CJE's Wild Life

Astropecten irregularis

2011-09-17T17:52:00.000+01:00

I came across a few new species of things during my Scottish holiday this year but by far the best was the starfish Astropecten irregularis. I may have seen it before but failed to recognise it.

We rescued this one from an exposed piece of hard sand at Gairloch and placed it on some soft sand in which it buried itself in less than 30 seconds.

Blister Beetle

2011-07-31T15:20:00.000+01:00

This tiny, ant-like beetle is a blister beetle of the family Meloidae – perhaps an Anthicus species, possibly Anthicius floralis – the narrow-necked harvest beetle. Like most creatures on the Island it enjoys aggravating humans. In this case it pierces the skin and injects canthadrin – a poisonous chemical which causes blistering of the skin. (Canthadrin is used medically to remove warts). For the purposes of scientific research and a better photo I allowed it to have a go at me. When not busy biting it was sprinting all over my hand which made it difficult to photograph. Once stationery and biting it was easier to photograph – the things I do for science!

I can confirm that being injected with canthadrin hurts.

Birds in the garden

2011-06-27T16:44:00.000+01:00

A new bird visitor was added to the garden list today - a female Chaffinch. That makes 24 species we have seen in the garden itself (not counting those that just fly overhead).

The number of species that actually nest in the garden has also increased this year and although no Collared Doves nested, as they often do, (I think the Sparrowhawk is to blame for that) we had 8 species - Robin, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Wood Pigeon, Starling, Blackbird, Great Tit and Blue Tit. Not bad for a small suburban garden.

Corncrakes

2011-06-15T04:59:00.000+01:00

I have often heard Corncrakes on the Isle of Lewis and in the last time I went up there there was one creaking away in the grass between Pat and Dave's and GB's. The previous year GB and I heard a few competing with each other beside the car park by the Gearrannan Black House Village. But I have never seen one.

I knew from pictures what they looked like but nevertheless I was surprised at how small they are when I saw a stuffed Corncrake family at Chester Museum.

(It is worth recording here that when Mum was young they could be heard calling in the fields opposite her house on Queens Drive, Broad Green, Liverpool. Such has been their decline since then that one has to go to the Hebrides to have much hope of hearing one.)

Baby Jackdaw

2011-06-14T08:24:00.000+01:00

A baby Jackdaw at Chirk Castle.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

2011-06-10T06:55:00.001+01:00

On Wednesday Brother-who-blogs took Partner-who-loves-tea and I to Chirk Castle for the day. Highlight of the day for me was not directly to do with the castle or gardens – it was a new moth species – the Hummingbird Hawkmoth.

The wings go up and down at around 70 complete beats per second which makes it hard to photograph – especially as it was on the far side of a wide border. When it decides it has had enough it can zoom off at about 30 mph - making it one of the fastest insects on the planet.

Beefsteak Fungus

2010-09-26T13:44:00.000+01:00

This is another fungus from my visit to Arrowe Park on 25th September - The Beefsteak Fungus (Fistulina hepatica).

Why do so many people - who would probably never pick or damage a flower - feel the need to destroy every fungus they see? So often in public parks there are damaged fungi everywhere and certainly not all can be blamed on the squirrels. At least in this case it enabled me to positively identify them and to demonstrate why they are so called.

Sparrowhawk

2010-09-26T13:39:00.000+01:00

I've seen plenty of Sparrowhawks over the years but despite poor light and a window in the way I got my best photos of one on 25th September.

Rooting Brittlehead

2010-09-25T15:58:00.000+01:00

I don't have a complete list of the fungi I have photographed. I must sort them out some day. In the meantime I thought I would put some of the recent ones on this site.

These are the Rooting Brittlehead ( Psathyrella gracilis). They were in Arrowe Park, Wirral, on 25th September.

Jersey Tiger

2010-09-03T00:34:00.003+01:00

I briefly saw a Jersey Tiger skip past in the car park at Otter Nurseries last year. This year one came into the garden at Frog End.

Autumn Green Carpet

2010-09-02T16:32:00.001+01:00

Autumn Green Carpet
A third new species from the moth trap at Frog End.

Setaceous Hebrew Character

2010-09-02T00:28:00.014+01:00

The Setaceous Hebrew Character was another new species for me when we ran the moth trap at Helen and Ian's.

The Purple Clay is a species that I ave previously recorded but which do not seem to have a photo of.

