Llyn Brenig

Off to Llyn Brenig reservoir, where there were good common wildflowers, very few birds, and not much at all in the way of insects!

I was very glad to see more Smooth Hawksbeard, Crepis capillaris, along the roadsides, having identified it at Bod Petrual yesterday. This is the Hawksbeard I have most commonly seen in the past I think, and is said to be the only common one with smooth rather hairless leaves and stems. The involucre by contrast with the rest of the plant, is rather bristly, as with most Hawksbeards! The first thing to note about Hawksbeards is the distinct double row of involucral bracts, the outer ones either adpressed or spreading.

NOTE - in retrospect I would have liked to be more careful with my ID, as I feel it is potentially easy to confuse with the Marsh Hawksbeard, Crepis paludosa, although I think that is even more bristly on the involucre. These two species are most easily separated in fruit, and the relatively short achenes that I picked out the following day, did appear slightly curved, suggesting the Smooth Hawksbeard, Crepis capillaris. The Marsh Hawksbeard, Crepis paludosa, together with the Beaked Hawksbeard, Crepis vesicaria, are two of the few other species that I am ever likely to come across in Wales - together with the largely introduced Rough Hawksbeard, Crepis biennis.

If I look further into these I really do need another excellent Loupe lens! However even I was able to see that this plant branched from near to the base, eliminating the Marsh Hawksbeard, Crepis paludosa, from consideration, which only branches half way up. Another fairly obvious feature was the adpressed second/outer row of involucral bracts, a feature I believe only shared between these two of the commoner species, so if it isn't paludosa, it really should be capillaris! The styles should be yellow rather than blackish-green. A further difference is that the pappus of capillaris is a flexible pure white, while that of paludosa is a brittle yellowish or brownish-white, rather like a member of the Hieracium genus, with which it seems intermediate. Much less clear was any orange tinging to the outer florets, which may or may not be a feature of this species, among others.

The flowers are about 1 - 1.5 cm in diameter, but can be as much as 2.5 cm across. The involucre is generally wider at the base than the middle. The stem leaves are small and lance-shaped, with few lobes, apart from the two spreading basal lobes, that seem to gradually develop. The BRC Plant Atlas points out that it is a ruderal, and morphologically variable. The basal leaves, while present should be much more greatly lobed than the stem leaves, almost filigree, but I didn't see any of these!

These are the upper stem leaves, with their arrow-shaped backward-pointing lobes at the base.

I can compare this plant with the one tentatively identified at Cliffe Pools on the 6th September 2014. The colouring of the outer florets appears different, and the degree of darkening of the bracts, but the stem is similarly channelled. Also noted on Warkworth Beach, 26th June, 2015. The degree of variation is extreme, making it "polymorphic"!

I have already eliminated the Northern Hawksbeard, Crepis mollis, from the possibles, as it has not been found in Clwyd since 2000, and in only one tetrad then. A perennial with a short rhizome, it has a longer, 20-ribbed achene. http://www.bsbi.org.uk/Crepis_mollis_species_account.pdf. Worth keeping an eye out for though!

Bod Petrual

A nice walk around this Forestry Commission site, with some buzzards seen, and three wrens heard. Some different passerine calls were heard overhead and in the trees, but nothing I could distinguish for sure, except one Great Spotted Woodpecker that flew over the path, calling.

The Hypericums along the pathside all had black streaky lines on the petals, which, despite the key to the genus in Francis Rose, makes them Hypericum maculatum, or perhaps possibly the hybrid Hypericum x desetangsii. I think I need to look lower down the stem for the square section, and most other things seem to fit, translucent veins but no spots in the leaves, no stalked black spots on the sepals, . However the sepals might seem to be not quite blunt enough, according to the BSBI crib sheet diagrams.

There were Spiny Sowthistle and one clump of Perennial Sowthistle, a Hawksbeard, Catsear, Common Birds-Foot Trefoil, Meadow Vetchling, Gorse, Lesser Spearwort, Creeping Buttercup, Field Buttercup, Upright Hedge Parsley, Bramble, Greater Sallow, Birch, Rowan. Lesser Knapweed was nearer the car park. 

