Sunday 20th.September 2009

Yet again , today was a day of two visits . The first was a look around the Common , in what turned out to be barmy , humid conditions . Things were still pretty wet from the overnight rain , which made seeing the spider's webs easier to see . There were loads of them , stretched between almost every piece of vegetation . Nearly all were made , and guarded by the Garden Spider-Araneus diadematus , but a flash of yellow on one , had me taking a closer look . My near three year wait was over , it was a female Wasp Spider . The last time I saw an adult of the species , I had 10 females in two patches of Bramble at Spring Park Pond . I have found egg sacks , mainly when working on the Common during the Winter . Strange thing is thou , I have never found an egg sack that looked as if young had emerged from it , they have all looked as if they were still sealed , as the female would do . I had a good look around the area , but did not find any others , but I will keep an eye on this one , would be great to get her egg laying . Chuffed with the find , I headed off to check a previous find , the Hornet nest . All seemed quiet from a distance , but as I drew closer , that was not the case . Whereas on the last visit , the entrance just looked like a hole in the moss and Heather roots , now the paper type material of the nest can be seen , extending right to the mouth of the entrance , and I would swear that the Hornets were even bigger than last time , four seen here , three heading out and one in . I had the feeling of being watched on the heathland area , the watcher turned out to be a cock Pheasant , and he was watching a female . No sign of Brimstones today , but the Buckthorn , on which the females laid their eggs and the caterpillars fed , are now looking Autumnal , and their berries turning black . On one of the Heather patches , I found a Common Lizard , one of three recorded on site , enjoying the sunshine . Just two butterflies were recorded on site , a Small White and this Comma .
An after lunch visit to High Elms was even lighter with butterflies , with just one Meadow Brown recorded . Without butterflies , I searched for fungi , but even that was in short supply . No sign yet of the Magpie Fungus and Plums & Custard that I usually find here , probably more rain and cooler temperatures needed . Two species that I did find were Hypholoma sublateritium-Brickcap and Calocera viscosa , both found on moss covered tree stumps . The only other interest found was this male Dark Bush-Cricket , identified by the saddle on the back and no ovipositor , which seemed to be having a Darcey Bussell moment .