Haysden Country Park

A small troop of Bonnets, Mycena, among moss on the bark of a Goat willow in Haysden Country Park just by Barden Lake.

There was a probable hybrid Canada x Greylag Goose, maybe with some Domestic Goose parentage, feeding with the mixed flock by the roosting area near the first bird feeding area.

Alder leafminers and mite galls at Haysden Country Park

Had a very short (but quite productive) hour at Haysden, where we went along the path towards the Flood Storage Barrier, looking primarily for Alder Leafminers and Galls. There were one or two fair sized Alders by the Shallows (as in the photo below) and then a good line of them along the Straight Mile. There were also a few young plants by the weir at the end of the Straight Mile. All were the Common Alder, Alnus glutinosa.

There were some Agromyza alnivora, and some galls on the leaf surface. The first I saw were small lumps scattered over the upper leaf surface, and slightly "mushroom-shaped" so might have been Eriophyes (Phytoptus) laevis. Even the galls close to the midrib were not confined to the vein axils.

The second type, further along the Straight Mile, were bumps along the midrib specifically in the vein angles, opening below, so were probably Aceria nalepai (Eriophyes inangulis). The usual leafhopper damage is also visible again.

With the Pouch Gall Acalitus brevitarsus, also seen at this site as well as at Leybourne, this brings me up to all the three mite types mentioned in Redfern and Shirley now hopefully identified.

The rusty-brown hairs on the underside of the galls were nice and clear, if a bit dark here.

Also widespread was this rust fungus, mainly on the underside of the leaves, possibly Melampsoridium alni, betulinum or hiratsukanum. M. alni is apparently only found in Asia, while M. betulinum has been noted in the UK (Scotland?) in the past, for example causing a bit of an outbreak in the 1990s. The last of these however is perhaps most likely, a newly introduced rust, since about 2000, potentially causing early defoliation and thus some economic impact on Alder species, particularly Alnus incana.

Going back to the Leafminers, here is what might be the top surface indications of Phyllonorycter kleemannella = klemannella, the Dark Alder Midget, nominally at least small, oval and often away from the midrib. The larvae are supposedly found in May/June and July/August, quite a lot earlier than this particular record, but the Dutch suggest there may be \a third generation increasingly recently.

This "cutout" might have been caused by an earlier leafminer scar that has dropped completely out, and if so, the long and thin shape suggests that it might have been Phyllonorycter froelichiella, the Broad-barred Midget. There are other possibilities though, and even kleemannella = klemannella can be long and thin and look like froelichiella....

As well as probable Aceria nalepai galls, this leaf might just be showing a leaf-mine of Caloptilia falconipenella, as it is right on the margin of the leaf and shows a bit of turning over of the margin. This moth is however nationally scarce B, so the mine might be of something else.

Barden Lake at Haysden

A quick 30 minutes down at Barden Lake with the new lens, but only the old EOS 350D camera, as the 7D is in for cleaning and repair - hopefully! The short session was very enjoyable, but also very cold without my coat! 

This is an adult bird, with the head hood just starting to appear I think, looking good in reasonable afternoon light! The primaries show the white tips on the primaries quite clearly.

This is another adult bird, but in this case there is rather less evidence of the hood appearing. Also there are fewer signs of the white tips to the primary flight feathers.

This next one's hood has also not started yet. We are back with rather more obviously white-tipped primaries again.

This is another bird I reckon. The white eyelids are quite visible against the dark of the head, and overall it looks very like the bird at the top of the page:

The next photograph is of a first winter bird. There is quite a lot of wear on the secondaries (?), which are badly (slightly white) "fringed" at the margins. There is a lot of brown in this bird's wings, this is fairly standard where none of the wing feathers have been replaced. The primaries, which have also been around since the bird first fledged last summer, look to be a uniform brown, with no white tips, which may have worn away! The beak (and legs) are generally (as in this picture) orange rather than red, as is characteristic for these young birds.

This is still the same bird taking off. I do like the water drops!

A nice probably female adult Herring Gull, Larus argentatus argenteus on the signpost in the lake.

Barden Lake at Haysden slowly drying out again as the floods recede slightly.

The water level in Barden Lake has slowly and gently dropped, and you can now walk all the way around, muddy though it is.  On the Fishing Lake by the cafe block, there were some a couple of nice Tufted Ducks, Aythya fuligula, 2 males. This bird does not have an obvious crest, but I think must still be older than a first winter juvenile, as there is no barring on the flanks. The water droplets still clinging to the feathers may indicate that the bird has recently surfaced and the crest may then be slicked down in consequence.

Other interesting ID features are the interestingly shaped head with the high forehead on a relatively narrow neck. The bill has a good solid black tip or nail (across the cross-section of the bill, looking as though it "has been dipped in ink"). There is more than a hint of a whitish stripe across the front of the bill, contrasting with the blue-grey on the rear part of the bill.  The bird is said to sit low in the water but with its tail above the surface, and I think I would agree with this from this picture to some extent - it looks as though its sitting a bit lower in the water at the moment, per haps after a dive. Deep yellow eye, perhaps slightly out of focus.  The contrast between the dark wing and the white sides is nice and distinct, a beautiful bird indeed, moving well across the water!.

On the main Gravel Pit, Barden Lake, other individuals were keeping themselves out of trouble. This one looks very much at rest, but with its eyes open! I think that the wings are most easily seen from this angle, with the two sets of primary feathers forming a valley down the back between the two wings. It also looks to me as though the flank feathers somewhat overlie the sides of the wings, giving that fringed effect to the rear of the white sides. The tail sits slightly cocked in this picture.

According to the BTO, "the rapid expansion of the Tufted Duck in Britain during the late 19th/early 20th century is probably due to the colonisation of Britain by Zebra Mussels (brought into London docks in the 1820s)".  The birds are omnivorous, feeding mainly on mussels, insects and plant material taken from the muddy bottoms of the water bodies they are on, diving anywhere between 4 - 15 metres down. It breeds better if there aren't excessive numbers of fish. 

The females show the same amount of darkening at the top of the biill, with a little light band just behind. Some of them show a scaup-like white patch at the base of the bill, although not quite so extensive, and I rather think quite a lot of them show some degree of lighter brown in that area, like the one in the duck below.

Wet but bright at Haysden

The paths were still under water, but the sun was shining, and it was actually quite warm. The Gulls and geese were showing well, but it was very busy and there were few ducks to be seen.

This gull is stabilising itself with its wings, in order to duck its head below the surf\ace in a very rapid movement. A skirt of water flies up past its head!

This one is demonstrating its STOL capabilities

and this one looks as though its just blown a huge bubble!

Further around the lake, there were some Tufted Duck, Aythya fuligola, quite a way out on the water from the bird feeding stage. The males were showing off their crests dramatically, as in the picture taken below. This bird looks as though it is riding high in the water, with the tail clearly visible. It doesn't look as though it has dived for quite a while!