Tuesday 24th.August 2010

With volunteering cancelled at the last minute , I decided to visit Sevenoaks Reserve ( Kent Wildlife Trust ) . In very squally conditions , these were the highlights ,
At least 3 Kingfishers seen , albeit at distance , none willing to pose on the posts right outside the hide , but the way they were chasing about , there could well have been more .
Around many of the lakes Gipsywort-Lycopus europaeus , another Labiate with a square stem was found . An old Willow tree was sporting a good growth of Laetiporus sulphureus-Sulphur polypore/Chicken of the Woods .Apart from Lapwings , a couple of Common Sandpipers in their 'bib and braces' identification , were the only waders seen .Passing by one of the islands was a family of Mute Swans , in line astern formation .

The Egyptian Geese were in much less formal order as they left the water to graze .
Getting back to the car just as a heavy shower started , I decided to look in at Bough Beech reservoir on the way home .Not much about except for this Common Snipe , and 2 Common and 3 Green Sandpipers , but they were well out camera distance .

I had to cross the Greensand Ridge to get home , so you should know what happened by now ,A large adult Grass Snake under the first refugia lifted .Followed by a female Adder under the second .Things went quiet then except for a Violet Ground Beetle-Carabus violaceus ,and under another refugia that held a very fast moving immature Grass Snake , the slough of that reptile , totally intact .

Once again , I made it back to the car by the skin of my teeth as the next heavy shower started .

Not wanting to push my luck any further , I headed home .

Sunday 22nd.August 2010

A look around South Norwood Country Park before the weather went pear-shaped , had me wondering why I just didn't stay in bed this morning . The lake , apart from drying up , looked nothing unusual , with just Coot , Moorhen , Canada Geese , Black-headed Gulls and Mallard loafing about . The usually smart male Mallard , looking very drab in his eclipse attire . On the bank , nothing much happening either , and that encouraged these two Carrion Crows to catch up on their sleep .
The stream feeding the lake had dried up , and the area had been taken over by Himalayan Balsalm-Impatiens glandulifera , in several shades of pink down to almost pure white .
Not at it's best now , but this is one of only a handful of stands of Soapwort-Saponaria officinalis , to be found locally . It is a member of the Pink family . Walking around , it was noticeable how few nectar producing flowers were about , now that the Creeping Thistle has all gone to seed , but Broad-leaved Everlasting Pea-Lathyrus latifolius , was doing it's best to plug the hole . Can never be sure with this species if it is truly wild , or another garden escape .
A Cormorant , Grey Heron and a fly-over Great Spotted Woodpecker completed a rather uneventful visit .
Back home , a brief spell of sunshine , produced a couple of Small White and a single Holly Blue , which was better than the 2 Large Whites seen at the Country Park .
Then , into the garden flew a large dragonfly which hawked for food for a while , before settling . I thought from a distance that it was the female Southern Hawker that has had to be rescued from the car port several times . I went for the camera , sure that it would be gone when I returned , but I was wrong , as it was still perched when I returned , not the female , but an immature male . He even flew off and settled again , but this time at waist height as opposed to above head height as before .
He didn't seem to be bothered about my presence , and allowed a close up shot of the thorax , showing the different shapes of the front and rear wings , the rear wings being shaped to allow them to pass below the abdomen when in flight .A side shot of the thorax shows the large compound eye and the muscular thorax - the engine to which the wings are attached .
Once I had taken the shots I wanted , I pushed my luck for a finger shot , but he wasn't playing , and took off , not to be seen again .
And finally , the only other interest at the Country Park was this insect , which caught my attention by it's cumbersome flight , and crash landing into vegetation . My first impressions was a Bee , and with the unusual head/eyes and 3 dots between the eyes , I thought it would be relatively easy to identify , but I haven't been successful so far . Any ideas ?
A bit more digging since posting , and I think it is one of the Mining Bees-Andrena carantonica .
Once again , Greg has put me back on the straight and narrow by identifying the Bee as one of the Leaf-cutters , Megachile sp. He also informs me that the three spots , which I thought were diagnostic for my original identification , are to be found on almost all of the Bee species in the country , some 250+ of them .
Thanks very much for the information Greg .

