my local patch and wildlife - Ian McDonald

[ian mcdonald]

Yesterday was dull with a cold breeze. We first went to look at a site where Marsh Pea (L. palustris) grows. This uncommon species can be found in Fens and Marshes. The area where it occurs contains a number of small trees and some light pruning may be needed. Our next task was to re-find a Yew tree which was recorded in wet woodland several years ago. Yews are usually found on well drained soils, such as Limestone. Maybe this one was bird sown. The tree seemed to be suffering from the flooding of the wood, with the leaves being brown and shrivelled. Another visit to the tree in a year or two will hopefully reveal new growth. By three in the afternoon the light was beginning to go so we decided to move to an area where better overall views of the site were possible. Grey lag geese were flying in to roost for the night. Water birds were scarce on the pools with the occasional mallard calling. A sparrow hawk was seen on one of the tracks and three marsh harriers were hunting among the reeds. Several downy birch (B. pubescens) were noticed with growths on their trunks. Perhaps caused by galls at an earlier stage. There are mature willows in the wet woodland, both crack (fragilis) and white (alba). A number of fungi were seen on the trees, including two on birch, Horses Hoof and Birch Bracket. A good sunset rounded off the day.



Distortion on birch trunk.



Birch Bracket fungus.



Horses Hoof fungus.



One of the mature willows.



Sunset.

Birds seen were marsh harrier, blackbird, wood pigeon, mallard, moorhen, sparrow hawk, fieldfare, pied wagtail, common snipe, crow, robin, grey lag geese, meadow pipit, wren.

[David Nicholson]

Ian, around my home we get flocks of Magpies but, as far as I’m aware you have never mentioned them do they figure around the area in which you live?

[ian mcdonald]

Hello David, yes magpies are common here. We do see them on the site but they are mainly around the edges. Other common birds of gardens not too often seen on site are starling, house sparrow, hedge sparrow, thrush and collared dove.

[ian mcdonald]

Today was dull and cold following two days of rain. The rain ceased today at 10.00am. I rang the other naturalists and they were already on site. As the wind was cold we went to look at one area of woodland I had not been in. Now that the floods have gone we were able to access the wood easily. Many fungi were seen on the ground and growing on birch trees, mostly downy birch (Betula pubescens). As we were looking at the fungi a group of female red deer ran past. Small flocks of birds were flying among the trees including redpoll and goldcrest. We disturbed a woodcock in one area. Woodcock usually sit tight until you get close. It started getting dark by about 3.30pm. and the temperature soon dropped. Geese were flying in as we left.











Climbing corydalis is still in flower.

[ian mcdonald]

Birds seen today were, pheasant, teal, mallard, mute swan, blackbird, redpoll, goldcrest, wren, blue tit, long tailed tits, coal tit, buzzard, marsh harrier, crow, pink footed geese, grey lag geese, wood pigeons, meadow pipits, jay, willow tit, woodcock and great spotted woodpecker.

[Robert]

Ian,

You seem to keep tallies of the birds that you encounter on your outings. There are certainly seasonal changes in the bird species you encounter, especial migratory species. Do you notice other changes in the bird populations or species encountered over time? If there are changes, is there any significance to the changes?

[ian mcdonald]

The forecast for today was for rain (sorry Robert). We have had rain for several days. It was mild (mid fiftiesF). I met the other two naturalists and we decided to look for a moss in a wet wood which had been found some years ago. The moss, Antitrichia curtipendula, is a northern species in the UK. We still could not find it, although I had taken a picture of the habitat (it was growing on a fallen willow branch). During our search we disturbed a Woodcock, which flew away. Earlier a group of five red deer hinds were seen on a path. In the wood we also saw a tree creeper and a flock of Redpoll with a Goldfinch. They were busy hunting in birch trees. A Goldcrest was also seen. A flock of Pink Footed Geese flew over the wood and also a flock of Fieldfares. We decided to make our way back to the starting point by about 3.00pm. It started to rain quite heavy but then the clouds dispersed and the light improved. On a water body we saw a large group of Mallards, with some Teal, Goosanders, Pintail and a Wigeon. We made our way to an area with good views in the hope of seeing Hen Harrier which sometimes visit in Winter. At least 5 or 6 Marsh Harrier were seen then as the light was fading we saw two male Hen Harriers and possibly a third. Altogether the bird count was, blackbird, mallard, teal, marsh harrier, kestrel, blue tit, great tit, long tailed tit, redpoll, goldcrest, goldfinch, crow, jay, woodcock, tree creeper, goosander, wigeon, pintail, starling, fieldfare, hen harrier, wood pigeon, pheasant, grey lag geese, pink footed geese, whooper swans, chaffinch. One of my companions had earlier seen a Peregrine swooping at marsh harriers.



Red deer hinds in a wood.



A fungus which may be a Pleurotus (oyster mushroom family).



Redpolls in a birch tree.



Six whooper swans flying in.

[Robert]

Ian,

It has been very overcast and rainy here in Northern California. 

Today the snow level dropped to 3,000 feet (914 meters). We have not seen that in a while. There was 5.5 cm of snow on the ground at Riverton, about 3,625 feet (1,105 meters). Up the mountain there was much more.  I'll be able to check things on Peavine Ridge in a few days. Now we need the snow to stick around for a few months - like April. 

