my local patch and wildlife - Ian McDonald

[ian mcdonald]

Last week was cold and windy again. I met a colleague and we again decided to keep out of the wind by looking in wooded areas. I re-visited the site where previously a Cladonia lichen was found. It was identified as either C. glauca or C. subulata. C. glauca often has a longitudinal slit along the stalk but the ones we looked at were covered in squamules, tiny scale-like growths and this prevented us from seeing anything on the stalk. Later we decided to watch for owls and were rewarded with good views of a Barn Owl hunting. Also seen were Buzzard, Marsh Harrier and Kestrel. We had a message from the senior site manager that a large willow had blown over in a wood at the south end of the site. Our second visit was also cold and windy so we went to the wood to see the tree. It was a large white willow, S. alba. We spent some time in the wood looking at mosses, lichens and fungi. My colleague found a fungi which he identified as Ascocoryne sarcoides. Two Tree Creepers were seen poking in the bark of birch trees with their long curved beaks. Later, a third bird was seen. Two female and a male Goosander were on a large pool. My colleague heard a Bearded Tit calling, my hearing is not so good but I did hear a Cettis Warbler call, which he did not. A Great-spotted Woodpecker was calling from somewhere deep in the wood. We were told by the senior manager of Field Voles under some plastic sheets at the corner of the wood. I stood ready with the camera as my colleague raised the sheet. The voles were too quick and I only caught sight of the last one disappearing into the nearby vegetation. I photographed two mosses and looked in the Field Guide to identify them, not always easy unless you are familiar with mosses. I have given them a preliminary identification but will wait to see if a Bryologist friend can name them from my photos.



Barn Owl hunting.



The fallen White Willow, S. alba.



Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus?



Ascocoryne sarcoides.



Dicranoweisia cirrata?

Birds seen were, mallard, teal, gadwall, grey lag geese, starling, barn owl, kestrel, crow, pheasant, buzzard, marsh harrier, canada goose, stonechat, crane, jays, tree creeper, lapwing, blue tit, great tit, goosander, bearded tit, cettis warbler, mute swan, sparrow hawk, great spotted woodpecker, long tailed tit, song thrush, wren, bullfinch, blackbird, robin and magpie.

[ian mcdonald]

Today was bright but with a strong cold wind (will it ever stop?). By the time I got to the site my colleague had met the site manager and had walked part of the way along the Western edge. I caught up with them at a site where bricks from old buildings lay in heaps. My colleague had turned over some of the bricks and discovered eggs of Vapourer moth on the underside. Several clumps of snowdrops were here, no doubt planted years ago by workers. We walked along a track hoping to see adders. Several were found in sheltered places. They are not easy to see when coiled as they blend in with the vegetation. A lone Canada Goose was on a large pool, along with a sizable group of Teal. Three pairs of Stonechat were seen perching on low bushes. This seems to be their preferrred habitat. Several Woodcock flew up at our approach. We found a dead Water Shrew on one of the tracks. I hope next month brings a change in the weather from wet and windy but at least we have had no snow.



Vapourer eggs on a brick.



Dead water shrew.



One of the adders.



A Jays feather.

[ian mcdonald]

Adder blending in with the vegetation.

Birds today were, kestrel, stonechat, short eared owl, teal, grey lag geese, canada goose, mallard, blue tit, great tit, long tailed tit, robin, wren, buzzard, woodcock, pheasant, blackbird, crow and marsh harrier.

[angie]

Ian love the picture of the barn owl, not so keen on the snakes 

Angie 

[ian mcdonald]

I,ve just had a call from the site manager to say that the shrew was probably a common shrew. The length of the tail is a factor in deciding the species. Angie, snakes are interesting animals and not dangerous unless they are mis-treated. They are not that often seen and prefer to go into cover at the approach of disturbance from humans and large animals. Even grass snakes will hiss if they feel threatened. Three times I have seen adders rear up and hissing because I had come too close without realising they were there. It is a warning to back off and let them retreat. I think male red deer stags in the rutting season are more dangerous. On another subject, I have noticed that hawthorn bushes are coming into leaf. This is about one month earlier than "normal." I have even seen a Rhododendron in flower in someones garden today. This is about 10 weeks early. I wonder if plants react to the average temperature over the winter?

[Robert]

Hi Ian,

To date this winter, the weather here in Northern California has been mild with above average temperatures, punctuated by brief periods of relatively cold weather. As an example, to date this winter, there have been only 26 days with low temperatures at or below 32 F (0 C). The 31-year average is 47.8 days and the record for the least number of days is 24 days set during the winter of 2014-2015.

