Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve

We spent much of Bank Holiday Monday here at Carlton Marshes, a nature reserve in the care of the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. The small bird (is it perhaps a Whitethroat?) was singing from the highest point of the willow as we arrived.

The Carlton Marshes reserve comprises fen, meadow and waterway. The tranquil views always remind me of a Cuyp landscape - and, of course, the Netherlands are not far away!

 

The bushes and trees were alive with birdsong. Summer migrants continue to arrive - though I have yet to see a Swift.

This small iridescent beetle attracted my attention. I assumed at first that it was a Dock Beetle, but with its marked triangular scutellum behind the pronotum and between the forewing bases, I am not so sure. It was very small (the size of an average 7-spot Ladybird). I don't believe it was a rare Rose Chafer Beetle, (the size of a small fingernail), though I was interested to discover that these beetles had been recorded in Suffolk in the last five years.

The sun came out intermittently, encouraging insects to show their faces. I think the creature below is a Common Cranefly.

We were thrilled to find our first Damselfly of 2014, which you can see in the photo below. I have not been able to identify it with any certainty yet, but its opaque grey-blue eyes must surely provide a clue.

We also saw our first Dragonflies of the year in the form of a couple of Hairy Dragonflies, members of the Hawker family, who were too quick for my camera.

The marshy areas were alive with butterflies. Most were Orange-tips, but this seems to be a Green-veined White.

Up until last Monday the only caterpillars I had seen this year may well have been from Brown-tail Moths since they were in tents on the Blackthorn bushes we passed on our way back from Stansted Airport some weeks ago. As you can see from the photo below, that situation has now been rectified ...

I seem to be drawn to red and black insects, but this fine specimen below is (to state the obvious) not a Ladybird. It is a Red-and-Black Froghopper, one of the largest homopterans in the UK.

I see I spotted one of these a year ago at Carlton Marshes.

This time we saw three.

And finally, our eyes alerted on another red and black insect lurking in the verge - a 2-spot Ladybird, and my first of 2014. It seemed very small. I shall be recording it on the UK Ladybird Survey.

Nature Reserve Notes (3) Caterpillars at Minsmere

We saw three of these beautiful Fox Moth caterpillars at Minsmere, along the path between the beach and the scrapes. I think my previous sighting of this species was on Raasay in the Inner Hebrides. I see these caterpillars are sometimes found on the beach. You can watch one moving if you follow this link. You can see a photo of the Fox Moth here. 

Incidentally, if you know your hairy caterpillars, you might be able to help with identification here on the Cabinet of Curiosities blog. 

Nature Reserve Notes (6): 7-Spot Ladybird

During the course of our wet ramble through our local nature reserve last Sunday, we noticed this 7-spot Ladybird. I apologise for the quality of the photographs, but it was hard to keep the camera still in the breezy conditions. I am tempted to assume that the poor Ladybird has fallen victim to the parasitoid wasp, Dinocampus coccinellae. You can see an excellent photo of a Dinocampus coccinellae wasp pupa here. I shall log this sighting with the UK Ladybird Survey.

Nature Reserve Notes (5): Jubilee Walk

We took a stroll, largely through the rain, in our local nature reserve on Sunday afternoon (having watched the amazing Jubilee flotilla on our television, as it made its way down the Thames).

The lovely Wild or Dog Rose above was the first flower we noticed, and it seemed a patriotic choice! 

You can see the ripples and reflections of rain.

On our way back through the woodland path, with its short stretches of boardwalk, we noticed this fragment of pale blue eggshell, possibly from a Blackbird's nest, in a dark corner of the path. I hope the chick was safe!

This majestic Yellow Flag sparkled as watery light lit up the drops of rain on its petals.

Plants noticed in the reserve so far:

1] Alkanet, 13 May 2012
2] Forget-me-not, 13 May 2012
3] Stinging nettles, 13 May 2012
4] Blackberry brambles, 13 May 2012

and new for this time ...

5] Pink Campion
6] Dog Rose
7] Greater Stitchwort
8] Yellow Flag
9] Bluebell
10] Cow Parsley
11] Yellow Archangel
12] Diasy
13] Buttercup

Home Patch (17): Preparing for the RSPB 'Make Your Nature Count' survey

Grey Squirrel ... there was one in our garden the morning

Many in the UK will be enjoying the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations over the weekend, with garden parties and park parties going on in most areas. If you find yourself in your garden or a local park, you might like to take part in the RSPB's 'Make Your Nature Count' survey, which runs from tomorrow, 2 June, through to 10 June.

