Many small things

Not much avian news in this quick follow up post. The most notable occurrence in the last week has been the singing of Song Thrushes. From not seeing any all winter pretty much, suddenly in a few days they are singing everywhere. A day or so later and Chaffinch started singing as well. The first Lesser Black-backed Gull of the year put in a brief appearance and my key species to add to the Patch list must be Woodcock. I shall begin crepuscular roaming on suitable evenings shortly.

I found Megabunus diademea on my favourite wall, a wall I scrutinise almost daily that runs up the side of the Earthquake Field. I thought I hadn't seen this species previously, but I recently found an old notebook with quite a few pages of data and there is a record in there, this from the late 80's 90's. There's a bit of interesting data in the notebook, some stuff that I know isn't proven, but some Carabids that I will have done correctly as I was well practised in them in those days. These will boost the P-S List.

Megabunus diamedea

Before I went to London in early February I'd found a Staphylinid beetle in another nearby wall, I'd taken a moss sample and within was the beetle and a false scorpion. I'd had a go at the beetle prior to departure, but I wasn't getting anywhere with Lott, the RES key. So I left the beetle on my desk. I had another go at identifying it recently and again made little headway. The problem was that as it had a small apical section of the maxillary palps I was convinced it was Paederinae and I was keying it presupposing that was the answer, well I think that was going on. I tried again today, keying it with Mike Hackston's key and after a bit of back and forth I came to Othius, and indeed it looks as if it is Othius subuliformis, but I'll need to check that before iRecord-ing.

I've eventually succumbed to the inevitable and ordered Andrew Duff's latest volume of Beetles, Staphylinidae, at some expense, but this is a Family that I like, are underrecorded and apart from the Aleocharines are generally identifiable. Quite a lot of money for a book though.

Aedaegus, I ended up dissecting it as I just couldn't get a match, and of course the aedaegus didn't match any of the Lathrobium species. That did convince me I'd gone off track somewhere.

Othius (thanks for checking my ID CW), perhaps O. subuliformis, 5.5mm

Another interesting beeetle from my favourite wall was this larvae. I had no idea which Family but CA kindly suggested Cantharidae, and possibly Cantharis rustica. A bit of research indicates that this predatory larva is active in winter and is a likely possibility, despite being a quite uncommon species in Perthshire.

Cantharis larva, quite small, c8mm, perhaps Cantharis rustica.

Also on the wall Dicyrtoma fusca, one of those globular Collembula, I'm not sure I've found this species locally previously.

Dicyrtoma fusca

When I walk to the Linn, the swimming hole on Water of Ruchill I pass a good few old Ash trees. It is amazing what you walk past without noticing! I've taken to examining these trees a bit more closely of late and several are host to Lungwort, a really rather spectacular lichen.

Lobaria pulmonaria Lungwort

I ran a light trap for one night in February, the one suitable night I was at home and the temperature was above 4C and there was no torrential down-pour. Good result; a very early Hebrew Character, five Pale Brindled Beauty and 14 Chestnut.

Chestnut

Hebrew Character and a couple of Chestnut

Pale Brindled Beauty

I've been to a couple of cemeteries as well, revisits to Strowan Woodland Cemetery and the White Church cemetery in the village, both visits were productive with quite a few interesting plants in the village cemetery; all good for PSL.

In Strowan I got some nice field images of Anotylus rugosus, a common enough beetle which I used to find very regularly on loch shores in Orkney. Getting field images of such a fast moving beast was pleasing.

Anotylus rugosus new of the Cemetery Wildlife Watch activity, surprisingly.

I need to revisit the site shortly as I also found this:

Andricus quercusradicis, agamic, the colloquial name is Truffle Gall

 

Thanks to SL and PS from the British Galls FB Group for the ID, I really had not a clue. Agamic means that the gall is the product of asexual egg laying by the female wasp. The gall made by the egg laying of mated females is different and has a different colloquial name. There are very few records of this species on the NBN and just one other from Scotland. It was suggested that I go back and take a sample to see if anything emerges in the spring, but these are old galls and to me it looks as if there are emergence holes so the quarry may have departed.

The PSL community is split about counting galls on their lists. Not split about recording these things, just the listing element. In the past I've not counted galls but in order to see the insect/organism it would be necessary to disturb the gall and probably kill the offspring. On balance I would prefer to leave the gall undisturbed and count the species in cases like this. I found Robin's Pincushion  at Tentsmuir last year, the gall of the hymenopteran Diplolepis rosae, and left it be. I'm inclined to add these two to the list to be honest.

 

Migration

Personally I'm doing a lot of moving, going south, back north, going south, back north.... Supporting elder daughter through a health issue has been the reason, and at a later date I may post in more detail about how the health services historically prioritised male health issues over those conditions that are predominantly suffered by women and girls. Commonly today a number of conditions for women are often mistakenly diagnosed as mental health issues. Hopefully, a solution to the issue has been found and treatment is imminent, thus the migration. Obtaining this treatment on the NHS is almost impossible, partly because the way iron (Fe) works in our bodies is not generally well understood by GPs it seems (although two of the GPs have been sympathetic and helpful). Thankfully, daughter's employment package includes some medical insurance.

Oystercatchers

 Oystercatchers have arrived on the Patch for the breeding season in the last few days. Their migrations tend to be to the coast for the winter and inland is populated from February to the end of July at suitable sites for breeding. In Perthshire they are not so much a north - south migrant as a coastal - inland one. Other obvious movements have been the small arrivals of Redwings, presumably heading generally north, and a couple of days when there have been more than a hundred Common Gulls.

This week a new species was added to the Patch list with a handsome drake Goldeneye at the fish farm, a species that may also be on the move in February.

In London I made a couple of visits to Nunhead Cemetery to try to re-find the possible Thames Door-Snail Balea biplicata. I found many Clausilia bidentata the Two-toothed Door-snail and came to the conclusion that I had originally made a misidentification.

Clausilia bidentata Two-toothed Door-snail.

The Thames Door-snail is a few millimetres larger, usually around 15mm whilst the above common species is about 10mm. After that it's a matter of carefully examining the shell mouth as there are subtle differences in the structure. The FSC key is a useful reference.

Of course I found a few nice things in my visits to both Nunhead and Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries. I also visited St Mary's Lewisham which is a quite different environment, being small, quite well manicured and embedded in the urban environment.

Dicyrtomina minuta

Guernsey Fleabane

Orange Ladybird

Winter Heliotrope

Issus coleoptratus, a fairly early instar nymph

The above all from Nunhead.

Lasius sp

Lauria cylindracea

Pentatoma rufipes Red-legged Shieldbug, an early instar.

Epicaecilius pilipennis, with thanks to K at the Barkfly Recording Scheme for the re-identification

Twenty-two Spot Ladybird Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata

 

Synchita undata on Hygromia cinctella Girdled Snail, I only found the beetle when going through my images. Many thanks to the folk on Beetles UK FB pages for the identification, especially MS.

24-spot Ladybird Subcoccinella vigintiquattuorpunctata

Slug sp, Lehmannia marginata Tree Slug, I think

The above all Brockley and Ladywell Cemetery.

Then in St Mary's Lewisham, just by Ladywell Fields which I'd noticed as we'd walked back from Lewisham Hospital a day or so previously.

 

Mexican Fleabane, most likely

Lunularia cruciata

Pine Ladybird Exochomus quadripustulatus

Chromatomyia syngenesiae/horticola agg (Agromyzidae)

Since returning home a few decent things have been found locally, but they'll go in the next post.

Refresh

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.