Eye-catching Insects (6): at Aberglasney

Signs of the season ... unidentified insects!

I would love to know what these are! Are they too furry for Hoverflies?

Wild Flowers (2): 2011 count update

Bugle

As some of you regular readers may know, I took part in an ongoing wild flower count one summer term, back in the 1960s, when I was at junior school in Kent, UK. Each pupil had to find as many species of wild flowers as possible. We recorded our finds after every weekend, and attempted to learn the names of ten new species for a test each Friday.

During the course of the term, I noted a total of 144 species, including a few garden escapes. Perhaps inevitably, we picked one or two Daisies and Buttercups along the way, but we soon learned that some plants were rare, and that e.g. the sight alone of an Orchid was more than sufficient for our purposes.

I thought it would be interesting to note the wild flowers I see this year. I used The Concise British Flora in Colour by W. Keble Martin when I was at school. Once again, I will be happy to include any plant featured in that book.

The list to date is as follows (and - just to underline this - I have no intention of picking these flowers!) ... I shall add flower names as I come across new species. I don't intend to post a photo of every 'find', but I will add the occasional picture, and I plan to include livelinks when there is a photo available.

1. Snowdrop (South Wales, location A) - January
2. Primrose (ditto) - January
3. Cowslip (ditto) - April
4. Daisy (South Wales, location P) - 26 February
5. Dandelion (garden!) - April
6. Wild Garlic (South Wales, location A) - April
7. Bluebell (ditto) - April
8. Wood Anemone (ditto) - April
9. Wood Sorrel (ditto) - April
10. Toadflax (ditto) - April
11. Herb Robert (ditto) - April
12. Pink Campion (ditto) - April
13. Solomon's Seal (ditto) - April
14. Cow Parsley (lanes, South Wales) - April
15. Wild Arum (South Wales, location A) - April
16. Cuckoo Flower | Lady's Smock | Cardamine pratensis (South Wales, location W) - April
17. Coltsfoot (South Wales, location A) - April
18. Speedwell (South Wales, location A) - April 
19. Violet (South Wales, location A) - April
20. Poppy (South Wales, location A) - April 
21. Dog's Mercury (South Wales, location A) - April
22. Snakeshead Fritillary (South Wales, location A) - April
23. Horsetail (South Wales, location W) - 21 April 
24. Lesser Celandine (Yorkshire, location M) - April
25. Wild Wallflower (Yorkshire, location S) - April
26. Marsh Marigold (South Wales, location A, D1) - April
27. Early Purple Vetch (South Wales, location A, D1) - April
28. Gorse (South Wales, Gower lanes; Yorkshire coast) - April
29. Yellow Pimpernel (South Wales, location D1) - 25 April
30. Buttercup  (South Wales, location D1) - 25 April
31. Early Purple Orchid (South Wales, location A) - April
32. Yellow Flag  (South Wales, location W) - 31 April
33. Groundsel (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May
34. Dove's Foot Cranesbill (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May
35. Red Valerian  (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May
36. Yellow Trefoil (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May
37. Ramping Fumitory | Fumaria capreolata (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May
38. Red Clover (South Wales, location A) - May
39. White Clover (South Wales, location A) - May
40. Wild Strawberry (South Wales, location A) - May
41. Chickweed (South Wales, location A) - May
42. Goosegrass (South Wales, location A) - May 
43. Bugle (South Wales, location A) - May 
44. Common Cinquefoil (South Wales, location A) - May  
45. Early Wintercress (South Wales, location A) - May  
46. Ox Eye Daisy (South Wales, M4) - May  
47. Sorrel (Worcester) - May  
48. Pink Valerian (Worcester) - May  
49. White Valerian (Worcester) - May  
50. Dog Rose (Worcester) - May   ......................................................... First Fifty!
51. Common Comfrey | Symphytum officinale (Worcester) - May   
52. Field Bindweed | Convolvulus arvensis (Worcester) - May   
53. Shepherd's Purse (Peterborough) - May   
54. White Dead Nettle | Lamium album (Peterborough) - May
55.  Purple Dead Nettle (Peterborough) - May  
56.  Alkanet (Herefordhshire, location C) - May 
57. Yellow Cinquefoil (Herefordshire, location C) - May  
58.  Welsh Poppy | Meconopsis cambrica (South Wales, location A) - May  
59. Teasel (South Wales, location W) - 19 May 2011
60. Purple Loosestrife (South Wales, location W) - 19 May 2011
61. Woody Nightshade (South Wales, location W) - 19 May 2011
62. Ragwort (Worcester) - May 2011
63. Bird's Foot Trefoil (South Wales, location T) - 19 May 2011
64. Common Vetch (South Wales, location W) - 19 May 2011
65. Ragged Robin (South Wales, location W) - 19 May 2011 
66. Blackberry (South Wales, location D2) - 22 May 2011
67. Burdock (South Wales, location D2) - 22 May 2011
68. Common Hemp Nettle (South Wales, location D1) - 22 May 2011
69. Periwinkle (South Wales, location W) - 24 May 2011 
70. Lesser Stitchwort (South Wales, location W) - 24 May 2011 