Cypress Pug

2010-09-01T16:23:00.000+01:00

One of the species that appeared in the moth trap at Frog End, Exeter,on 29/30th August was the Cypress Pug. A resident species, it was first recorded in Britain in 1959 in Cornwall. It has now spread at lest as far North as Rugby and is well established along the South Coast.

A Psyllid

2010-07-01T14:26:00.000+01:00

There are not many major families of British insects of which I have never photographed a representative but when I found a Psyllid (one of the Jumping Plant Lice) on an Oak leaf at Thurstaston on 30th June it proved to be a first from that family. Which one it is I do not know though it may be a Trioza species..

Phlyctaenia coronata

2010-06-26T13:16:00.000+01:00

I found a new garden inhabitant today - the micro-moth Phlyctaenia coronata (not the similar Phlyctaenia stachydalis).

Family: Crambidae, Subfamily: Pyraustinae.

Wingspan 22-26 mm.

Fairly common throughout England and Wales, and also Ireland, this easy to recognise species is often attracted to light.

The larvae feed on the young leaves of Elder (Sambucus nigra), Lilac (Syringa sp.) and Bindweed (Convolvulus sp.) all of which can be found in our garden. The adults can sometimes be disturbed during the day from the foodplant.

June to July is the main flight period, and the larvae hibernate during the winter, pupating in the spring.

Fieldfares & Redwings

2010-01-14T05:37:00.000Z

Two new bird species were added to the garden list on 13th January as Fieldfares and Redwings came into the garden to drink at the ponds.

Pied Wagtail

2010-01-08T07:48:00.002Z

The snow brought a Pied Wagtail to The Willows. A new bird for the garden species list.

Painted Lady

2009-09-15T05:19:00.003+01:00

I have been lamenting the paucity of butterflies - both in numbers and variety - this summer. However, when I looked down the lists at the side of this blog I realised that the eleven species seen at The Willows didn't include the Painted Lady, a migrant which has been in the garden this summer. So the number of species seen in the garden since we moved in five years ago has risen to twelve.

The Great Yellow Bumble Bee - perhaps!

2009-09-14T07:07:00.003+01:00

This bee appeared in the garden the other day. For a moment I thought it was a Carder Bee but then I realised it looked quite different. Much brighter and bigger. I think, repeat, think, it is Bombus distinguendus, the Great Yellow Bumble Bee. But I wouldn't bet on it. Comments welcome!

Atherix ibis

2009-07-20T07:32:00.000+01:00

I'm not very good at identifying flies and I'm not sure how many dozens of unidentified or uncertain photos I've got - but it's a lot. I think this is one I have photographed before - Atherix ibis.

Bombus jonellus

2009-07-18T21:09:00.002+01:00

GB's garden provided me with my first photos of Bombus jonellus - the Heath Bumblebee, also known as the Small Heath Bumblebee - 17th July 2009.

Ichneumon Wasp

2009-07-17T19:14:00.004+01:00

An Ichneumon Wasp.

Also known as Ichneumon flies these are relatives of the Bees and Wasps. I haven’t seen this species before. Unfortunately I cannot identify it as there is no comprehensive guide to British Ichneumons. This species has a distinctive hind leg.

Mason Wasp

2009-06-28T05:38:00.001+01:00

A new species of potter or mason wasp to add to my collection of insect photos - Odynerus species (possibly the Spiny Mason Wasp - Odynerus spinipes).

Otter footprint

2009-05-14T02:14:00.002+01:00

An Otter footprint at Cricklepit Mill.

And the Otter's spraints in the same place.

Ancistoceros antilope

2009-05-14T02:11:00.002+01:00

This may be the potter or mason wasp Ancistoceros antilope but there are a few very similar species so I cannot be certain. It was photographed by the River Exe.

Water Speedwell

2009-05-14T02:09:00.005+01:00

So far as I can recall without having my list to hand Water Speedwell - found by the River Exe - was a new species for me.

I have yet to identify this plant - a clover species?

Yellow-barred Brindle

2009-05-09T06:06:00.003+01:00

As Friend-who-loves-Otters was driving away from the house to take Daughter-who-takes-Photos on holiday my mind was only half on waving them goodbye. The other half was focussing the camera on a moth which was sat upon the wall of Frog End.

For me, a moth-lover, there is nothing more infuriating than a moth I cannot identify. I don't mind having to look it up if it's a new species for me but I really get worked up if I cannot find it. I think that's a sign of a happy retirement when it's just things like this that get to you.

Unfortunately I only managed to take it from the one angle before it flew off and its wing scales were so new and shiny that the pattern was not as clear as it could be in a duller light or from a different angle. Not having my moth books with me I turned to the UK moths site. This is a brilliant site from which to identify species so long as you have a basic knowledge of the subject.

