PSL and other lists

The move has done great things for my Pan Species List (PSL) - see here - https://bubo.org/pan-species-listing.html I can easily stumble upon a new species every day, sometimes rather a few more than one. 

Pebble Hook-tip Drepana falcataria, probably ssp, scotica.

This Pebble Hook-tip is a bit in-between the two subspecies with the outer part of the forewing only partially pale. Light trapping can add quite a few species in one night. My main problem is identifying the species, processing the photos and then adding the data to iRecord and to PSL.

I'm using Obsidentify to record most of the botany, putting common plants on iRecord doesn't really help I believe (the verifiers get swamped with a pile of data that is not really all that useful). Obsidentify is very handy for botany though as I can then check each species pretty quickly via Francis Rose's book. (I don't like the rather unwieldy Collins Guide all that much.)

Then there's the bird list for The Patch. The Patch has been fairly easy to define due to the watery boundaries.

The Patch

This is the "small patch". In the past I've also had a 3km sq uber patch not sure if I'll do that or not. I have another local place to look at which is the Comrie Community Woodland, there is more information about this site here - https://comriedevelopmenttrust.org.uk/working-groups/hill-ground-forestry-and-woodland

The Community Woodland is relatively young and the data for the site will be useful (I hope) in supporting the existing biological records to inform future management decisions. I've made one very brief visit so far, a visit that resulted in three PSL ticks.

A soldier beetle Cantharis pellucida.

I also found two species of snipe fly, Rhagionidae.

Rhagio notatus

Rhagio scolopaceous

But back to the bird list. It stood at 55 species at last post. Since then I've added another nine species, so the list stands at 64. I tried and failed with Spotted Flycatcher today, strongly suspecting them, watching for an age and catching glimpses but no defining view. I did add Common Sandpiper and Reed Bunting today, though. I have found Wood Warbler and Redstart, but just a wee bit outside The Patch boundaries and Tree Pipit was singing at the Community Woodland. Still no Sparrowhawk though, and other missing species that are surely here, as well as the aforementioned, would include Woodcock, Long-eared Owl, Green Woodpecker and Crossbill.

Song Thrush

The mammal list is at nine species, including three bats, adding Daubenton's yesterday evening. And with Red Deer and Wood Mouse seen just a wee way away.

Wood Mouse.

Roe Deer, doe.

The Roe Deer are so used to people that they just stand and stare at you.

Some species have been a little less straightforward to identify. I have a few tricky micro-moths in the fridge. And pugs (Eupethecia spp) causing some discussion amongst folk far more knowledgeable than I on the social media sites. In the end I've decided to take specimens and dissect some in order to prove their identity. The one dissection I've completed so far threw up a surprise.

Golden-rod Pug Eupethecia virgaureata, female.

This was not what I expected, so I am wondering on the others that are in the fridge and may get tackled tomorrow. Thanks to SS, NL, BS for identifications and discussion.

Another dissection surprise was a micro that came to FUN lure in a pheromone trap. I was advised to dissect it, so I kept the specimen and did. I expected it to be Grapholita funebrana, but it actually turned out to be Epiblema cirsiana. So, thank you NL, caution is usually the best policy with some of these tricky ones.

Epiblema cirsiana, male.

Follows some images of various beasts that I've managed to identify.

Dark Brocade.

Brown Rustic

Elachista albifrontella.

Birch Shield-bug, Elastmistithus interstinctus.

Shouder-striped Wainscot.

Tachycixius pilesus, a bug.

There continue to be a bit of a backlog....

Some of my favourite things though have included Green Silver-lines, which I'm pretty sure I've recorded previously and Minnow.

Minnows.

No Minnows!!

Green Silver-lines.