List updated on 24 May 2011. Have you spotted any interesting wild flowers in your neck of the woods recently? There are more flowers on Professor P. Brain's blog here.

Eye-catching Insects (5): Pollen time

A busy bee at Aberglasney

I am wondering whether this might be a White-Tailed Bumblebee: you can see another photo here (& please click to enlarge) on David's blog.

Perhaps it is a Cuckoo Bumble ... a species without worker bees, that lays its eggs in the nest of other bumbles.

Beautiful Birds (26): Gorgeous Gannets

I have been meaning to post my Bempton Cliffs Gannets for some days. I love the pairing rituals of these birds: the word 'tenderness' comes to mind, but perhaps that smacks of anthropomorphism!

There were so many birds flying about in this Yorkshire Gannetry that it was hard from the cliff top to do justice to individuals or pairs. They were laying eggs, but it was too early for chicks.

You might enjoy Adam Tilt's amazing video clip of Gannets and Manx Shearwaters a bit closer to home, in Twywn, Wales, UK. I would love to see a Manx Shearwater!

Bird Count (3): April 2011 ... plus 'Best of the Rest'

APRIL: bird species spotted in April for the first time this year (2011) 

All these birds, with the exception of the Pied flycatcher were seen in Yorkshire, either on the North York Moors or on the East Coast. 

Nesting Gannets at RSPB Bempton Cliffs, April 2011

There were so many birds in e.g. the Gannet colonies at Bempton Cliffs, that I decided to focus this month on the number of new species seen rather than on the numbers spotted of a particular bird. Maths is definitely not my strong point!

BEST OF THE REST, APRIL 2011 ... plus a solitary seal!

'Stoat' is a bit of a cheat: David saw the stoat. I was the one who nearly fell down the stoat hole!

• Count for March 2011 can be found here.
• Count for January and February 2011 can be found here.

Beautiful Birds (25): Thrush - Mistle or Song?

I wonder if other people have difficulty in distinguishing between the Song thrush and the Mistle thrush! I see that the Song Thrush is now on the RSPB Red Conservation list.

These thrushes were enjoying the worms at Aberglasney. 

Flora (1): In and out the dusky bluebells

Bluebells and Wild Garlic at Aberglasney, the Garden Lost in Time ~ where wild and cultivated flowers blend

Those dusky, dusty bluebells again. We played the bluebell game in nursery school ~ did you?

• Current list of noted wild flowers, 2011

The Tree Year (4): A New Visitor to the Larch

Wildlife seen on or around the Larch to date ...

Goldfinch: the new kid on the block

THE TREE YEAR

The Larch is bursting with new foliage and cones.