Temperature (for example vernalization) is a well-known variable that can impact when plants flower. However, there can be other contributing environment variables such as solar radiation (for example day length). Plant genetics can also play a part and gene expression is not always fix. Histone modification as well as transcription factors can alter gene expression – thus modify the blooming sequence. Environmental stresses can activate histone modification and impact how transcription factors modify gene expression. I would keep an open mind to other environmental variables that might also alter a plants blooming sequence. Sometimes it can be very difficult to sort out the degree of impact each specific variable might have when multiple variables are involved. The plants are responding to everything in their environment. Understanding how variable environmental dynamics impact plants can be very challenging. I think the best we can do is say, this is how we understand things today, for tomorrow new information may change our current understanding.

I enjoy reading your diary immensely! The additional information has added to my understanding of your project greatly. Thank you so much.

[Hoy]

Although a lot of plants have started growing here it is mostly foreign ones and very early spring plants. The majority of native plants seem to wait, probably they rely on day length more than temperature.

[Tristan_He]

I think that might be a water shrew Ian. If you look closely at the tail you can see that it has a shallow keel on it which is typical of water shrews and helps them steer in the water. Also the tail seems to curve under some grass in your picture so it may be longer than it appears. Finally - although very bedraggled - your shrew does seem more black and white with quite a sharp border where the colour changes, rather than brownish grading into cream. But difficult to be sure.

[ian mcdonald]

This week has been a bit better with the weather. Fairly clear skies and a light breeze which was not as cold as previously. We walked along a track from West to East and saw a number of raptors in thermals (air currents not clothing). We counted 6 buzzards and 5 marsh harriers. A smaller raptor flew past us and we saw that it was a peregrine. We heard three cettis warblers calling from different areas, they are becoming more common now. Water rails were heard but not seen. My colleague heard a bearded tit calling. Later we saw a short-eared owl hunting. It landed on a tree stump not far away and we had good views of the bird. A barn owl also appeared and did not seem too concerned that we were there. My camera seems to be playing up, with the pictures not very clear. The light has been poor and this may be the cause. Today we walked along the flooded track and saw several shoveler on open water. On another piece of open water we noticed gadwall, mallard, tufted duck and a single pochard. Also on the same water were 5 pairs of goosander. In a few places we saw coltsfoot in flower. While watching the harriers we noticed another raptor flying nearby. It looked quite colourful and then we noticed a forked tail. A rare sighting on the site of a red kite. For a number of weeks there have been reports of a water pipit on the site. I have flushed a small bird from the edge of one of the large pools several times but not identified it. It turns out that the pipit has been seen in the same area. Today we saw a bird in the same area again and it flew like a pipit. Unless I get a good photo. of the bird it will have to remain as a possible. It is very wary and flies away as soon as I get close. While walking along the flooded track we disturbed a heron which seemed to be on the edge of the track. Perhaps it was looking for the small fish which swim onto the track from nearby ditches and flooded land. We saw a chiff chaff on a bush where the track goes through woodland. Also seen was a dunnock, not a bird which is often seen on site. My colleague heard a willow tit calling but I have difficulty hearing many high pitched calls. We went along a narrow wet path we have not been on for some time. A jack snipe flew up from the side of the path. A short time after a common snipe flew up from the path. Along another path we found a dead common shrew (compare with the shrew on Feb. 27th.). We found the remains of a barn owl among some trees. We wondered if it had died from starvation and had been found by a fox. Only the feathers remained. Black headed gulls seem to be returning and a number were on a nesting site.







Coltsfoot.



Short-eared owl.



Shoveler.

[ian mcdonald]

Poor picture of a barn owl.



Remains of a barn owl.



Dead shrew.

Birds seen were, kestrel, stonechat, pheasant, crow, buzzard, marsh harrier, peregrine, reed bunting, cettis warbler, water rail, moorhen, grey lags, canada geese, mallard, teal, blackbird, blue tit, great tit, long tailed tit, bearded tit, wood pigeon, robin, wren, short-eared owl, barn owl, shoveler, tufted duck, gadwall, pochard, goosander, black headed gull, lapwing, red kite, heron, chiff chaff, dunnock, willow tit, jay, jack snipe, common snipe, water pipit?