A Screech Owl while bat monitoring

While Pam and I were doing the second bat walk of the year, we heard an unearthly screeching across the fields towards Golden Green. A moment later a dark shape flew over and I called out "owl". Pam's torch revealed a pale body and wings, and we had seen a Barn Owl. The old country name was "Screech Owl", although this was the term also used for Tawny Owls and Little Owls, at least in some parts of the country. The sharpest call is however definitely that of the Barn Owl, Tyto alba.

As we were getting back in the cars we heard several Tawny Owls, Strix aluco, calling as well, slightly more tunefully.

Oare before the torrential rain

At the front of the East Flood there were a couple of Ringed Plover with the larger flocks of Golden Plover, resplendent in their black and gold.

Here is the best photo I got of the Ringed Plover, Charadrius hiaticula. The rounded cheek pattern is clear, and I am fairly convinced of the stout bill, but rather less so of the orange as opposed to pink legs!

There was a Meadow Pipit, with very clearly pink legs, feeding on the mud close to the road:

A Little Stint (on the left) was feeding and chasing a Dunlin around a muddy spit fairly close in,

Leybourne Lakes

Common Blue Butterflies were starting to roost on the flowerheads in the meadow, but the first butterfly I saw roosting was actually a Brown Argus, with the two spots vertically, rather than horizontally arranged:

and this is a male Common Blue,

and another, from the upperside,

There were some fascinating Rose Sawfly larvae, the more orange species, Arge ochropus, massacring the leaves on the wild roses in the meadow.

Cliffe Pools before the rain

Just made it to the first viewpoint before it started raining.

On Conoco, there were lots of Coots, Redshank, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, one Moorhen, five little Egret, and just one Tufted Duck. Met a nice chap called Marcus.

From the first viewpoint and the spot on the West side of Radar pool, there were some lots of Coots, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, with some Black-tailed Godwits and Avocets, Redshanks, two probable Greenshank, some Little Egrets, a few Tufted Ducks, Black-headed Gulls, one Grey Heron and also a Wren chitting off to the right. A group of Greylags flighted over, but the rain soon set in and I bailed out!

Oare Marshes

I think this is a Little Ringed Plover juvenile, as I cannot see a "bold white supercilium" as I would expect on a Ringed Plover juvenile. The hood could be pointed as well, it was difficult to be sure in this photo - confirmed in another, now that I know what I am looking for! A highly cropped photograph, so no further detail possible, but all of the repeated photographs were quite consistent. There were potentially two birds, but I think I only photographed one of them. Nothing proven though.

There were about 15 Little Terns fishing off the point and the mouth of Oare Creek.

Here is a Turnstone, one of a group of half a dozen in summer plumage picking at the seaweed on the rocks by the launching ramp:

and here is the same bird actually jumping quickly from one spot to another,

This is the Turnstone again in full colour, not a bad photo, head cocked.

and here in black and white:

and another photo, again in black and white to demonstrate the camouflage:

Dene Park

There weren't many birds around at all in the heat, but I thought I heard a Buzzard calling in the area of the Scambles. The Purple Helleborine is nearly over its flowering period now, and I think I might try to mark the position of this year's flowering spikes. The big spike on the West side of Path 2 is just by a big oak, 100 m from the nearest tip of the triangle at Ringlet Corner. I thought again that I should do something about the Rhododendron and Laurel

The Lesser Spearwort is flowering well in its small regular patch along the dark path, but not the wettest part of the path, and there is a lot of Broad-leaved Willowherb along the dark path as well. The Goldenrod is just about out as well. If anything I think it may have spread a little since last year. Another good yellow is Yellow Pimpernel.

In amongst the Large-flowered Willowherb there was what looked like Purple Loosestrife as well, by the path through Knights Wood just before Sooty Corner. I also saw the clump of Wood Sage along the return path.