Previous TTY Posts

• TTY Post 1: Introducing the Larch - January 2011
• TTY Post 2: Winter Visitors - January 2011  
• TTY Post 3: More Winter Visitors at the Larch - February 2011
• The Tree Year

Beautiful Birds (24): Pied Flycatchers

Last weekend ...

We noticed a flash of black and white ...

... as a male Pied Flycatcher appeared in a favoured nesting spot.

He flitted from tree to tree ...

... and it wasn't long before we saw the female.

The two were preparing to mate, with much flapping of wings in a kind of air dance. They were too quick for us to catch on camera, but it was a joy to behold. 

Eye-catching Insects (4): Hoverfly with stripes

Helophilus pendulus Hoverfly, I think

I came face to face with this tiger-like apparition, deep in the woods, along the boardwalk at Dinefwr on Monday afternoon. How amazing to have stripes going in two directions!

Henry Walloon ('Life on an Oxfordshire Lawn') has an informative post about insect mimicry, including those wasp-like stripes - here.


Best of the Rest ...

• An intriguing (but tragic) murder mystery out on the moors. What would Sherlock Holmes say?

Wild Flowers (1): 2011 count

Yellow Pimpernel, beside a stream in South Wales, April 2011

When I was in junior school in Kent in the 1960s, we had an ongoing wild flower count one summer term. Each pupil had to find as many species of wild flowers as possible. We recorded our finds after every weekend, and attempted to learn the names of ten new species for a test each Friday.

During the course of the term, I noted a total of 144 species, including a few garden escapes. Perhaps inevitably, we picked one or two Daisies and Buttercups along the way, but we soon learned that some plants were rare, and that e.g. the sight alone of an Orchid was more than sufficient for our purposes.

I thought it would be interesting to note the wild flowers I see this year. I used The Concise British Flora in Colour by W.Keble Martin when I was at school. Once again, I will be happy to include any plant featured in that book.

The list to date is as follows (and - just to underline this - I have no intention of picking these flowers!) ... I shall add flower names as I come across new species. I don't intend to post a photo of every 'find', but I will add the occasional picture, and I plan to include livelinks when there is a photo available.

1. Snowdrop (South Wales, location A) - January
2. Primrose (ditto) - January
3. Cowslip (ditto) - April
4. Daisy (South Wales, location P) - 26 February
5. Dandelion (garden!) - April
6. Wild Garlic (South Wales, location A) - April
7. Bluebell (ditto) - April
8. Wood Anemone (ditto) - April
9. Wood Sorrel (ditto) - April
10. Toadflax (ditto) - April
11. Herb Robert (ditto) - April
12. Pink Campion (ditto) - April
13. Solomon's Seal (ditto) - April
14. Cow Parsley (lanes, South Wales) - April
15. Wild Arum (South Wales, location A) - April
16. Cuckoo Flower | Lady's Smock | Cardamine pratensis (South Wales, location W) - April
17. Coltsfoot (South Wales, location A) - April
18. Speedwell (South Wales, location A) - April 
19. Violet (South Wales, location A) - April
20. Poppy (South Wales, location A) - April 
21. Dog's Mercury (South Wales, location A) - April
22. Snakeshead Fritillary (South Wales, location A) - April
23. Horsetail (South Wales, location W) - 21 April 
24. Lesser Celandine (Yorkshire, location M) - April
25. Wild Wallflower (Yorkshire, location S) - April
26. Marsh Marigold (South Wales, location A, D1) - April
27. Gorse (South Wales, Gower lanes; Yorkshire coast) - April
28. Yellow Pimpernel (South Wales, location D1) - 25 April
29. Buttercup  (South Wales, location D1) - 25 April
30. Early Purple Orchid (South Wales, location A) - April
31. Yellow Flag  (South Wales, location W) - 31 April
32. Groundsel (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May
33. Dove's Foot Cranesbill (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May
34. Yellow Trefoil (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May
35. Fumitory (South East Wales, location C) - 2 May

Odonata (2): Damselflies - and other creatures - at Dinefwr

Large Red Damselfly, male

 

With shadow ...