[ian mcdonald]

Hello Robert, I hope you have more rain but not enough to cause flooding. It will be interesting to see which plants grow in the bare areas next year. It is raining here again and the forecast is for more. The temperature is mild for the time of year, low fiftiesF.

[Robert]

Hi Ian,

I am certainly hoping for better things this coming season. I have a large back log of things to get done. The evacuation order has finally been lifted for much of the Camp Fire burn area. I will be very curious to see what happened to the ecosystems / vegetation in both the Camp Fire / Mendocino Complex Fire areas. Parts of the Camp Fire burn have been reported to be extreme – something like that was observed in parts of the Rim Fire burn area.

I appreciate the informal weather observations. I monitor the AO (Arctic Oscillation), which influences or may include the NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation). The NAO was a major player in the Medieval Optimum and Little Ice Age. Currently the AO Index is -1. We are currently seeing a weakening of the stormy pattern here on the west coast of North America. This would be expected when the AO Index trends toward the positive range. In addition, both the MJO and ENSO influence convergent and divergent patterns, thus our weather and our gardens. Climatology is extremely interesting.

Currently there is a beautiful new snow pack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Sunday night we had some intense thunderstorm activity. We experienced 10 mm hail at the farm which translates into an updraft speed of approximately 30 mph / 47 kph. The internet went down so I could not estimate the CAPE – as a guess + or -  2,000 J/kg - moderate. Earlier in the day, I was able the estimate both the LCL and CCL at about 900 mb. It was certainly an active weather day.

Today, I hope to visit a few of my observation sites in the Sierra Nevada.

I am looking forward to your next outing.

[ian mcdonald]

It rained all day today and I wondered whether to go out or not. When I reached the site my usual companions were there. We decided to go to one of the wet woods and look again at a plant seen last week. It is still un-identified due to the poor condition. I went to look for several plants of Hard Fern, (Blechnum spicant), but could not find them. My companions decided to look in another part of the wood. I did not see them again until late in the afternoon. I flushed six woodcock while in the wood and also saw several red deer running through the trees. There were small flocks of redpoll with blue tits feeding among the birch seeds. A male goosander was on open water at one of the pools. Due to the rain the visibility was poor. The mosses are looking fresh now that the weather has turned wet. Another plant of Common Polypody was found on a tree not far from a previous site. This species, P. vulgare seems to be spreading on the site.  My companions found a further site for the species in another wood. Due to the rain I did not take many photos. We did not stay until dark looking for Raptors due to the limited visibility. Birds today were Redpoll, Blue tit, great tit, long tailed tit, great spotted woodpecker, pheasant, crow, wood pigeon, woodcock, mallard, goosander, jay, fieldfare, chaffinch, blackbird and wren.







A small plant of Polypody.

[ian mcdonald]

Today was dull and cold following rain last night. The sky cleared by early afternoon but it was still cold. We decided to look at an area where earth star fungi were found last week by my companions, I was not able to go last week. We found a few earth stars, Geatrum triplex, a species I don,t remember seeing before. When the fungi are ripe, rain drops falling on the cup causes the spores to be expelled, as demonstrated in the following photos. There were a few good sized oaks in the woodland clothed in mosses and crustose fungi. Also seen were growths on the trunks of oak and birch which looked as though the trees had been "galled" at a younger stage. Although the site we visited was fairly small it was interesting in that three habitat types were represented, broad leaved woodland, birch woodland and wet heath. Some plants of bog rosemary, Andromeda polifolia, were seen. We stayed until dusk, about 3.45pm and saw three roe deer. Birds seen were, pink foot geese, wood pigeon, blue tit, long tailed tit, goldfinch, goldcrest, pheasant, kestrel, marsh harrier, water rail, meadow pipit, magpie, jay, wren, crow and chaffinch. Red breasted merganser had been seen several days ago.





The brown stems and leaves look like an epiphitic fern which will need to be visited again next year.



Earth star.



Earth star "erupting."

[ian mcdonald]

"Jews Ear."



One of the large oaks.



Growths on oak trunk.



Crustose fungi.

[ian mcdonald]

An old large fungi on a fallen willow.

[ian mcdonald]

Today was a good day, sunny and no wind. When I arrived on site one of my usual companions joined me. Mist was rising from ditches and pools across the area.  We decided to look again for a rare moss which has proved elusive. On the way to the wood we stopped to look at a large pool and saw two male and eight female Goosanders. With them was a female Red Breasted Merganser. This is only the fourth record of Mergansers at the site. We arrived at the wood where the moss grows and found we could not get near the location due to recent rains filling the ditches. We decided instead to look at fungi etc. on the mature trees. The area was like a rain forest with mosses, lichens and fungi on the ground and on trees. Yellow Brain Fungus was seen as well as candle snuff and an extremely small white fungus growing among moss on a branch. My companion found what looked like a black smudge on a fallen branch but on closer inspection it had many ridges along its length. When we walked back along the track we noted that the Goosanders and Merganser had left. We alerted the bird recorder for the site and he said he would come to see the Merganser. We saw him some time later and he went to the area where we had seen the bird but he could not find it. Later we saw a group of Goosander on another pool and the Merganser was among them so we phoned him and he did manage to see it. By this time it was dusk so we stayed to see if any raptors were around and managed to see a Merlin and a Barn Owl. All in all a very good day and better than sitting at home.



Red Breasted Merganser in middle, a good distance away.



Yellow Brain Fungus.





Minute white fungus.