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The blog has had a bit of a make-over in order to improve readability, especially of the side panel links, and to remove dead and less relevant links (still a bit more work to do on that). Some new links have been added. 

Much distracted by our libraries campaign, but we seem to have won a debate in the Scottish Parliament for this Thursday, thanks to Mark Ruskell MSP, CILIPS and all the campaigners. Unfortunately it is the same day as the Finance and Resources Committee of Perth and Kinross Council meeting in Perth, so we'll have to figure out a strategy - more stuff about libraries on The Many Days blog.

From being absent Siskin is now the second commonest garden bird, 15 around the feeders today.

Siskin.

Chaffinch continues to be the commonest species with 53 being the maximum count, but there were certainly more, they're tricky to count.

Chaffinch, male.

Lesser Redpoll is now also present daily.

Lesser Redpoll (soon to be just Redpoll due to some taxonomic changes, three redpoll species become one).

Both Lesser Redpoll and Siskin are very tame and with a bit of patience I can stand in the garage doorway and photograph them in the Wych Hazel. Goldfinch are also showoffs! And third or fourth commonest garden bird.

Goldfinch.

Blue Tit has overtaken Coal Tit in the numbers game interestingly. I wonder if this is a seasonal change or if the Blue Tits just took longer to find the new food source. Actual numbers of both these species are impossible to know but generally there can be a maximum of six Blue Titis in the garden at one time to two Coal Tits.

Blue Tit; although this image is not sharp, it would have been excellent if I'd got the head sharp, I couldn't resist posting it as I really like how the wings blur to an arc.

Other bird observations include the continuing regular Red Kite pre-roost counts with in excess of 90 one evening. 60 to 70 are the more usual counts, but I think there are usually more than I record.

Pre-roosting Red Kites.

I try to visit Loch Monzievaird once a week. This is a small loch just off the main road to Crieff. It is a holiday resort with lodges placed around one end of the loch, but especially at this time of year, it is generally pretty quiet. It's a good spot for Goldeneye and can have more than 20 Little Grebes. Best birds have been Whooper Swan, Kingfisher and Dipper, and there's usually something of interest, I seem to add an additional bird species or two with each visit.

A pretty terrible image of Loch Monzievaird.

The other significant reason for visiting this site is that it is excellent for fungi, lichens and bryophytes. I've added quite a few species to my pan-species list via my wanderings around the loch. Yesterday's excursion was no exception with the finding of Bryoria fuscescens, a horse-hair lichen. A not terribly impressive species but worth finding nonetheless.

Bryoria fuscescens, a horse-hair lichen.

I've continued to be evaded by the main target species at this site though, although they are clearly very active. 

Signs of European Beaver activity.

There have also been recent excursions to Comrie Community Woodland, another site I like to try and record weekly. And to Strowan Woodland Cemetery. The most recent visits to both these sites (actually the first visit to the woodland cemetery) produced new and interesting species. Indeed the visit to CCW revealed a whole new section of the site that I'd somehow overlooked previously.

From the east facing bank of CCW.

And some recent finds at the CCW.

 

Ulota bruchii - confirmed by microscopic examination, a tricky ID though.

The liverwort Microlejeurnea ulicina Fairy Beads. Both SG and BH have suggested I've got this wrong. I went back and had another look at my photos and the book (BBS guide). It's a Lejeunea species, a pouncewort. I'm pretty certain it's Lejeunea lamacerina, but currently not 100%, I probably need to go back and find some more.

7-spot Ladybird Coccinella septempunctata, always nice to find in winter typically hidden away in a crevice.

Late New Year

Belated New Year Greetings. And a late seasonal image.

Robin with Tortula muralis, moss, in the bottom right of the image.

There has been a flurry of records of birds in and from the garden and within the Patch. At the end of the year I was bemoaning the lack of redpolls and Siskin, but these species are now regularly in the garden with three Siskin, at least and four Lesser Redpoll, daily. Serious quantities of Nyger seed have had to be purchased as there have also been up to ten Goldfinch. On NYsDay  a male Yellowhammer briefly graced the feeders, I dipped  and nearby a flock of 45 were reported, but when I checked the spot none were to be seen or heard :-( Lapwing have had two more Patch records with a four and then a ten. Today nine Greylags flew silently past the garden, not quite making airspace, but still a Patch tick. There have been Brambling and Magpie. I was pretty sure I was hearing Waxwing one afternoon but it/they could not be visually located and I was less than 100% Patch/garden target species are: Woodcock, Common Crossbill, Peregrine; Long-eared Owl, Golden Eagle and Little Egret are at longer odds.

