Kites

Last autumn and winter I spent quite a bit of time counting the Red Kite roost in the evening. I stumbled on it by accident but now know of its significance. This autumn it has been slow to get going with counts in the teens and twenties until in less than ideal conditions the other evening there were 122. It can be quite a spectacular show. 

Kites in the sky (you might need to zoom in).

We don't have Magpies in our neck of the woods, I have seen them occasionally in the village but the only time we get them around us and on the patch is in autumn. They turned up as expected over a few days with a three and and then various others, one even venturing into the garden.

Magpie

The Stonechat has re-appeared once (or a different one) and there has been a trickle of Redwing. The most spectacular migrant was a Gannet, that I missed, but was reliably reported. A bad dip indeed.

Moths in the light traps have been unspectacular of late, but Feathered Thorn is always nice to see and I've had a couple of Dark Sword-grass.

Feathered Thorn.

Otherwise it has been the usual suspects. Lots of Spruce Carpet and Red-green Carpet, lingering Common Marbled Carpet, Red and Yellow-line Quakers, Chestnut, and of late Streak and November Moth agg. I dissected a couple of male November moths and had one Epirrita diluta November Moth and one Epirrita christyi Pale November Moth. A single Autumn Green Carpet was nice to see.

Autumn Green carpet

The Streak, a common autumn species here.

A lot of recent activity has been about peering at leaves and looking for leaf mines and for other small leaf-living things. It's a good way of finding very under recorded things like aphids, psyllids, bark flies galls and leafmines.  There are excellent websites for many of these where there is help to identify them, but it can be a bit tricky. For example there are thousands of alder leaves at the community woodland covered below with this yellow rust. 

Alder leaves covered in Melamsporidium hiratsukanum

These rusts should be species specific, however, I did find a paper where Melamsporidium betulinum had been located on Alnus and not Betula. As I don't have the kit to explore this further I'll have to decide if this is a PSL tick, or not. Probably on iRecord I'll record as "Likely".

But other leafy inhabitants are a bit more straightforward. I explored some old trees on the border of the community woodland, in a difficult to access area.

Rowan Sorbus acuparia

 Other old trees in this area included Ash and Hazel. Searching the Hazel was especially productive. With quite a few leafmines discovered, some were occupied.

 

Hazel Corylus avellana

Various moth leafmines were found.

 

A bit unsure of this one, it may be the Phyllonorycter, see below, but could be Parornix devoniella, more research required.

Phyllonorycter nicellii mine, sure of this one.

Stigmella microtheriella, I think and not Stigmella floslactella, comment most welcome.

I have various other puzzles pending....

I had to go to Stirling again last week and instead of staying at the bottom of the hill I walked up to the Church of the Holy Rude near the castle. This was a good decision as following the wind the grass had been cut and there were insects all over the gravestones. I rarely find beetles in graveyards but on this occasion there were plenty. Just two new ones, a very good one in Nimbus obliteratus, very few Scottish records.

 

Nimbus obliteratus

There was a Oulema,  which on dissection proved to be O. melanopus, several Stenus similis, and one each of Philonthus cognatus and Philonthus carbonarius. Cream-spot Ladybird was NFM and Larch Ladybird was also present.

Calvia quattuordecimguttata

Oulema melanopus (dissected).

Stenus similis

There were also some interesting diptera. A Palloptera species that was almost certainly ustulata, but you can only be certain by dissecting a male. and Tachypeza nubila which I'd not seen before.

Palloptera, probably ustulata.

Tachypeza nubila

Stars of the show were perhaps two Hymenoptera.

 

Encyrtidae, thanks KM, awaiting further deliberation.

Homotherus locutor (thanks MS).

And to finish, a bit of a note on a development that I'm currently opposing. Low Carbon are proposing to build a wind farm of 19, 200m high turbines at the head of Glen Leadnock, on the Invergeldie Estate now owned by sister company Oxygen Conservation (yes the company that has just bought the Kinrara Estate, where Brewdog planted their Lost Forest - there's quite a bit about this on Parks Watch - https://parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2023/10/09/brewdogs-lost-forest-at-kinrara-senseless-destructive-and-a-misuse-of-public-money/ ).  Needless to say I have now for some time not bought any Brewdog beer. The forest was indeed "Lost" because a lot of those trees planted with tax payers' money died. Parks Watch have quite a bit of information on all of this. In Scotland we are facing a land-grab because the Scottish Government seem to be very keen to encourage wind farms that we, in Scotland, don't need (we have enough energy production for our needs thank you, even with the % efficiency being some distance off 100%; the problem is we do not have storage) and we do not have the capacity to send the electricity to England, so the developers are being paid a fortune to turn the turbines off - https://wastedwind.energy/2025-10-19 It will take at least five years to construct the connections to send the electricity south. The cost of "curtailment" as it is called (turning the turbines off) is added to all our household electricity bills, and it is a cost that is set to increase year on year.