My immediate reaction was to hope it was some form of Small Seraphim - if only because I love its scientific name of Pterapherapteryx sexalata.

It turned out to be the Yellow-barred Brindle (Acasis viretata).

This is a new species for me and brings my total number of macro-moths to 263.

The name refers to the colour form normally found in the wild but when freshly emerged - as this so obviously was - it usually has a greenish colour that fades rapidly. The adult moth is found in May and June and, in the southern part of its range, again in August and September.

The Yellow-barred Brindle is widely distributed but rarely common in woodland, suburban habitats and scrubland, and in northern England and southern Scotland it is scarce. The caterpillars feed on the flowers and leaves of a variety of foodplants, including holly and Ivy.

Annual Knawel

2009-05-08T05:57:00.006+01:00

It is fairly rare nowadays for me to add a new flower to my species list. With a few exceptions anything new I see is likely to be one of a group of difficult to distinguish species (which I am too lazy to identify). There are, however, a number of species of which I do not have decent photos. Some of these are very common and have simply been ignored because I've assumed I have already taken them. This was the case with Annual Knawel (Scleranthus annuus) until Daughter-who-takes-photos asked me to identify it in her garden. Reaching up to 10cm high, it is common on dry, bare places throughout Britain and Ireland and can be an abundant garden weed. The narrow, pointed leaves are borne in opposite pairs along the stems. The flowers comprise close-knit heads of greenish white sepals with no petals and appear from May to August.

It is also known as German Moss or German Knotgrass and few of the photos on the web look like mine but I reckon I’ve identified it correctly. One that does look like mine is at Wild Plants in Netherlands and Belgium.

Calocoris quadripunctatus

2009-05-08T04:05:00.002+01:00

This very active little bug ran up and down my hand and arm, refusing to slow for its portrait. As a result the photo is poor. This, combined with the difficulty of identifying many closely related species of Mirid Bug, makes me hesitate to be categorical but it does seem to be Calocoris quadripunctatus. If so, it is a new species for me.

Pfeiffer's Amber Snail

2009-05-08T00:04:00.001+01:00

I'm sure some of my readers think it sad when I get excited by things like snails but that's what happened in Otter Nurseries. I do not claim to be a molluscologist (or whatever the appropriate word may be) but I decided this was a Pfeiffer's Amber Snail (Oxyloma elegans ).

I have photographed an Amber Snail before but I've never seen a Pfeiffer's Amber Snail even though they are equally common and found throughout Europe. I am assured it is pronounced Fifer's - something I should apparently have known if I watched films! Perhaps I should call this little specimen Michelle.

So, it has been added to my list of species seen. Small things (literally - it’s tiny) amuse small minds.

Oak Apple Gall and Fig Gall

2009-05-05T19:54:00.001+01:00

I enjoy spotting and identifying galls.

I have photos of many species but have not listed them as yet. At Stover Country park on 2nd May I added this splendid young Oak Apple Gall, caused by the gall wasp Biorhiza pallida , to my photos.

This Gall on an Elm leaf was taken at the bottom of Helen and Ian's garden. It is caused by the aphid Teraneura ulmi. It is sometimes called a Fig Gall.

Common Groundhopper

2009-05-05T17:00:00.000+01:00

At Chudleigh Knighton Heath on 2nd May I added the Common Groundhopper (Tetrix undulata) to my list of Orthoptera.

Raft Spider

2009-05-05T14:31:00.004+01:00

I haven't kept my life list of spiders very up to date so I'm not sure this is complete but I have seen and photographed the following:-
Araneus diadematus Garden Spider
Araniella cucurbitina
Arctosa perita
Argiope bruennichi Wasp Spider
Clubonia corticalis
Clubonia Sp.
Enoplagnatha ovata
Hyposinga albovittata
Larinoides cornutus
Lepthyphantes minutus
Meta sp.
Misumena vatia
Nuctenea umbratica
Pachygnatha degeeri
Pardosa amentata
Pardosa pullata
Philodromus sp.
Pirata latitans
Pisaura mirabilis
Salticus senicus Zebra Spider
Scotophaeus blackwalli
Segestria senoculata
Steatoda bipunctata
Tegenaria domestica House Spider
Tegenaria duellica
Theridion pallens
Theridion sisyphium
Theridion varians
Xysticus cristatus
Zelotes Sp.
Zygiella x-notata

At Chudleigh Knighton Heath on 2nd May 2009 I added the Raft Spider Dolomedes fimriatus. This is the same place I saw Argiope bruennichi - the Wasp Spider - in 2007 so it has proved a good spot for spiders.