I was glad to see some Eyebright in flower on the path through Knights Wood, and also along Path 2. Also seen were Enchanters' Nightshade, Upright Hedge Parsley, Mint, Self-heal, Common Figwort, Hedge Woundwort, Field Scabious, Common Fleabane, Marsh Thistle, Ragwort, Common Nettle, Bramble, Agrimony, Ribwort and also all three of Broom, Perforated St Johns Wort and Woodbine in fruit. There is also a resurgence of Creeping Buttercup, Wood Avens and Herb Robert, together with Coltsfoot in leaf. The Angelica inflorescences were attracting large numbers of flies and wasps.

Samphire Hoe

Wheatears!

This bird was seen to the West of the larger pond, having flown over from the seawall fenceline. I think it is a first winter bird, due to the black centred-feathers on the shoulder and the hint of an auburn cheek - although I worry about the way the photo-processing can alter the hues according to their settings!

There were plenty of chalkland flowers around, including this Melilot, which I think is likely to be the Tall Melilot, Melilotus altissimus, rather than the Ribbed Melilot, Melilotus officinalis, although it is very difficult to be sure. The flowering periods are similar, 6 - 8 for Tall, as opposed to 6 - 9 for Ribbed, so there is no help there!

A biennial or short-lived perennial herb occurring in disturbed grassland and on roadsides, field-borders and waste places, the Tall Melilot has been in the UK since the 16th Century, and is quite well distributed across S and C England. Its original native distribution in Europe is now very difficult to check due to its widespread introduction asa fodder crop, but is definitely an introduction to the UK. The standard, wings and keel all appear to be the same length, the raceme is really quite dense, with a good gold colour to the flowers, and the upper leaflets do tend to be parallel sided, pointing to this plant being Tall Melilot rather than Ribbed:

These are the pods, which are slightly hairy, and clearly do not appear to be strongly ridged as in the quite similar Ribbed Melilot. I think that Rose's suggestion of persistent styles may not be totally reliable, as this is the one character that does not seem to hold for all the pods on these plants, although not the ones in this particular photo. They should ultimately ripen black, not brown, and with two seeds per pod rather than one.

and here is the Common Sea Lavander, Limonium vulgare, with its yellow anthers.

and Common Centaury, found occasionally across the Hoe,

Here you see the lower-lying bifold stigma off to one side of the flower tube, and the higher-lying spirally-listed anthers of the 5 stamens:

Leybourne again by round pond

I was again trying to age the Canada Geese by the watersports area, but they still all look adult to me! There is an interesting Canadian website http://www.peregrineprints.com/zzzz_Article_WCgeese.htm
with some very good pictures on it, also differentiating between the Feral, Todd's and Cackling Geese. The Sibley Guide is also excellent, http://www.sibleyguides.com/2009/10/ageing-canada-geese/.

The juvenile plumage should be quite distinct, with shorter and narrower feathers, tapering to a rounded tip. The differences should be most marked on the scapulars, tail and underparts. However other sources (in particular the book Wild Geese by Ogilvie) seem less sure that these are reliable features!

However BWP suggests that there is a plumage called "first winter" which is intermediate between the juvenile and adult plumages, and this seems quite sensible to me. BWP also states that there should be a post-juvenile partial moult of the head, body and tail in "early autumn".  

Leybourne Lakes

Nice to see the Black-headed Gulls starting to build up numbers in their winter plumage on the lakes.

There were a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls on The Ocean as well, with some Black-headed Gulls out in the middle. Sizes are very difficult to estimate with the naked eye.

I had another go at trying to age the small group of Canada Geese on the lake, and I think these were all in adult plumage by now.

It was nice to see the variety of berries around the lakes, including these Dogwood, Cornus sanguinea berries, first unripe on one bush, and then much riper on the next bush.

There were a few plants of Hawksbeard Oxtongue by the path alongside The Ocean, nice to this probable native instead of the introduced Bristly Oxtongue.

Cliffe Pools

Walked up to Flamingo Pool where there were dozens of Great Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls roosting, together with a possible Whimbrel (very short bill, something of a central forehead stripe), Oystercatchers, Little Egrets, Coot and Great Crested Grebes.