Then there's the trees. On Kinrara, which I understand is now quite badly damage in places, the trees were planted using tax payers' money from Scottish Forestry (Scottish Government). I believe deer fences were erected inappropriately, causing a problem for Capercaillie. Trees would have regenerated there naturally with a bit of deer management (perhaps quite a bit of deer management) but the fences and the spending on trees could have been avoided (but there's no money in that).

The money is all about carbon trading I think. I struggle to understand the basis of all this. I don't think it has very much to do with the Scottish Government trying to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, although that is a driver. Personally, I think this has more to do with rich people getting richer. Thus the land grab. However, in Brewdog's case I believe this has caused the company something of a financial headache, so the financial gain, despite Government subsidies and payments, is not without risk.

Anyway, back to the kites. Low Carbon's Environmental Impact Assessment estimates that they will kill, over the 40 year life of the turbines, 13 Golden Eagles, 18 White-tailed Eagles and 112 Red Kites. (This is using NatureScot's tools for calculating collisions. I believe there are some issues with this methodology as I think it is based on much smaller turbines.) That's the middle estimate, it could be more, it could be fewer. The birds will be killed by collisions with turbines. Invergeldie is not very far as the Red Kite flies from the largest roost of the species in Scotland. 

Golden Eagles are not keen on turbines and tend to move away from areas where they are placed. I don't know too much about the Golden Eagle population in Scotland, but I do know that the species ranges widely and needs large territories. My understanding is that eagles vacate territories near to turbines and won't hunt near them. This may reduce the immediate number of collisions but it causes other issues as competition for suitable territory away from turbines is increased, this is likely to have an impact on the overall population. It will put pressure on young, inexperienced birds when they disperse and they may well wander to vacant territories that contain turbines, and thus increase the collision rate. These issues are not, in my view, calculable. I don't believe there is any modelling of this impact of turbine placement.

In the EIA Low Carbon state that the impact on the Scottish populations of these three species, Golden Eagle, White-tailed Eagle and Red Kite will not be significant. It is difficult to see how this can be stated with any certainty, particularly taking into account the cumulative impact of applications for more wind farms across the Highlands. 

Compare this with your typical game shooting estate. If they were to announce they were putting in place some measures that over forty years would kill this many protected species I think they would be in some bother.

For more information Save Glen Lednock has a Facebook Group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/saveglenlednock Despite what it is stated the date for formal objections to the Energy Consents Unit (the clue is in the name) of the Scottish Government is not past. All objections have to be considered up until the point the decision is made. Information on how to object is on the Facebook Group, or make a comment and leave a point of contact and I'll send you the information. 

And finally, I do recognise the need for alternatives to fossil fuels. However, there are ways of going about that.  What appears to be occurring in Scotland is that our countryside and wildlife are being sacrificed on the altar of money. This issue is a lot more complex than it might seem, and the above barely scratches the surface.

 

Wasps

It has been a bit of a year for social wasps, the Vespula and Dolichovespula genera of Hymenoptera. Last year we saw very few of these, indeed, Vespula vulgaris didn't make it onto the new garden list until this year. What I found interesting was that earlier in the year the predominant species here was Dolichovespula saxonica with nests in the house, under the roof tiles, but then the species balance changed firstly with Vespula germanica being found more often and then very large numbers of Vespula vulgaris.

Vespula vulgaris showing the typical anchor face mark.

 Social wasps can be surprisingly awkward to identify, a bit more straightforward than bumblebees, but quite often requiring a fair bit of scrutiny. There is a useful guide here - https://www.eakringbirds.com/eakringbirds2/insectswaspsidentification.htm but note it does not include Dolichovespula media, a large species or Vespa velutina which is now occurring more frequently in England.

As interesting as these social wasps are, and despite being stung occasionally, I like to see them about (just move slowly and don't flap!), I'm more interested in the parasitic Hymenoptera. 

I was at the Community Woodland looking at plant galls the other week when I came across a small female wasp that was very interested in the Common Spangle Galls Neuroterus quercusbaccarum f agamic. I watched it for quite a while as it investigated two of the galls.

 

Torymus flavipes, identified by KM (thank you). The longest terminal spur on the hind tibia is more than half as long as the first tarsal segment.

A bit of correspondence with KM has led to me collecting some more specimens as he is investigating the possibility of crypto-species due to the different plant associations in spring, but just Quercus in autumn. So far my oak bashing has yielded two more of this species and quite a few other Hymenoptera species.

 This large Ichneumon came out of one oak.

 

Lissonota fundator, confirmed by MS (thank you). Identified using the colour guides to Ichneumons in iNaturalist (see side panel) and the Banchinae key, which I have, but have rarely used. The lower photo shows the deeply excavated mesosulcus which determines this species from L. impressor.

This is a common species, the long ovipositors, nearly 10mm long, and longer than the rest of the animal, seem so ungainly, but presumably necessary for laying eggs in the larvae/pupae (I'm not sure which) of Mesapamea secalis agg hosts. 

I've been adding galls to my list at a fair rate and now I'm seeing them I find more and more. Some sapling oaks may have six or more species on them. 

Coal Tit has clearly had a very good breeding season. The sunflower seed feeder is emptied in a couple of hours or so and the other species get not much of a chance. Last year Coal Tit - Blue Tit ratio was about 1:1, this year it is 20:1. 