You can read more about taking part under the headings below ...

• Why it might be good to take part
• How to take part 
• A check list of possible wildlife visitors 
• Last year's overall results

Readers of this blog will know that I have been trying to keep a close eye on wildlife in my 'home patch' (my garden, the sky above it and area I can see from my garden) and in and around my local nature reserve. I never cease to be amazed at how much there is to see in a small area.

There is, of course, much life in terms of small organisms in a single drop of water (see these extraordinary photos here) ... and William Blake is renowned for his 'poetic' line about seeing a world in a grain of sand. And speaking of sand grains and water drops, you might like my 俳句 Haiku here on the Asahi Haikuist Network site (ed. David McMurray) on The Asahi Shimbun newsite from Japan.

Nature Reserve Notes (4): Round Up of Sightings for May 2012

Photo Medley for May 2012 (a day early!)

Nature Reserve Notes: a list of species recognised (or discovered!). I saw many more insects and plants that I have not (yet) identified. I am only listing each species once unless I see several at a time or unless I see an unusual specimen.

Mammals

1] Grey Squirrel, 13 May 2012

Birds

1] Moorhen, 13 May 2012
2] Jay, 13 May 2012
3] Dunnock, 13 May 2012 ~ Total 3
4] Wood pigeon, 13 May 2012

Insects

Beetles
1] Lily Beetle, 13 May 2012

Ladybirds
1] 7-spot Ladybird, 13 May 2012 ~ Total 37! 

2] 14-spot Ladybirds, 13 May 2012 ~ Total 2

3] Harlequin Ladybird, Harmonia axyridis succinea, 13 May 2012

4] Unusual 7-spot (possibly damaged), 27 May 2012

Bees
1] Buff-tailed Bumblebee, 13 May 2012
2] A kind of ?Carpenter bee (on a wooden post with bore holes), 13 May 2012

Butterflies
1] Holly Blue Butterfly, 13 May 2012
2] Orange-tip Butterfly, 13 May 2012
3] Gatekeeper, Small Heath*, 27 May 2012 ~ Total 2
4] Green Hairstreak, 27 May 2012

*My thanks to the Kirkstall Creatures Great and Small blog for setting me on the right track here!

Molluscs

1] A green Brown-lipped Snail, 13 May 2012
2] Slug, 13 May 2012

Plants

1] Alkanet, 13 May 2012
2] Forget-me-not, 13 May 2012
3] Stinging nettles, 13 May 2012
4] Blackberry brambles, 13 May 2012

Nature Reserve Notes (3): Damaged Ladybird

We encountered this battered-looking Ladybird on our walk through our local nature reserve last Sunday. I thought it could be a 7-spot, but the blotchy spots and what appears to be damage to the elytra made it hard to be sure. Neither photo shows off the markings of the pronotum very well.

I wondered whether it had been damaged by a parasitic wasp, but once again, this is only speculation on my part. Unlike other ladybirds I have seen that appear to have been affected in this way, this one was active and was not prepared to wait around for a decent photograph!

POSTSCRIPT: I have now had learned that it is indeed a 7-spot and that 'it could be a genetic mutation that causes this [strange marking] or frost damage.'

As usual I have logged this sighting with the UK Ladybird Survey, and if you find ladybirds in the UK, you might like to do the same. You can read about Dr Helen Roy and her ladybird work here.
 

Nature Reserve Notes (3): Not Gatekeepers, Query Small Heath

I thought these two butterflies, both seen in the meadow with the Green Hairstreak of the previous post, were both Gatekeepers. Now that I have enlarged my photos a little, I am not so sure ...

... However, thanks to the Kirkstall Creatures Great and Small blog, I now think they are Small Heath butterflies (and a first for me!). Thank you. 

Nature Reserve Notes (2): Green Hairstreak

We only had a short time so we decided to take a stroll along the paths of our local nature reserve. Last time we explored the pond and the wooded paths so on this occasion we headed in the direction of the butterfly meadow. It was not long before I caught a fleeting glimpse of this small Green Hairstreak, Callophrys rubi.

Green Hairstreaks are brown on the upper side of their wings, the side that is only seen in flight as these butterflies invariably perch with their wings closed, displaying the vivid green underside you see above. 