At the start of the path there were perhaps a hundred Goldfinches on the bushes by the side of the track. I could hear Little Grebes calling across the central pool, where there were Redshanks and Lapwings roosting on the islands, and some Coot in the water.

Along the path I think I identified Bastard Cabbage, Rapistrum rugosum, with its clusters of small pale yellow flowers leaving behind long strings along the stems of double-chambered fruit, with the top segments abruptly narrowed into (0.8) 1 - 3.5 (5) mm styles, reminiscent of Chianti bottles. Rose has an amazing clear description - "Fruit with two joints. The upper globular, 3 mm wide, with a long beak like an old Chianti bottle, lower joint like a stout stalk".

Stace has it as subspecies linneanum with long thin appressed pedicels (1.5 - 5 x 0.3 - 0.7 mm) and seedless lower fruit segments. He also states that the fruits are also very variable in hairiness and degree of sculpturing, and these were not noticeably hairy.

It is an erect but well-branched annual, to 1 m., said to be hispid at least below. The leaves are dentate and a little fleshy, and in these plants today quite grey, possibly due to mildew. It flowers May to September.

The plant is introduced/naturalised from S. Europe, casual in waste and arable land, on tips, waysides and open grassland, frequent and increasing in C. and S. Britain. It has been introduced to N. America and it is classed as a noxious weed in Texas at least. It seems to smother other seedlings with its basal rosettes in the early phases but these do die off, as they have in these plants at this stage.

Lots of Bristly Oxtongue and other late summer flowers out.

White-rumped Sandpiper at Oare

Back to Oare, and I THINK I saw the Sandpiper in among the Dunlin on the far side of the ponds - somewhat darker speckles stretching lower down the breast. It was too far away to get a good photo but I thought the bird was a bit slimmer/sleeker and the tail was more pointed, fitting in with the primaries extending beyond the tail. However I didn't see the white rump itself!

I think this might be it, most easily seen, looking at the smaller birds to the back, and, hopefully, the slightly thinner bird with a shorter bill, below and to the right of the Dunlin:

There were a few Knot around, which I particularly enjoyed, here with one Redshank and some Golden Plover,

And there was a seal out in the Swale, popping its head out over the waves.

Oare Marshes - but still no Bonaparte!

Lots of varied Black-headed Gulls, Chroiocephalus ridibundus, though! A Snipe by the tussocks.

At least one Curlew Sandpiper in the middle distance, still with noticeable rusty underparts markings. I think there is one Common Redshank, behind and to the right, with apparently at least one albino feather.

Oare Marshes

A Wood Sandpiper, Tringa glareola, on passage, almost the first bird I saw at Oare today! There were also birds at Reculver and Elmley on the same day, presumably birds moving south from Scandinavia, rather than from the tiny breeding population in North Scotland. Nice to see the slim gawky movements, the bold white speckling on the back, the strong white eyestripe, prominent even behind the eye, the gradual merging of the streaking of the neck and throat into the whitish belly. I thought it was quite whitish in front of the wing, and I could not see any barring on the flank, so probably already properly in winter plumage. Not a tiny bird, but a little smaller than the Redshank, with a shorter bill.

Leybourne Lakes

Lots of Cabbage Whites, hopefully mostly Large Cabbage Whites, Pieris brassicae, on the long walk around the lakes. This is I think the height of their numbers. We unfortunately killed a couple who wandered in on to the moist concrete as it was laid in the extension two days ago.

These ubiquitous insects are incredibly successful because they are so well adapted. They don't lay too many eggs on a particular plant or a leaf. Larval feeding or leaf damage, or the number of eggs already laid, as set out in research from Miriam Rothschild among others no doubt, are all cues not to lay any more eggs.


The work described in this paper forms part of an investigation into the conditions which influence the breeding of Pieris brassicae (L.) in captivity. Observations have been made on the behaviour of the females at the time of oviposition, on factors which influence oviposition, on the appearance and weight of the eggs and on their fertility and hatching.

