Wildlife April 2013

[johnw]

Mark and other bird lovers -

Birders here have sighted a Crested Caracara near Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia.  It's causing quite the sensation.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1120523-official-bird-of-mexico-makes-surprise-visit-to-ns

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2013/04/01/ns-rare-bird.html

johnw

[Anthony Darby]

Amazing how it got there. More amazing that no-one noticed it en route!

[Anthony Darby]

Went for a training flight over Ponui and Waiheke Islands in a two seater plane. Afterwards I went for a wander and spotted dozens of Long-tailed Blues (Lampides boeticus) feeding on Verbena rigida, a naturalised South American plant. It seems to have self introduced from Australia, although it is found in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia & islands of the Pacific, including Hawaii. In Europe it is found up to the English Channel, which it occasionally hops. In New Zealand it was first seen on Waiheke Island in November 1965.  Somehow it has got on Biosecurity's non-actionable pest list (5/12/97). This is strange considering it should be viewed as a good biological control agent for Gorse (Ulex spp) which is certainly a invasive plant in New Zealand. There was plenty of gorse in this area.

[Anthony Darby]

A good reason to visit Australia - peacock spiders.

[Gail]

They are amazing Anthony. (Although I am actually more likely to visit Australia in the hope of seeing wombats, koalas and duck-billed platypus than spiders) How big are they?

[fermi de Sousa]

None of those down here where we are, Anthony,
but I did find this on youtube

cheers
fermi

[Roma]

Antony, Ron, can either of you give me a name for this moth which I found a bit comatose on the garage floor today?

[ashley]

It looks like an angle shades Roma, Phlogophora meticulosa
Very beautiful.

[Roma]

Thanks Ashley.  I will look it up on the moth site.

[mark smyth]

Thanks for the link John

Migrants are now starting to arrive in N Ireland - swallows, sand martins, various warblers and an Osprey have been seen

[scatigaz]

Just received a text from a friend of an early Swift at my local reservoir, our previous earliest was 22nd April 1996.

[fredg]

Today I was visited by severl small red bees that I haven't seen before. I've so far been unable to identify them online. Red mason bee looked promising but mine were far deeper in colour than the photos on the internet.
My own attempts to attempts to photograph them were not particularly helpful for identification.

[Anthony Darby]

Bombus monticola has a red abdomen, but the head may be yellow?

[fredg]

Anthony they were fox red on thorax and abdomen . black stripes on the abdomen. The rest was black.
Closest I can find is  Andrena fulva females but I would have said larger than 10mm.

[mark smyth]

Just received a text from a friend of an early Swift at my local reservoir, our previous earliest was 22nd April 1996.

Large numbers of Swallows and martins here now. Can do anywhere now without seeing swallows. Good numbers of swifts are now being reported around Lough Neagh

Saw this cutie yesterday