Saturday 21st.August 2010

Not a nice day today , overcast , windy and constant drizzle showers . I had to get out for a while , and managed a couple of hours at High Elms . In the conditions , butterflies were few and far between , but I managed to record Common Blue , Brown Argus , Meadow Brown , Gatekeeper , 2 Silver-washed Fritillaries , including this very drab female , still egglaying , the male was much fresher , but has probably missed the boat for mating , Large and Green-veined White .

Insects as a whole were scarce , but this Volucella pellucens was just waiting for the sun . I mentioned a few posts ago that Marmalade Hoverflies were everywhere , well , there is at least one less after this Crab Spider caught one as it nectared on Marjoram . Within a couple of minutes , the Spider had completely overpowered the Hoverfly , and it was the Spider who was feeding now . Lots of this in flower now , Red Bartsia-Odontites verna . Only other interest found were a few fungi ,Green Wood-cup-Chlorosplenium aeruginascens ,

Many-zoned Polypore-Coriolus versicolor , and Chicken of the Woods/Sulphur Polypore-Laetiporus sulphureus .

Friday 20th.August 2010

With sun shining , I set off early for a look over the Downs . As is my luck , no sooner had I arrived , then cloud started to roll in and the sun got very watery before disappearing altogether . But , before it did , I managed to find some butterflies and reptiles . A Common Lizard , basking in the sun ,
Good numbers of Small Heath , doing exactly the same , when not fighting each other ,

With the cloud , the wind increased , keeping most butterfly species tucked down in the grass , but it was obvious that Chalkhill Blue numbers have gone down already , but some were still nectaring , like this female on Autumn Gentian-Gentianella amarella . The male Chalkhill Blues were much less vibrant compared to when they first emerged ,Just 3 Adders were recorded , this male ,an immature female , and this immature male .

Just 2 Slow Worms were recorded , this female being one of them , A dark lump on the ground , turned out to be a pair of Red-tailed Bumblebees , making more .
A look in on the way home at the Butterfly Conservation site at White Hill above Shoreham , confirmed the reduced numbers of Chalkhill Blues , but I was pleased to see that the Devilsbit Scabious , that was decimated by rabbits last year , has not undergone the same demise this year , and is providing nectar for any remaining butterflies ,Also supplying nectar is Common Fleabane-Pulicaria dysenterica , but as usual , this flower is at it's best when butterfly numbers are diminishing , and finally , a shot of Common Poppy-Papaver rhoeas , which can be found in flower for the full five months from June to October .

Wednesday 18th.August 2010

Today was Dormouse and Reptile survey day up on the Greensand Ridge . The highlights of the day's surveying were , The two young families of Dormice found on the last survey , nearly 5 weeks ago , were found safe and well , and looking as if they were ready to leave the box . The picture is of one of the 'pinkies' that I posted after that last survey . The combined weight of the four was 3/4 grams then , today each one weighed in at 9 grams , and with plenty of food about , should make a good weight , hopefully ensuring a safe hibernation over the coming Winter . It would have been nice to post a 'four in hand' shot from today , but it was hard enough to get a shot of one in my holding pot , especially without flash . The reptile results were not as good on the first site , just a few Slow Worms , and the same at the second , but whist on that site , recorded an immature Migrant Hawker resting on a Silver Birch sapling , and for the first time this year , I managed to get a shot of a Pigmy Shrew found under one of the refugia .The third reptile site produced an unusual Slow Worm , in that it was almost as fat as male Adder for the first two thirds of it's length from the head , before thinning down to an average size towards the tail . Interestingly , another similar specimen was found later on another site . This site also produced the first Adder of the day , a female enjoying the sun , in amongst the Gorse .Found in a damp area , Weeping Widow-Lacrymaria velutina ,and a Russula sp. , probably R.cyanoxantha var.peltereaui , a green version of The Charcoal Burner .Out in a meadow , Field Parasol-Lepiota procera , 35mm. film cannister for size comparison .
One of several moths disturbed on the survey , I think this one is Engrailed , but I will be put right if it isn't . Needless to say , I wasn't right . Thanks to Dean and Josh for the correct identification - Mother of Pearl .

A Labiate growing in another damp area , which I believe is Red Hemp-nettle-Galeopsis angustifolia .The last site proved best for reptiles , with female and 2 male Adders being recorded . One of the males was still in full breeding colours . He also appeared to have sloughed recently , the cast off skin was found close by . The site also produced one adult and four juvenile Grass Snakes , two of the juveniles pictured .