The new bins, a pair of 8x30 Nikon Monarch M7s are certainly a success. These were purchased for use when I'm cycling, and I just bought the basic model not the + or HG ones. At under £300 these are a real bargain. As usual with Nikon the critical focusing is pin sharp in the centre of the view. They have a wide angle of view and focus well within 2m. There has been some criticism of them for "veiling" in certain light conditions, and that does occur, but for the price, lightness, sharpness and nice handling I can live with that. I use these as my preferred bins since purchase, they are so light and handle so nicely and even for the kite roost they gather sufficient light. Only negative is that the supplied strap fits just for me but anyone shorter would find the minimum length too long I think. I prefer these to the Zeiss 8x25s we've had for a while now as a proper rain guard is fitted. The Zeiss  (Louise's bins) are smaller and lighter, but the double hinged design can be a bit of a nuisance to get used to. The Zeiss do not gather as much light, but I'm very impressed with those as well, especially if you want a small pair of bins for travel. Again, around the £300 mark.

I've mostly been looking for small things in this very cold weather. And it has been very cold again for days, the Linn froze over yet again, a rare occurrence apparently. 

Small tributary burn.

It warmed up , so the moth trap went out on the 14th, the first time since Xmas Eve (When I caught Winter Moth, Mottled Umber and Paroligolophus agrestis (an opilione). Otherwiae I've been searching for Collembola, mosses and the occasional fungus. With the thaw arriving a pitfall trap and a bit of clumping for beetles might be on the agenda.

The trap caught a new moth for me, Pale Brindled Beauty. There were various diptera including a pair of Scathophaga stercoraria in cop.

Pale Brindled Beauty.

Scathophag stercoraria.

Here are some of those very small things.

Dicyrtomina saundersi, very common, found almost everywhere under trees.

Entomobrya nivalis, another very common Collembola species, and also distinctive.

Quite a bit smaller and harder to ID, I think this might be Isotomurus, perhaps I. plumosus.

I also found a Collembola that has not yet been fully named which was interesting.

Katiannidae gen. nov. 1 sp. nov. 2

Yesterday's visit to the Community Woodland produced quite a few interesting things, I'm currently working through these, but there are certainly some new species for me in there. One I have been able to identify fairly rapidly was the Psillid Arytaina genistae, beaten from Broom.

Arytaina genistae.

Lots of data to enter into iRecord still, a good few things left to identify from last year. A determination to improve my botanical skills, with both bryophytes and dicots is my target for 2025. My pan-species list is now quite close to 2,000 (low lister!!) I'm aiming to reach that target by the end of March, that could be a challenge.

The kite roost the other evening, another 80+ at the pre-roost.

London calling

I had to go to London just before Xmas. So far south always offers an opportunity to add a few PSL ticks. The cemeteries in Orkney are manicured and really no place for wildlife, things are better in Perthshire, but in Lewisham there are two large and wild cemeteries at Nunhead and in Brockley. So an opportunity to contribute to Cemetery Wildlife Watch (an iRecord activity - https://irecord.org.uk/activities/summary?group_id=2043&implicit=f )

Nunhead Cemetery entrance.

Brockley and Ladywell Cemetery, an area of good habitat.

Nunhead was first on the 17th and the star find was surprisingly a snail, Thames Door Snail Balea biplicata which is quite a rare beast, its range has been contracting in recent years.

Balea biplicata.

A new moth for me, a bagworm.

Psyche casta, larval case. I didn't check if the cases were occupied.

There were plenty of Harlequin pupal cases, and one adult.

Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis.

Both cemeteries were full of Ring-necked Parakeets of course. The best bird was quite a surprise, a Green Woodpecker in Brockley Cemetery afforded some close views.

Brockley and Ladywell Cemetery also produced some good inverts. Highlight was probably 24-spot Ladybird, I found two pupae. To be honest I had no idea what these were, plant/animal/fungi??? But fortunately PTS did know these (thank you).

24-spot Ladybird Subcoccinella vigintiquattuorpunctata.

Other highlights from Brockley were this mirid.

Deraeocoris lutescens.

Another snail, but not such an uncommon one.

Hygromia cinctella.

There were a couple of barkfly species. One was identified for me Valenzuela flavidus (further thanks to PTS). The other keyed out to Ectopsocus petersi, but there is some doubt that the key gives a reliable result, and it may be that gendet is required to be certain of this species.

A male Ectopsocus petersi, maybe.

Valenzuela flavidus.

I've been a bit quick to tick E. petersi PSL-wise, and on recent infomation I should probably leave it as pending. We'll see what the verifiers on iRecord think.

The only botanical PSL tick was Cherry Plum, Prunus cerafisera, I found some young plants sprouting near a more mature tree of this species. I did find the moss Tortula muralis as well, I have seen it before, but it wasn't listed, so sort of a tick.

A last tick was a Collembula, Dicyrtoma fusca, which I haven't recorded before. These were common at both cemeteries along with the very common Dicyrtomina saundersi.

Dcyrtoma fusca.

Dicyrtomina saundersi.

Of course there were a number of unidentified/unidentifiable things that I photographed. This hymenopteran is a Cynipidae, a gall wasp (thanks BL). Which species though is an altogether more challenging, and impossible without a specimen, issue.

A gall wasp of some sort....

All beastie photos were taken with the Olympus Tough TG4. In the end I regretted not taking the EM-5 with the 30mm macro, I will next time. 

Some random cemetery views follow. Taken with the TG4 or Pixel 7.

A Nunhead grave.

Brockley and Ladywell Cemetery views.