Birds in the Garden

2009-04-11T22:18:00.003+01:00

The total number of birds seen in the garden is a bit of a grey area since I have never recorded them until today. I sat down and did a list from memory but there may be species I have missed. One thing for certain is that the male Siskin that was on the Niger seed feeder today was a first. Well spotted, Jo. We saw plenty of them at the caravan but we have not seen one here before.

Ainsdale National Nature Reserve

2009-02-24T06:24:00.012Z

Ainsdale Sand Dunes NNR forms part of the Sefton Coast - the finest dune system on the north-west coast of England. The area is part of a Ramsar site and part of the Sefton Coast Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The dunes are home to over 450 plant species including 33 that are locally or regionally rare like petalwort, seaside centaury, yellow bartsia, round-leaved wintergreen, dune helleborine and pendulous flowered helleborine. Sand lizards and great-crested newts are found here together with a large population of natterjack toads. Inland, areas of pine woodland are home to red squirrels.

In the early 1980s I was fortunate enough to be a voluntary warden at Ainsdale National Nature Reserve. The job entailed wandering the Reserve for a day each fortnight (or more frequently for those who could spare the time) and making sure that the public kept to the pathways and anyone off the beaten track was in possession of a valid licence to study there. We also kept our eyes open for fire hazards and other problems. The volunteer wardens were in touch with the full-time warden by means of a short wave radio but it only worked sporadically as there were a number of dead spots on the reserve.

The job occasionally proved hazardous; a couple of times I was a lone volunteer telling a gang of poachers with lurchers and guns to go away - not an enviable task but I survived OK and the compensations were enormous.

To have a whole nature reserve virtually to oneself is a wonderful experience - whatever the weather.

The sand is bound together by the long-rooted Marram Grass.

Occasionally a storm would bring a whole dune flowing inland, burying everything in its track. When a ‘blow-out’ like that occurred is was as well to be nowhere near it.

There is also woodland - mainly pines but also some Birch and mixed woodland.

As one goes inland the dunes give way to slacks and areas of standing water.

The opportunity to be there all year round gave me scope for pictures in the snow and ice. (The tracks are those of my friend the fox.)

And in the summer sun.

There were, of course, days when I got soaked through but even those were something special and a joy to be remembered (in hindsight).

The flora of the area is very varied as is the wildlife. I have already blogged about a Fox which befriended me. One day I’ll show some more of the wildlife I found there.

Beetles

2008-10-03T08:19:00.002+01:00

I’m not sure how many beetle species have actually made it onto my ‘life list’ over the years but the one in the left-hand column is a basic one with most the main species I have seen.

It adds up to about 94 species but equally interesting to me are the various forms of ladybird of which I have photos of 13 species but dozens more forms of those species.

Many people think of beetles as boring black creatures but they are anything but boring and even the black ones often have wonderful hues of violet, blue or green on their wing cases.

Bugs

2008-09-21T19:46:00.002+01:00

Although the term 'bugs' is used by the general public as a synonym for insects or small invertebrates generally it has a specific meaning to the entomologist - insects in the order Hemiptera. In order to clarify the meaning, members of the order are sometimes referred to as True Bugs.

Bugs are small to moderately large insects with a large, horizontally held head which is generally visible from above. In most species the forewings are partly chitinous and the hindwings membranous but may be absent. They possess a sucking or stabbing proboscis. Bugs have widely differing shapes and habits and some confusion with beetles, cockroaches and psocids is possible.

My favourite bugs are the shield bugs – 11 species seen and photographed so far - which have a fairly distinctive shape and are comparatively easy to recognise as adults. As nymphs, especially in their early instars, they are a lot less easy to recognise but it all adds to the fun. My least favourites are the aphids and as yet I haven’t tried to list the individual species seen.

Moth list

2008-09-20T19:50:00.001+01:00

The first list of species I ever compiled was butterflies. The second was British macro-moths and moths remain one of my major interests. It really infuriates me when I find, or attract to my moth light, a species that I am unable to identify. This happened earlier in the year at GB’s where I caught a few carpet moths of the same species to which I couldn’t put a name. I have some reasonable photos so hopefully I will manage to identify it before too long. In the meantime my life list of macro-moths stands at 262. I have photos of the majority of these.

I apologise to anyone who is seeking a logical order in my lists on the left of the page. In some cases they are in alphabetical order; in some they are in families; and a couple are in an order used only by me!