[ian mcdonald]

This week has been one with strong winds (March winds and April showers). The forecast said winds up to 40 mph. Many birds seem to be keeping out of the open and water bodies were rough. I met a colleague on the first day and we decided to look at a sheltered area which contained a house and garden, many years ago. There were quite a few dense patches of snowdrops, a single variety with fairly tall flowering stems. I assume they are an old variety, perhaps some snowdrop enthusiasts can identify them? Several plants of Lesser Celendine were in flower. A couple of shovelers were riding the waves on a large pool. The Water Pipit I mentioned before is still in the same area and I managed to get a photo. of the bird. As we walked past some reed stems a Cettis Warbler shouted at us from just a few feet away but we could not see the bird. They are loud but very elusive on our site. Water rail were squealing from several ditches but again they are heard rather than seen. A number of toads were seen in a ditch and one was crossing the path in front of us. Today I was on my own. I saw a water pipit again but just before I reached it a small bird caught my attention on the track. It was picking up small objects, seed? I saw that it was a leucistic meadow pipit.  A large machine is clearing the main drain and water is flowing quickly towards the nearest river.



Water Pipit.



A pair of Roe Deer.



Toad.



Lesser Celendine.



Snowdrop.

[ian mcdonald]

Common Whitlow-grass, Erophila verna.



leucistic meadow pipit.



On one of the tracks.



Part of the bog.



The main drain being cleared.

Birds seen this week were, shoveler, tufted duck, goosander, marsh harrier, buzzard, kestrel, water rail, cettis warbler, stonechat, meadow pipit, water pipit, reed bunting, robin, wren, blackbird, pigeon, crow, mallard, gadwall, grey lag geese, snow bunting, chiff chaff, moorhen, black headed gull, lapwing, mute swan bullfinch, pheasant and great tit. A number of frogs were in a small pool which contained a mass of spawn.

[ian mcdonald]

This week has been mostly dull, with photography recording the sky as grey. On the first day I met with my colleague and we walked round one of the small lakes. We saw three adders basking in the shelter of old bracken. Black headed gulls are starting to take up residence. Their nesting sites will be subject to rising and falling water levels. Chiff chaffs are starting to be more numerous now and can be heard calling from bushes. Water rails are in competition, squeaking from the cover of rushes. Tufted duck are pairing up and can be seen on the larger water bodies. Buzzards are more common and can be seen riding thermals in the hope of spotting prey. My colleague saw a Merlin flying low and we watched it alight on an old tree stump. It sat there for quite a while, preening. It was too far away for a decent photo. but we tried anyway. On the second day I was on my own. The first bird I noticed was a buzzard, circling around quite low down. Two Cettis Warblers were having a singing competition along one of the drains. Although they seem to wait until you come close to them, they are usually heard but not seen, preferring to stay low down in vegetation. I saw a chiff chaff fly low along a drain and suddenly fly upwards after some insect. It reminded me of a fly-catcher. I could hear a Bittern booming all day in one area. Later I heard another in a different place. Four male and two female Goosanders were on a lake, keeping away from the other water birds. Along a wet track I noticed a reed stem moving about. I stopped to see what was causing it and a Bearded Tit appeared, then a second one. I took a hurried picture then the camera made a bleeping sound to tell me that the battery was flat. As a result the bird was not in the centre of the picture. By the time I had replaced the battery the birds had moved on. I walked along the edge of a wood and heard a Bullfinch calling. The bird was brightly coloured with its red chest and black and grey wings. Unfortunately it was in a tall tree and the camera would not focus beyond the nearest branches. Also there, was a Willow Tit. Two cranes were in a distant field and I noticed that one seemed to be displaying, flapping its wings. I walked along a ditch which runs through one of the woods. It was a sheltered area from the wind. I noticed a Long-tailed tit which landed in the forks of a tree. I could see that it was making a nest. The nest is a work of art. It will be domed when finished, made from moss, lichens and cobwebs.



Distant Merlin on a log.



Great-spotted woodpecker.



Tufted duck and grey lag geese.





Female bearded tit.

[ian mcdonald]

Chiff chaff.







Long-tailed tit nest building.

Birds this week were, coal tit, robin, blackbird, grey lag, mallard, black headed gull, stonechat, reed bunting, kestrel, buzzard, gadwall, tufted duck, marsh harrier, lapwing, crane, crow, water rail, chiff chaff, wren, great tit, blue tit, long tailed tit, coot, pigeon, merlin, shoveler, linnet, pheasant, canada goose, chaffinch, cettis warbler, bittern, great spotted woodpecker, dunnock, moorhen, stock dove, goosander, teal, jay, bearded tit, bullfinch, willow tit and goldfich. Also seen were roe deer and red deer. There were many frogs in ditches creating a noise.

[ian mcdonald]

Due to the governments ban on leaving the house there will be no more reports from the site until the ban is lifted. As far as I know, even though the site is remote, any travelling is forbidden except for essential supplies. I have not watched the news for many years (it,s always bad news) so I don,t know what is happening.