Females which are ready to lay seek out green surfaces and, as they respond eagerly to plants from which they are separated by glass, it seems that plant odour plays little part in the attraction. Once they have alighted, however, the insects drum on the surface with their fore legs to test its suitability. Normally they lay only on plants which contain the mustard-oil glucosides, but they have been observed to oviposit on broad bean (Vicia faba), on which the larvae do not survive. Sinegrin applied to green paper stimulates the female to lay. Provided she is standing on an acceptable surface she will oviposit on any other surface, for example, filter paper or glass. The eggs are normally deposited on the under surface of the leaves. This is largely due to a preference for the physical underside but the insects also seem to prefer the morphological under surface of the leaf to the upper surface. When laying an egg, the female locates one previously laid with the tip of her abdomen and so builds up the regularly arranged batches.

The females lived and oviposited as well in small cages as in large cages. They laid more eggs per day, and more eggs in a batch, at 30°C. than at 20°C. Both numbers increased until the female was about six to seven days old and then declined. Oviposition occurs at low light intensities. Fertilised females laid very many more eggs than virgin females. Oviposition occurred two to three days after copulation, and most females oviposited six or seven times in eight days. The number of eggs laid by starving insects is low: it is higher for insects given water or one per cent, honey solution and very much higher for insects given ten per cent, honey solution. Sucrose solutions are as satisfactory as honey solution.

When first laid, the eggs of P. brassicae are yellow in colour and become more orange as they develop. Some batches of newly laid eggs are of a distinctly darker yellow than others but, as it is believed that the eggs are fertilised only just before oviposition, it seems that this colour difference cannot be due to the eggs being in somewhat different stages of development. The number of ribs on the shells seems to vary in different cultures.

Batches of eggs which are laid within an hour of each other may begin to hatch several hours apart, and the time taken for all the eggs in one batch to hatch was found to range from two hours to about seven. A fertilised female lays scarcely any infertile eggs. The fertility after one mating falls below 100 per cent, after about 14 days, but normally the female mates again before this time. Temperature naturally affects the time taken by the eggs to hatch. The shortest time was about 3¾ days at 28°C.; the longest observed was 17 days at 12·5°C.

The eggs cannot be stored for more than ten days at 3·5°C. and 50 per cent, relative humidity. Eggs will develop and hatch at very low humidities. If the eggs are detached from the surface on which they are laid by the use of acetone their capacity to develop and hatch in air dried over phosphorus pentoxide is substantially reduced.


As part of development of an IPM programme for cabbage crops in the Netherlands the possibilities for biological control of lepidopteran pests by means of inundative releases of Trichogramma species was examined. The studies involved pre-introductory research to select effective Trichogramma species/strains. This paper dealt with laboratory research on the host-selection process. They examined whether strains of Trichogramma evanescens Westwood prefer one of the three most harmful lepidopteran pest species in cabbage, Mamestra brassicae, Pieris brassicae and Pieris rapae when these are offered simultaneously to the parasitoids. The most important aspect of this paper was the development of a fast and reliable method to determine host preference. It appeared from the evaluation of the different methods used in this study that direct observation of the parasitization behaviour of the wasp is necessary to determine preference in a reliable way. Differences were found in host preferences between strains of one Trichogramma species. The differential acceptance and preference of the three host species is now used to select Trichogramma strains as potential biological control agents.

Great Crested Grebes with Coots on the water, and lots of young Greylag Geese, Anser anser, by the feeding area.

Lakenheath Fen - The Reserve

Plenty of Ruddy Darters along the track towards Fen View. I do not THINK I saw any Common Darters, which was quite a surprise to me!

Here is an immature male rather, perhaps, than a female, I think, on balance. However, this is just based on my impression of the tail shape:

It is definitely a Ruddy Darter, as it has the frons side line, the blackish T-mark back from the collar, and entirely black legs, and more solid black markings along the middle of S8-9. I think my memory was was that it was also quite small, with a fairly short abdomen.