with Large Yellow Underwings are starting to rise. Heart & Darts (29 last night) should start to drop now.

The Three Arches - (front left to right - Dark Arches, Green Arches and Light Arches)

A Great spotted Woodpecker again flew over the garden as checked the the trap this morning and Wood Burdock is now in flower under the big hedge.

Ringlets & Damsels

2011-06-19T22:16:00.000+01:00

As I suspected there were a few moths hiding in the Greenhouse when I checked late yesterday, the only additional species to the days catch was a Dusky Brocade.
It rained most of yesterday and overnight but this morning was not too bad until the rain at lunchtime. A short walk in between the afternoon's showers allow a few butterflies on the area behind the village to flex their wings. Quite a few Small Heath, Common Blue

Common Blue - Ragged after the heavy rain

and Meadow Brown were flying about and 3 Ringlets, the first of the year, bringing the butterfly year list up to 17.

Ringlets - This species only arrived on the Fell a few years ago

As I walked through the grass I was putting up the grass moth Crambus lathoniellus and 20 or so Shaded Broad-bar.

Shaded Broad-bar - a common moth both at the trap and in long grass

Two Common Blue and a single Blue-tailed Damselfly were also flushed out of the grass. A single plants of Upright Hedge-parsley was found in flower adding to the the year's flora list as did Crested Dog's-tail, Wild Privet and Hedge Woundwort.
There was still a fair bird of bird song about, with most of summer visitors still singing, even if only in snatches. Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Common & Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap, Garden Warbler and Cuckoo all being heard.

OFFH List this year

Flowering plants - 268

Birds - 104

Moths - 135

Butterflies - 17

Dragonflies - 4

Hoverflies - 8

Mammals - 10

Geometrids in the rain

2011-06-18T14:18:00.000+01:00

Busy the last couple of days and the only things of interest were a Common Tern again on the river by the Cricket Club on Thursday 16th and 2 Speckled Woods in the hedge and ivy near the house late yesterday afternoon. Flora wise added another couple of species, Pignut near the house and Common Orache in the town centre.
Woke up this morning and looked out of the window at the pouring rain. The Mercury Vapour bulb in the trap survived and the temperature overnight stayed 11.2C. I always find it amazing that the broad-winged Geometrid moths do not seem to be hindered by the rain, with some of the best nights for these moths have been when it raining, whereas some other nights that seem very suitable, have lots of moths present but few or even any Geometrids. Still so much to learn.
In the trap last night there were 95 moths of 31 species, with no less than 11 being new for the year - the tiny bronze & white micro moth, Argyresthia brockeella, Common Footman, Green Arches,

Green Arches - not that common but annual in the garden

Setaceous Hebrew Character, Bright-line Brown-eye,

Bright-line Brown Eye - as it says on the tin

Mottled Rustic, Fan-foot and 4 Geometrids, Riband Wave,

Riband Wave - the first of presumably many this year.
The majority will be like this, the unbanded form

Barred Yellow, Small Rivulet

Small Rivulet - the double indentation on the upper part of the white
band distinguishes it from the slightly larger Rivulet. This latter
species is much scarcer in the garden.

and Tawny-barred Angle.

Tawny-barred Angle - in the greenhouse, keeping dry

Also present was another Sallow Kitten, an Elephant Hawkmoth, 4 Mottled Beauties and the start of the build up of Large Yellow Underwing numbers. It was raining quite heavy so I opened the trap in the Greenhouse and moving it anywhere always disturbs them. I lost a few which I may relocate later hiding in the greenhouse, but a good night particularly considering the weather.

OFFH List this year

Flowering plants - 264

Birds - 104

Moths - 134

Butterflies - 15

Dragonflies - 2

Hoverflies - 8

Mammals - 10

Blood-veins, Minors and a Flycatcher.