The iridescent green is not comprised of colour pigment. It is, in fact, structural colour, caused by interference effects. For more on iridescence, you might care to click here.

Ladybird Alert (10): Harlequin, 14-spot ... and thirty-seven 7-spots!

In my previous post, I mentioned our walk through a local nature reserve. These are the Ladybirds we encountered. The 7-spots (all thirty-seven of them) were too numerous to photograph on this occasion as we had walked a fair way and needed to get back. The top photograph shows a Harlequin Ladybird. The others are native to the UK. I particularly like the last photo!

As ever, I shall send these sighting-records in to be counted. You can find details of ...

• the UK Ladybird Survey here
• the Harlequin Ladybird Survey here

Incidentally, if you would like to read my earlier post about the other creatures we saw on our walk in the nature reserve, this link here will take you to the page. 

I take this to be the HARLEQUIN LADYBIRD, Harmonia axyridis succinea © David Gill 2012

7-spot, Coccinella 7-punctata, of sorts?

14-spot Ladybird - these Ladybirds are very small and are not Harlequins

Propylea 14-punctata

As above ... a second one

I note that Professor P. Brain, who is based near our previous home in South Wales, also recorded a Propylea 14-punctata this weekend.

I love the Ladybird's 'composition' here . . . One of the thirty-seven 7-spots we saw yesterday!

Nature Reserve Notes (1): From Butterflies to Beetles

We took advantage of the dry afternoon and ventured out to explore a local nature reserve in Suffolk, UK. The photographs below show some of the flora and fauna we noticed. We heard a lot of birdsong from the canopy, but saw surprisingly few birds. I will add the Ladybirds in a separate post, to make it easier for the those at the UK Ladybird Survey, who may like to compare my photos with my submitted records. 

I had been puzzling over this creature as it didn't seem to fit the ID marks of a Cardinal Beetle. I believe it is a Lily Beetle, as it was shorter and somewhat rounder than a Cardinal and it was marked with dimples. If you follow the link here, you can click to hear the Lily Beetle's alarm call.

I was hoping that we might see a mammal of some kind. The bushy tail here belongs to a Grey Squirrel, who was too shy to show his face. We were told that there were deer about, but we didn't see any. We did however see this spider, which i have not been able to identify ...

Readers of this blog will know that I saw my first Orange-tip Butterfly of the season a couple of days ago. On our nature reserve walk, we saw one or two more ...

This one had just landed on a clump of Alkanet.

It (or rather 'he' since the female Orange-tip does not have orange markings) closed its wings more tightly, revealing the fine mottled patterning on the outside.

This butterfly foxed me for a moment. It didn't quite seem to be a Common Blue, my first thought, but I am guessing that it is a male Holly Blue, since these small butterflies are often seen early in the season and have almost white wings (with dark speckles) on the outside.

© David Gill 2012

© David Gill 2012

I have thrown a link to this before, but I can't resist the opportunity to add that you will find Robert Frost's delightful poem, Blue-butterfly Day here.

Nature Reserve Notes: a list of species recognised (or discovered!). I saw many more insects and plants that I have not (yet) identified.

Mammals

1] Grey Squirrel, 13 May 2012

Birds

1] Moorhen, 13 May 2012
2] Jay, 13 May 2012
3] Dunnock, 13 May 2012 ~ Total 3
4] Wood pigeon, 13 May 2012

Insects

1] Lily Beetle, 13 May 2012
2] 7-spot Ladybird, 13 May 2012 ~ Total 37! 

3] 14-spot Ladybirds, 13 May 2012 ~ Total 2

4] Harlequin Ladybird, Harmonia axyridis succinea, 13 May 2012

3] Buff-tailed Bumblebee, 13 May 2012
4] Holly Blue Butterfly, 13 May 2012
5] Orange-tip Butterfly, 13 May 2012
6] A kind of ?Carpenter bee (on a wooden post with bore holes), 13 May 2012

Molluscs

1] A green Brown-lipped Snail, 13 May 2012
2] Slug, 13 May 2012

Plants

1] Alkanet, 13 May 2012
2] Forget-me-not, 13 May 2012
3] Stinging nettles, 13 May 2012
4] Blackberry brambles, 13 May 2012

I must keep an eye out for the trees next time. I noted one interesting conifer along the way ...