Twite decline.

It was good to find a Twite on the patch today. The first this year I think, although I have seen them on the Uber Patch (the 3km sq one). When we first came here 12 years ago they seemed common enough.

There were small flocks, not single birds mixed up with Linnets. When we lived in West Yorkshire we could see a decline occurring there and there was active research into them (researchers who drank my beer by the way... somebody(ies) still owe me a few pints). I did find them in North Yorkshire on occasion. In Orkney they certainly were a common enough bird but now they seem thin on the ground on the West Mainland. This Guardian article is concerning and perhaps points the finger at rising temperatures as much as modern agricultural practice. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/06/twite-or-pennine-finch-on-brink-of-extinction-in-england?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Its a species I'm very fond of, I love their call in particular.

I've been trying to learn how to identify adult caddis and have been working on photographing the genitalia to get to species identification. I brought a few specimens and had some nice in vivo images from our Yorkshire trip. I have had a great deal of help from SF for which I am especially grateful. SF and Ian Wallace are leading a webinar for the Tanyptera Trust on 25 Nov. You can book for it here: https://www.northwestinvertebrates.org.uk/event/caddis/

This image nails this a female Rhyacopila dorsalis. I was pretty chuffed with this, the new (used) Olympus 30mm macro is proving its worth.

 Rhyacophila sp, most likely dorsalis. 

This has all taken quite a bit of time, SF's time as well as mine. I'm looking forward to the new light trapping season now and really getting to grips with adult Trichoptera.

 The eBay purchased Amscope arrived. It is amazing. This should enable some much more critical ID work with inverts and the Olympus techniques I'm learning should enable me to evidence the IDs. 

I must update my equipment list on this blog. I'll probably create a new page as I've recently changed my approach to taking some macro photos.

Light trapping drew a blank at the weekend, no moths, no intruders, just three Tipula pagana on the wall.

Tipula pagana, male top, female below.

A bit of seawatching has produced a few Glaucous Gulls and an Iceland. Some Kit passage etc. A feasible Grey Phalarope, but not good enough to claim.

A wander around Northside and three exceptional Velvet Scoter (new for that patch) a fishing Otter and, after the storm, huge amounts of fishing industry waste washed up.

Opinion is that the fish is Long-spined Sea Scorpion, Taurulus bubalis, thanks JB.

Looking on hungrily perhaps.

On the home patch the best news is that the finch flock in the garden is up to 14 Goldfinch, 34 Greenfinch, and a few Chaffinch and the occasional single Brambling. In the bird crop there are Greenfinch (probably the same ones), Linnets and the afore mentioned Twite. A female Kestrel is hanging around, Hen Harriers and Sproghawk are occasional visitors, a ring tail harrier hunting in the garden for five minutes or so the other day, and Redwing are still trickling. Still just two Fieldfare is extraordinary. Black-headed Gull and Woodpigeon seem to have departed.