my local patch and wildlife - Ian McDonald

[ian mcdonald]

A sea plant in a rock pool.



Toad.



Gall on nettle, caused by rust fungus Puccinia urticata?



Northern eggar.



Slow worms.

[ian mcdonald]

Bog asphodel.



Burnet moth.



Sheeps-bit scabious.



A fly past.



Hares-foot clover.

[ian mcdonald]

Bog pimpernel, only found due to the directions from the local BSBI recorder. It was growing on short turf.



Bush vetch.



Wild marjoram growing on limestone.



Melancholy thistle.



Golden rod, S. virgaurea.

[ian mcdonald]

While looking in an old quarry for plants I noticed something move. A small animal ran under a rock and I waited to see if it appeared again.



I think curiosity got the better of it and it wanted a closer look.



The best photos. I have of a stoat.

[ashley]

A small sedge, possibly C. pauciflora.

Or perhaps flea sedge, C. pulicaris?

[ian mcdonald]

Could be Ashley, I did not have the book with me and sedges and grasses are not really my topic.

[ian mcdonald]

Juncus balticus.



coral root orchid.



sea milkwort.



burnet rose.



war and peace.

[ian mcdonald]

common birds foot.



lesser butterfly orchid.



star sedge, C, echinata.



pale butterwort.



early marsh orchid.

[ian mcdonald]

heath spotted orchid.



scottish primrose, why do cameras always record them as blue instead of pink?



ringed plover.



moonscape with water.



one for the Doric speakers.

[ian mcdonald]

Another.





Fossilised stromatolites?

[ian mcdonald]

Back to the local patch. Yesterday was hot, 30c. The birds seemed to be keeping out of the sun in many cases. Butterflies on the other hand, were conspicuous.



Buddleja, an introduction which becomes invasive and out-competes native plants.



Weld, the taller cousin of mignonette.



A fungus on a willow branch.



Another fungus on willow.



A young giant puffball?

[ian mcdonald]

Lesser spearwort in one of the wet woods.



A pair of hoverfly? on spear thistle.



A small skipper on spear thistle.



A comma on ragwort.



Red admiral on burdock.

[ian mcdonald]

Small tortoiseshell on burdock.



The dune helleborines are mostly in seed now.



Yellow loosestrife.



Greater yellow rattle are just in flower.

Birds seen were, reed bunting, mallard, gadwall, lapwing, pheasant, linnet, crow, wood pigeon, willow warbler, cettis warbler, kestrel. Butterflies were, comma, small tortoiseshell, red admiral, small skipper, speckled wood, meadow brown, small white, large white and ringlet.

[Maggi Young]

Lots to see, Ian!

[ian mcdonald]

Most of the forecast heavy rain fell at night, with flooding in other parts of the country. I have had to bin my "waterproof" over-trousers as they are no longer water-tight. My first visit this week saw the discovery of two more additions to the plant list, dwarf mallow, M. neglecta and corn mint, Mentha arvensis. Later in the day I met a local naturalist and the senior site warden. We went along one of the tracks in search of a small bee which feeds on fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica. We found a couple of the bees, Epeolus sp. We also saw a small moth, Apodia bifractella. Yesterday I met two bird watchers. They told me I had just missed three wood sandpipers and an egret. Some mowing has been carried out, with a view to increasing the flowering plant diversity. I found a gall on the stem of one species of hawkweed, Hieraceum umbellatum. The hawkweeds are a large group of plants and are not easy to identify. I know these species because a Botanist friend told me which they were.



Difficult to see due to being tall plants but the hawkweed on the left is H. vagum and the one on the right is H. umbellatum, leafy hawkweed.



Hieraceum umbellatum with a gall on the stem, this may have been caused by the gall wasp, Aulacidea hieracii.



A bee, Epeolus sp. on fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica.



A micro moth, Apodia bifractella, on fleabane.



Dingy footman on ragwort. Who on earth invents these names?