2011-06-15T21:07:00.001+01:00

Put the moth trap out overnight and was rewarded with 85 moths of 35 species, a nice haul, probably because the temperature stayed above 10C all night. Having said that, most of the moths were either Hearts & Darts (52) or Marbled Minors (10). This later species is really a group of three notoriously difficult to identify species aggregated together, Marbled, Rufous & Tawny Marbled. The only sure way to identity them is under the microscope. Over the years I have had a number of them checked and all three species do occur in the garden, though it would seem that Marbled Minor is the common one, and all the dark, melanistic minors seem to be this species. Of the few Rufous Minors I have had confirmed, they have all been similar, bright warm brown moths with a grey band and a little tuft of rufous on the thorax. Without dissecting it and looking at it under the microscope, I am quite confident that one I caught last night was this species.

Probably a Rufous Minor

Easier to identify, but also new for the year last night was my first Common Wainscot of the year,

Common Wainscot

together with only my second and third Blood-vein for the garden,

Blood-vein

plus a few new micro-moths - a Bee Moth, 2 Garden Grass-veneer, 2 Pseudargyrotoza conwagana and a Blastobasis lacticolella.

Pseudargyrotoza conwagana

Later, a Grey Heron flew over, heading toward the village.

I had to take the cat to the vet today and on walking back home along Pelton Fell Road I heard a Spotted Flycatcher. I dashed across the road and was fortunate to pick it up straight away and watched it for a while catching flies, of all things. That little stretch was rather productive as the little meadow by the river there had a couple of Small Skipper butterflies flitting about.

Small Skipper

and the rough ground adjacent to it held a good sized patch of Field Pennycress and the first of the Indian Balsam (aka Policeman's Helmet) in flower along the river bank.

OFFH List this year

Flowering plants - 261

Birds - 104

Butterflies - 15

Moths - 123

Dragonflies - 2

Hoverflies - 8

Mammals - 10

Flyers out

2011-06-13T20:51:00.002+01:00

After a couple of days of rain, there was drier, brighter weather today with some good sunny spells, even though still a little cold. This did bring out some flying insects, adding another butterfly to the list this year, Meadow Brown

Meadow Brown - first of the year

and another moth, the day-flying moth with a name longer than the insect, the Narrow-bordered five-spotted Burnet Moth. There were masses of others ready to emerge all around.

Narrow-bordered five-spotted Burnet Moth

Quite a few bumblebees about at the moment, the majority being either Buff-tailed or Common Carder Bumblebees.

Buff-tailed Bumblebee

The Reedmace covered pond at Brass Castle had a few Damselflies flitting around, though they all seemed to be the same species, the Azure Damselfly.

Pair of Azure Damselfly at Brass Castle

Managed to add a couple more flowering plants, Black Bindweed and Wall-rue, both earlier today by the railway station.

OFFH List this year

Flowering plants - 259

Birds - 103

Butterflies - 14

Moths - 116

Dragonflies - 2

Hoverflies - 8

Mammals - 10

Heart and Dart domination

2011-06-11T12:58:00.001+01:00

6.9C overnight, cool and a bit quiet in the moth trap this morning. That is except for Heart & Darts, 16 of the 21 moths present this morning were this species. A lone White Ermine was new for the year. Also present were single Cinnabar, Brimstone Moth, Dark Arches and the micro Lozotaenia forsterana. After I had tidied up I found another moth, a Dusky Brocade, lurking at the side of the lawn.

Lozotaenia forsterana - This is one of the largest of the
micro Tortrix moths. It is fairly common around Waldridge
mainly on Ivy but has no English name

White Ermine

Dusky Brocade

No time for a wander this morning but 3 Oyster-catcher flew over the house calling noisily, and the pair of Blackbirds that unsuccessfully tried to breed in the garden earlier this year, have managed on a second attempt, though in the garden next door. Two youngsters were hopping about being fed by both Mam & Dad this morning.

The early emergences continue

2011-06-09T20:23:00.000+01:00

Put the trap out last night, the minimum temperature being 6.1C. The 35 moths of 14 species present this morning being a little better than expected.

Two Dark Arches were my earliest ever here as was a Double Square-spot. Also new for the year were was a Buff Ermine and a Pebble Prominent. The majority of the moths present were Heart and Darts, with 19 in total. Noticable by their absence, not one geometrid last night, not a sniff of a pug, carpet or wave.

Pebble Prominent

Buff Ermine

Double Square-spot

Dark Arches