Query female Common Blue

P.S. My thanks to Stuart who said...

Caroline: I just realised you have a query on your Common Blue Damsel. It looks like Azure Damsel to me (the first black mark on the abdomen is shaped like an underlined U. In Common Blue, it's an oval on a stalk.)

A bit of a jigsaw puzzle!

There were very few Dragonflies flying about, but we saw a couple flit through the trees.

I also saw the following creature, presumably depositing eggs as it she flew up and down numerous times within a small radius of weed. I would be glad to have an ID!

I assume the following is a nymph of some kind, but I don't know whether it is a Damselfly or some other creature ...

We also saw a few Orange Tip butterflies and a Red Admiral. A flash of crimson caught my attention as a Burnet Moth fluttered by the waterside. It was enjoying the warm sunshine, and was too quick for my camera!

• 2011 ~ early Damsels and Dragons

Ladybird Alert (2): Spring 2011

Spotted (sorry!) on 30 March 2011 ~ indoors on a cushion cover

I have got rather behind with Ladybird postings for 2011.

I think the one above has 18 spots. In some respects it resembles the Harlequin ladybird, f. succinea (or Harlequin ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea), but I think it was rather small and the spots do not quite correspond. 

Roche Abbey, Yorkshire ... where on 2 April 2011 we saw the following Ladybird ...

Possibly a fairly common Seven-spot ladybird, Coccinella 7-punctata

This shows a bit more of its habitat.

The next Ladybird we noticed (6 April 2011) was Queen of Scarborough Castle ...

A rather ragged Queen! (10-spotted, f. decempunctata)

The following Ladybird was seen at Mount Grace Priory in Yorkshire, UK, on 7 April 2011:

Coccinella 7-punctata

Monastic ruins seem to make good Ladybird homes. This insect was seen at Byland Abbey on 9 April 2011:

I'm not sure whether the faint 'spots' are significant.

Byland Abbey, Yorkshire

Ladybird pages (do record your findings ...)

• UK Ladybird spotter ~ BBC Breathing Places
• UK Ladybird survey
• Cumbrian species checklist
• Harlequin Ladybird survey

Eye-catching Insects (3): Dock Leaf Beetle at WWT Llanelli

I am not entirely sure whether the top two photos show Dock Leaf Beetles (Gastrophysa viridula). I think they do, but thanks to Stuart's photo and commentary here, I feel relatively certain about the ID of the Beetle in photos 3 and 4.

You can read more about these beetles in the Cabinet of Curiosities blog belonging to Phil Gates, a Guardian Country Diarist ... here. 

Mystery (1): WWT ... animal or vegetable (not mineral) remains?

What is this? Spotted in the WWT Llanelli lake where we often watch dragonflies ...

Is it just a decaying leaf or is it some kind of cocoon structure?

Do leave a comment to let me know your thoughts!

Odonata (1): First Dragons and Damsels of 2011

I took a stroll around WWT Llanelli in the late afternoon sunshine, and was delighted to watch my first Dragon- and Damsel-flies of the season, which I have posted below. I am finding blue Damselflies particularly hard to identify!

Incidentally, my last 2010 sightings are here. 
You might also enjoy these previous posts:

• Dragonflies
• Damselflies
• Dragonfly nymph
• Dinefwr Damselflies
• Mixed bag!

I think these are examples of the Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula (see 'Star of the Month')

As yet unidentified Blue Damselfly

A Blue Damselfly on a Horsetail

Blue Damselfly, with furled wings ~ not sure which species

A Hawker Dragonfly ... of some sort!

... and another shot of it.

Female Large Red Damselfly

... this time with wings outstretched.

A Hawker Dragonfly of some sort, possibly a female Emperor Dragonfly, Anax imperator*

P.S. My thanks to Neil - see his comment below and help with identification. I can now see those hairs!* You can check out the ID here.