Thursday 3rd.September 2009

Against my better judgement , I ventured out after lunch , making my first stop at the farm lake . Well , today it was a lake of two halves , with one side sheltered from the worst of the wind by the trees along the lane , and the other side , out of the shelter , looking like the Bay of Biscay . I must admit that I wasn't expecting much in the conditions , but the first time I stepped into the bankside vegetation , I was joined by an old friend , the Common Froghopper . It seemed quite happy on my finger , but was obviously camera shy , as it kept on turning it's rear end to face the lens . Very little was seen on the wing , just a couple of Meadow Browns , a Large White and a very tatty Common Blue . I did find one day flying moth , a Silver Y , which definitely looked unhappy with the conditions and was well down in the vegetation . Just a handful of Common Darters were recorded , and not a single Damselfly . Just the usual Mallard types , Coots and Moorhens were on the water , with just 2 Little Grebe , feeding on the sheltered side . Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker and two small flocks of Goldfinches , feeding on seed heads , were recorded .
I stopped at the Common on the way back , but things were quiet there too . On a fallen Sycamore , I found one of the easier fungi to identify , as it is what it is named , Coral Spot Fungi -Nectria cinnabarina . It can be found on any dead wood , but I find it mostly on Sycamore . On the heathland area , I found two Common Lizards , one on a fallen tree , and the other , looking like it was sunbathing on a Heather hammock . I had to pass the Hornet's nest , so had a quick look . The activity is still as brisk , so , not pushing my luck , one quick shot , and I was away .
Very few butterflies were recorded here either , but I did find a couple of Common Blues , and this Brown Argus , nectaring on some more of that Alpine Ragwort . On the way back to the car , I found another nest , this time of the Common Wasp-Vespula vulgaris . There were many more of these than there were of the Hornets , and once again the nest was underground . I did not push my luck , after being stung eight times already this year , I gave them a wide berth , and headed home for a cup of tea .