The Moth species are listed accordingly to family and then sub-family / tribe, etc.- from the most primitive to the most developed. I concluded there were too many to make a separate alphabetical list.

Dragonflies and Damselflies

2008-09-20T00:34:00.000+01:00

The number of species of dragonflies and damselflies that I have seen has only had one addition in recent years – Keeled Skimmers near Llithfaen on the Lleyn Peninsula in July 2003. However, I am constantly improving the photos that I have taken of the various species.

Even in Helen’s garden in September this year I got better photos of Migrant Hawker and Golden-ringed Dragonfly than I had previously taken.

So far only one species has ventured into the garden (and the house!) at The Willows - the Southern Hawker. But I live in hope.

The list currently stands at 7 species of damselfly and 13 species of dragonfly (with the addition of Highland Darter – a subspecies of the Common Darter - taking it to 14). I have also seen an Emerald dragonfly but I don't know which species.

British Butterflies

2008-09-19T07:57:00.001+01:00

There are 58 species of Butterfly which breed on the British mainland (Real’s Wood White occurs only in Ireland) of which one is a re-introduction from the continent after having become extinct - the Large Blue. There are also a number of occasional vagrant and exotic species, some of the latter simply being escapes from captivity. Of these 58 I have seen 39 species in the wild and two more in captivity.

I have photos of nearly all of them – the exceptions being the Small Blue (seen near Grange-in-Borrowdale in the 1960s) and the White Admiral (Forest of Dean 1990s).,
It is a long time since I added a species – the last being the Scotch Argus when on Skye in the 1990s. It is about time I saw a new one!

Amphibians

2008-09-18T07:21:00.002+01:00

Of the five species of frog, toad and newt that I have seen I have only photographed four - the exception being the Natterjack Toad. Although I have seen a number of these at the end of the Fisherman’s Path at Ainsdale I never got a photo. Both Common Frog and Smooth Newt live in the garden at The Willows and we also had a Common Toad at Yew Tree. Palmate Newts swarmed in the pond at the caravan.

Reptiles

2008-09-18T07:12:00.002+01:00

I have seen five of the six reptiles found on the mainland of Britain – the missing species being the Smooth Snake. The only photo I have of a Grass Snake is one swimming the pond at Wast Hills near Birmingham but I have seen quite a few that were too quick to photograph. Apart from seeing a couple of Adders I was fortunate enough to get photos of a large one basking in the Wyre Forest.
I’ve got plenty of photos of Viviparous Lizards in various locations and a couple of a Sand Lizard at Formby. I've also seen Sand Lizards at Ainsdale. Last year I added a Slow Worm to my list when we saw some baby ones in Helen and Ian’s garden. This year the adult Slow Worm was kind enough to bask in the garden on many days, despite it not really being basking weather.

Butterflies at The Willows

2008-09-17T20:36:00.003+01:00

So far I have seen 11 species of butterfly in the garden at The Willows:-

Holly Blue, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Comma, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Peacock, Orange Tip, Large White, Small White, and Green-veined White.

Mammals

2008-09-11T07:22:00.000+01:00

When Helen and I sat down to work out our list of British mammals seen in the wild I assumed it would be a quick job and a short list. In practice it turned out to be a much longer list than I had anticipated. It is also complicated by wanting to add those species seen in captivity (something I haven't done with the British birds list but might at some stage).
The list is now done and stands at 28 species / subspecies in the wild with another 8 in captivity.

Volucella inanis

2008-09-09T20:17:00.004+01:00

9th September 2008 - A fairly spectacular hoverfly landed briefly in the garden at Frog End while Helen and I were out there. It turned out to be Volucella inanis. Sadly I didn't get a photo so although it took my total up to 52 species I only have photos of 51 of them.
The photo is by Ray Hamblett

Four birds in fourteen years...

2008-09-09T17:49:00.002+01:00

No, that heading is not a reference to adultery! It's a reference to my abject failure to add to my lifetime list of avian fauna since 1994. At that time it stood at 166 British species seen in the wild. Since then I have added a few Long-eared Owls seen on various trips to the caravan in N Wales; some very distant Little Egrets at Dawlish Warren; a number of Choughs on the Lleyn Peninsula; and a Water Rail at Stover Country Park the other day. So my life list now stands at 170 species.

I suspect my gradually failing eyesight has been a contributory factor but I've also spent a lot of my country walks looking at invertebrates six inches from my nose and ignoring the birdlife. Even so it is a very poor record. I shall have to take my monocular around with me and look up a bit more.