Wild and Wonderful: Mallard

Showing posts with label Mallard. Show all posts

Thursday, 4 April 2019

First 2019 Lizard Sighting (for us) at NT Wicken Fen

We had another good day out at NT Wicken Fen last Saturday, and this time the reserve was a bit quieter.

You never know what you will find in the water around the reedbeds: we have watched Grass Snakes and Caddisfly larvae in the past. But on this occasion it seemed to be the turn of the snails, as you can see from the photo above - snails and what I think is a Water Strider. I know virtually nothing about freshwater snails, but I think the two small flat ones, at the end of the penultimate yellow line, may be some kind of Planorbidae or Ramshorn snail. As ever, please let me know in the Comments if you can confirm this or correct me.

Aside: the difference in size between the tiny snails and the large central one brought to mind the giant sea snail in Dr Dolittle!

Strangely, and with the exception of House Sparrows, we didn't see many birds. We would probably have missed the female Mallard below, but the drake's iridescent plumage caught my eye. It is always a joy to hear the yaffle of the Green Woodpecker.

We had hardly arrived in the car park before a male Brimstone butterfly started flying up and down along the edge of the hawthorn hedge. We saw several more during the course of the afternoon, largely in the area of the Woodland Walk. Sadly, these beautiful Brimstones were too quick for my camera. The Peacock butterfly below was not in such a rush...

We noticed it perching on a reed. You can just make out the wind pump in the background.

Further into the reserve, in the Woodland Walk, we encountered more Brimstone butterflies, fluttering up and down the hedgerow. We also noticed a resting Comma, one of the first I have seen this year...

Ladybirds, largely 7-spots, were showing well throughout the reserve (and in the car park).

We noticed a couple of Bee-flies, but, as usual, they rarely stayed still long enough for a photo...

The trees were showing wonderful signs of spring...

... and there was new growth in the reedbeds, too.

Do you think these are fresh stems of phragmites?

I love the watery reflections and the contrast between the dark peat (you should see the molehills!) and the golden reeds.

I apologise for the quality of the spider photo above, but I include it because I am intrigued by the bundle the spider is bearing (prey or offspring?), and also by the abdominal marks: are these marks meant to look like eyes, to warn off predators? You would, of course, only see them when the spider was dangling. The shape on the left is a reed.

Zoom shot of Common Lizard camouflaged against the bark of a tree

Our greatest thrill of the afternoon came when we noticed our first Common Lizard of 2019. These lizards, despite a name that might indicate otherwise, need protection. You can read about their status here.

All too soon the light started to fade, but we weren't quite ready to leave.

Above: David enjoying a spot of reedbed relaxation!

Below: Lesser Celandine emerging from dead leaves.

Muntjac in evening sunlight

Wednesday, 8 April 2015

Tree Following ~ March to April (plus new tree)


and 2015

This post marks a complete year of Tree Following for me. My Tree Following posts form part of a wider project run by Lucy Corrander from the Loose and Leafy blog. I am following a Silver Birch, B. pendula, in Suffolk, UK. You will find the other Tree Follower links on the Loose and Leafy blog ... so do take the chance to catch up with happenings in the arboreal world!

Welcome to my new - as yet unidentified - tree! I have had my eye on it through the winter, but was in two minds whether or not to 'follow' it as I felt reluctant to move on from my Silver Birch, especially since I am now in a position, twelve months on, to make some comparisons (or contrasts) with a year ago. However, I have decided for the moment to carry on with the two trees in an organic kind of way. I may drop one or the other, but will keep the Silver Birch as my main focus for the time being. Please leave a comment if you can ID the new tree!

As you can see, the leaves are beginning to grow on my new tree, and I hope that once they have developed a little more, it may be possible to identify the species.

You can see last year's seed heads hang from the end of long stalks. I look forward to discovering more as seasonal changes take place.

These, of course, are already happening. The daisy above was spotted ten days ago under my 'new tree'. There are other signs of spring, and those of you who watched BBC Springwatch at Easter will know that Chris Packham and the team are asking us to record first sightings of the following species for their Big Spring Watch survey:

Hot-air balloon glimpsed through the branches of the Downy Birch

Some of you will recall that while I have been following a Silver Birch, I have also been keeping the occasional eye on 'another' birch, a Downy Birch seen in the photo above. It lies in close proximity, and while there was barely any green when the photo was taken some ten days ago, the Downy Birch now has definite signs of verdant leaf growth.

Silver Birch

In contrast, the only green on the Silver Birch (above) is lichen on the trunk. I'm sure the leaves will follow soon.

There have been quite a few Blue tits on the Silver Birch (and as you can see, on the coconut feeders that dangle from its lower branches). The Silver Birch plays host to some 334 species of insect, and some of these small creatures prove choice pickings for the Blue tit, as you can see in the two top photos in the link here. Aphids, Ladybirds and Hoverflies are often drawn to the Silver Birch, and I shall be keeping an eye out for these as the days go by. There is even a Silver Birch Aphid (Euceraphis betulae). Silver Birch leaves attract a variety of moth caterpillars, many with rather lovely names such as the Angle-shades (adult here), the Buff tip (adult here), the Pebble hook-tip and the Kentish Glory. I shall be keeping an eye out for these.

There have been no new birds on the Silver Birch this month. However, a pair of Mallards flew over one day for the first time, presumably a sign that the mating season has arrived. The Starlings have been regular visitors to the coconuts and, sadly, the Woodpeckers have been noticeable by their absence!

It may have been too cloudy for us to notice anything much during the eclipse, but 24 March brought a huge rainbow (the precursor to April showers, perhaps), followed on 25 March by a very icy morning.

24 March 2015: Rainbow

25 March 2015: Frost patterns on the car

MY PREVIOUS TREE FOLLOWING POSTS

Tuesday, 2 April 2013

Seasonal Splash: Spring is in the Air (we hope ...)

We have just returned from Salisbury. We didn't have any rain, but there was still a lot of snow banked up on the field edges. It was bitterly cold, but bright at times. The Mallard drake above was heading on downstream in the beautiful clear waters of the River Loddon.

I am trying to recall the name of this waterside plant (above) ...

Do drop a line in the comments if you know! It grows in large clumps along the banks of a river or in marshland.

It is always a joy at Easter to see a clump of Primroses. This clump was gracing the walls of Old Basing.

What a luxurious des-res above for the Basing ladybirds and mini-beasts! I have yet to see my first Ladybird of 2013, but hope that I will not have to wait too much longer.

Just as we were leaving the site, a familiar shape flew over our heads. I grabbed my camera, and the resulting record shot will show you our first 2013 sighting of a Red Kite. By the time we returned home, we had seen at least one other.

The clump of Coltsfoot above was in Wilton, on the river Wylie. if you know Wilton and Wilton House, you might enjoy Arcadia by Adam Nicolson, which pays tribute to the landscape and its literary figures like Sir Philip Sydney.

On our journey home, we stopped at Audley End, where I saw what I took to be a hybrid Mallard (above) among the ducks and geese. Dave Appleton tells me that he feels 'it’s simply a domestic variant of Mallard, not a hybrid between a Mallard and any other species. Domestic Mallards come in a bewildering variety of sizes, shapes and plumages.' So many thanks to Dave, whose 'hybrid duck' photos can be viewed here.

It was lovely to see some Tufted Ducks. These are classed Amber in the Conservation Status ranks. The dark duck on the left is a female.

It seems the staining on the swan's head above may be due iron or tannin in the water. Thanks to Martin Aldous for this information, which you can find here. I had assumed it was probably a kind of breeding or adolescent plumage.