Coal Tits

I added two species to the patch list the other day, within about 100m of each other.  Red-legged (or similar) Partridge, no doubt released for shooting, and not unexpected Stonechat.

Stonechat

Pink-footed Geese have been passing over recently, with several flocks heard but not seen, until this single, and clearly disorientated bird flew noisily around the fields.

Pink-footed Goose

Other migrants have included Magpie, they only seem to occur here at this time of year and fleetingly. Today the first Redwings went over.

The mothing has been frustrating. A long spell of cold nights, followed by a series of warm but very wet nights. However, the one session I did run produced NFM Lunar Underwing and Satellite.

Lunar Underewing

Satellite

A trip to Crieff Cemetery whilst the car was being re-shod produced another NFM with many occupied mines on alder of Phyllonorycter froelichiella.

Phyllonorycter froelichiella, three occupied mines.

And this alder leaf has mines of Phyllonorycter froelichiella and many galls of Eriophyes laevis, a mite.

 Also recorded at the cemetery was Holly Leafminer Phytomyza ilicis, another leaf mine, and an adult Blastobasis lacticolella. 

A sunny mid-morning in Stirling produced a very sprightly Hummingbird Hawk-moth, near the city centre, which disappeared rapidly before I could get any half-decent image, along with Speckled Wood.

A fabulous image of Hummingbird Hawk-moth

Slug Walk

That would be slowly.... Indeed I can walk frustratingly very slowly and when leading our local Woodland Wanders the participants don't get much exercise.

Via my BSBI membership I was invited on a walk last Saturday afternoon, but not a botanical one, it was to be led by Chris du Feu who is a slug expert, although also well known for writing the BTO Nest Box Guide (23). The site was to be The Field in Dunkeld which is a community owned and run food growing site.

The invitation included bringing some slugs along to be examined, but when I ventured out the evening before, in ideal, warm and wet conditions all that could be found was one Green Cellar Slug, and a Tree Slug, both climbing up the house walls. However, some subsequent investigations, the next morning, under our row of plant pots did reveal a couple of tiny Arion spp, and into a pot they went.

Arion spp are tricky, both large and small, and the hand lens was required to determine these. One turned out to be Arion hortensis which I'd not recorded previously, so that was a bonus. The other was either A. hortensis or A. distinctus but was unclear, demonstrating just how hard to determine these can be.

Arion hortensis.

Chris patiently explained how confusing many of these slugs are and gave us advice on identification, as well as a bit of history as to how they were first found and how they spread across the UK. 

We found a good number of species between us including three Worm Slugs, I'd seen just one of these previously which I found in our Orkney garden. 

Boettgerilla pallens Worm Slug, an almost mythical creature! Certainly my favourite slug. Apparently first found in the UK in 1974, when several were found at one extended site. My Orkney garden record is the most northerly in the UK, just pipping Chris's on Shapinsay.

 The Worm Slug I found on Saturday was a bit of fluke as it got scooped into my sample pot along with organic matter as I caught a Bembidion sp, a ground beetle.

Bembidion lampros, at 3.45mm a small one. Note that the 7th elytral stria is absent. I have seen this previously, but a long time ago.

I did record a few "new for me" species on Saturday, most exciting was the ground beetle Anchomenus dorsalis, of which there were two. This is a very attractive species although my "in the pot" image doesn't show it off to its best.

Anchomenus dorsalis

This is a common species across much of the UK but much less so in this part of Scotland, the dot on the map will be visible!

The other slug which caught the eye on Saturday was Tandonia budapestensis, not one of Chris's favourites! But an interesting beastie nonetheless.

Tandonia budapestensis, Budapest Slug.

I'd never come across the Garlic Snail previously, but one was in the pot of finds. The smell of this species is very, very strong and unmistakable. One of the few species that is best identified by smell and may only be confused with various plants of the Allium genus. Visually this glass snail is very similar to others, and snails are very difficult to identify on the whole.

Garlic Snail Oxychilus alliarius

There were various things found that could not be identified to species including a sawfly larva (but I will investigate that further) and  an Epistrophe sp hoverfly larva (thanks NG).

Sawfly larva (maybe found on Oak), so far undetermined.

Epistrophe sp larva

The female agamic gall formed by the hymenopteran Cynips quercus was found on an Oak.

Cynips quercus f agamic

Several Toads and one Palmate Newt were larger, although not necessarily faster moving, creatures found.

Bufo bufo

Lissotriton helveticus Palmate Newt. I should have checked its throat, but forgot to, over confident perhaps, but I think this is the correct ID.

And I have to finish with a slug really. Deroceras reticulatum is a common species across the UK, although Deroceras invadens appears to be displacing it. D. reticulatum has a "Milk of Magnesia" (a really terrible medicine, I can still recall it as being awful, from my childhood) slime trail, most obvious if you let it move across semi-translucent plastic, like a yoghurt pot.

Deroceras reticulatum

Many thanks to all the participants for a very enjoyable afternoon and especially to Liz for inviting me and Chris for sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm.