Friday, 30 May 2014
Thursday, 29 May 2014
Little Gulls at Cresswell, and Druridge Pools
What a pretty little gull, that I didn't take enough notice of!
Two Avocets, 7 Black-tailed Godwits, 4 Shelduck, 1 Grey Plover, 2 Redshank, 4 Mallard, about half a dozen Tufted Duck, and a wonderful view of a Sedge Warbler. A Newcastle birder told me that there were two Reed Warblers singing behind the hide, but I didn't hear either of them, a bit worrying. A good group of House Martins with a few Swallows
At Druridge Pools I took Monty along the path to the two hides that I had found yesterday. There were Greylag Geese, 1 male Shoveller, Mallards, House Martins, Swallows, Black-headed Gulls. On the path on the way back I tried to photograph a Whitethroat, and heard Willow Warblers and Chiff Chaffs.
Two Avocets, 7 Black-tailed Godwits, 4 Shelduck, 1 Grey Plover, 2 Redshank, 4 Mallard, about half a dozen Tufted Duck, and a wonderful view of a Sedge Warbler. A Newcastle birder told me that there were two Reed Warblers singing behind the hide, but I didn't hear either of them, a bit worrying. A good group of House Martins with a few Swallows
At Druridge Pools I took Monty along the path to the two hides that I had found yesterday. There were Greylag Geese, 1 male Shoveller, Mallards, House Martins, Swallows, Black-headed Gulls. On the path on the way back I tried to photograph a Whitethroat, and heard Willow Warblers and Chiff Chaffs.
Wednesday, 28 May 2014
Hauxley Nature Reserve
Monty and I popped in very briefly. Monty was OK on the permissive paths as long as he kept his lead on, and fair play to him, he was very good in the hide, settling down quickly to snooze on the wooden floor.
I misidentified the orchid a Pyramidal from the deep colour, but it was of course Northern Marsh Orchid, Dactylorhiza purpurella. A wide spreading (sometimes referred to as diamond-shaped apparently) lower lip, with darker cerise markings over the purple ground, topped by a plain hood and two "flying" wings (typical for Dactylorhiza?). There are broad basal and sheathing stem leaves. It grows in generally damp but not not acid habitats. The flower spike is often said to look a bit broad-topped and stumpy - these two are not fully out yet.
The cerise markings should be all over the lip, not just near the centre, according to one of the websites - this looks good enough!
This is the commoner subspecies purpurella, not growing more than 35 cm, with leaves that tend to be unspotted, except for occasional light spotting at the tip. The flowers tend to be a deep pink rather than purple, and it can grow well away from the sea, as opposed to ssp. majaliformis, found typically in places like the Hebridees. According to Kew in 2005 ssp majaliformis is a synonym and the correct name is ssp cambrensis (Wood, 2005). http://aplx5.rdg.ac.uk/annual-checklist/2009/show_species_details.php?record_id=5028937.
The maroon spotting is described in Francis Rose as heavy - the Southern Marsh Orchid's spotting is by contrast described as light, and those flowers are wider, over 1.9 cm wide. The Southern takes over in the SouthEastern half of the country, except for a Northern Marsh Orchid outlier in the New Forest in Hampshire.
The species appears to have occurred more or less as an as an allotetraploid from a nybrid between D. incarnata and D. fuchsii/maculata, as apparently several other species have, such as D. majalis, traunsteineri, sphagnicola and lapponica. On the other hand D. maculata has been interpreted as an autotetraploid of D. fuchsii. http://archive.bsbi.org.uk/Wats21p113.pdf
The poor genetic isolation and the morphological intergradation in areas of sympatry of many of the members of the genus Dactylorhiza may indicate that treatment of the allotetraploid marsh-orchids as taxonomic species may not be justified. They might be better treated as subspecies of a single variable species, D. majalis, as suggested by some recent studies (e.g. Bateman & Denholm 1983; lenkinson 1991; see also Sundermann 1975; S06 1980). This subspecific status still recognizes that these taxa may have evolved independently, and that they have at least partly different distributions and contrasting habitat requirements. It is interesting to think about the timing of their origins, and the different land masses they occur in.
http://www.leedingain.com/2013/06/orchid-confusion-in-northumberland-7.html
I misidentified the orchid a Pyramidal from the deep colour, but it was of course Northern Marsh Orchid, Dactylorhiza purpurella. A wide spreading (sometimes referred to as diamond-shaped apparently) lower lip, with darker cerise markings over the purple ground, topped by a plain hood and two "flying" wings (typical for Dactylorhiza?). There are broad basal and sheathing stem leaves. It grows in generally damp but not not acid habitats. The flower spike is often said to look a bit broad-topped and stumpy - these two are not fully out yet.
The cerise markings should be all over the lip, not just near the centre, according to one of the websites - this looks good enough!
This is the commoner subspecies purpurella, not growing more than 35 cm, with leaves that tend to be unspotted, except for occasional light spotting at the tip. The flowers tend to be a deep pink rather than purple, and it can grow well away from the sea, as opposed to ssp. majaliformis, found typically in places like the Hebridees. According to Kew in 2005 ssp majaliformis is a synonym and the correct name is ssp cambrensis (Wood, 2005). http://aplx5.rdg.ac.uk/annual-checklist/2009/show_species_details.php?record_id=5028937.
The maroon spotting is described in Francis Rose as heavy - the Southern Marsh Orchid's spotting is by contrast described as light, and those flowers are wider, over 1.9 cm wide. The Southern takes over in the SouthEastern half of the country, except for a Northern Marsh Orchid outlier in the New Forest in Hampshire.
The species appears to have occurred more or less as an as an allotetraploid from a nybrid between D. incarnata and D. fuchsii/maculata, as apparently several other species have, such as D. majalis, traunsteineri, sphagnicola and lapponica. On the other hand D. maculata has been interpreted as an autotetraploid of D. fuchsii. http://archive.bsbi.org.uk/Wats21p113.pdf
The poor genetic isolation and the morphological intergradation in areas of sympatry of many of the members of the genus Dactylorhiza may indicate that treatment of the allotetraploid marsh-orchids as taxonomic species may not be justified. They might be better treated as subspecies of a single variable species, D. majalis, as suggested by some recent studies (e.g. Bateman & Denholm 1983; lenkinson 1991; see also Sundermann 1975; S06 1980). This subspecific status still recognizes that these taxa may have evolved independently, and that they have at least partly different distributions and contrasting habitat requirements. It is interesting to think about the timing of their origins, and the different land masses they occur in.
http://www.leedingain.com/2013/06/orchid-confusion-in-northumberland-7.html
Saturday, 24 May 2014
Arrival at Warkworth
On the drive across from the A1, it was nice to see a Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, flying over the road.
Lovely to get down to the beach and hear the thunder of the waves! As I dropped down the slope from the car park past the scrub, a Whitethroat, Sylvia communis, sang briefly just to the N of the path, and then when I cluttered over the dunes what I thought was a Meadow pipit, Anthus pratensis, called "sip-sip" from the top of one of the bushes on the crest and then several more times from overhead as it flew high, repeating the whole process twice.
It was half past seven in the evening, and the weather started off poor and then finished atrocious. I got very wet! Along the beach some Black-headed Gulls, Chroicocephalus ridibundus, were feeding by the edge of the incoming tide, picking at the sand as the first salty water washed over it. Many others skimmed regularly overhead travelling in both directions along the tide line. Sadly no Sandwich Terns were seen today.
There were several small groups of small waders scuttling along the tide. I think they were too dark above to be Sanderling, Calidris alba, but equally there were no obvious dark patches seen on their breasts, so unlikely to be Dunlin, Calidris alpina, and therefore Ringed Plover, Charadrius hiaticula, would be my best bet, with no very clear wing-bars when startled into flight. About 20 in total I reckon, one smaller group, one larger group.
Lovely to get down to the beach and hear the thunder of the waves! As I dropped down the slope from the car park past the scrub, a Whitethroat, Sylvia communis, sang briefly just to the N of the path, and then when I cluttered over the dunes what I thought was a Meadow pipit, Anthus pratensis, called "sip-sip" from the top of one of the bushes on the crest and then several more times from overhead as it flew high, repeating the whole process twice.
It was half past seven in the evening, and the weather started off poor and then finished atrocious. I got very wet! Along the beach some Black-headed Gulls, Chroicocephalus ridibundus, were feeding by the edge of the incoming tide, picking at the sand as the first salty water washed over it. Many others skimmed regularly overhead travelling in both directions along the tide line. Sadly no Sandwich Terns were seen today.
There were several small groups of small waders scuttling along the tide. I think they were too dark above to be Sanderling, Calidris alba, but equally there were no obvious dark patches seen on their breasts, so unlikely to be Dunlin, Calidris alpina, and therefore Ringed Plover, Charadrius hiaticula, would be my best bet, with no very clear wing-bars when startled into flight. About 20 in total I reckon, one smaller group, one larger group.
Ruthin Craft Centre
Some lovely trees here. Himalayan Birch, Whitebeam, Swedish Whitebeam, Norway Maple, Ash, Sycamore, Cherry.
The cherries in the courtyard are just developing fruit at the moment, so perhaps they are wild cherries, Prunus padus.
The cherries in the courtyard are just developing fruit at the moment, so perhaps they are wild cherries, Prunus padus.
Tuesday, 20 May 2014
A late visit to Dene Park
It was distinctly cooler and moister today, and there wasn't a great deal of insect life up in the woods when I got there at about 3:30. It was cloudy and briefly threatened a little rain at one point.
However the visit got off to a great start, when I was pretty sure I heard a Garden Warbler, Sylvia borin, singing away in one of the small copses on the grassy area by the car park, It was like a Blackcap, but much more prolonged, varied and tuneful. I honestly cannot think what else it could have been! I was able to listen for several long periods of song, but failed to get a sound recording (memory full!). So that is a life tick for me, what a delight!
I'm still not sure whether the ride clearing that the Medway Valley Countryside Partnership have been doing has had any positive effect - it seems to be too little on the trees either side and too heavy on the ride-side herbaceous vegetation.
However the visit got off to a great start, when I was pretty sure I heard a Garden Warbler, Sylvia borin, singing away in one of the small copses on the grassy area by the car park, It was like a Blackcap, but much more prolonged, varied and tuneful. I honestly cannot think what else it could have been! I was able to listen for several long periods of song, but failed to get a sound recording (memory full!). So that is a life tick for me, what a delight!
I'm still not sure whether the ride clearing that the Medway Valley Countryside Partnership have been doing has had any positive effect - it seems to be too little on the trees either side and too heavy on the ride-side herbaceous vegetation.
Sunday, 18 May 2014
Hot Hucking
A really nice day today, the warmest of this year so far I think.
Not huge numbers of butterflies seen, but then again I tend not to see so many unless I'm really on the lookout - presumably they just don't get into sight range so easily. However Speckled Wood, Pararge aegeria, were seen occasionally, at least three, together with one male Brimstone along the edge of the North Downs Trail. There was also a large dark butterfly, possibly Peacock sized, sunning itself on one of the posts by the side of the Dry Valley, but I had put it up before I saw it properly and wasn't able to identify it.
A nice white erineum on one of the newly planted lime trees suggested.
Not huge numbers of butterflies seen, but then again I tend not to see so many unless I'm really on the lookout - presumably they just don't get into sight range so easily. However Speckled Wood, Pararge aegeria, were seen occasionally, at least three, together with one male Brimstone along the edge of the North Downs Trail. There was also a large dark butterfly, possibly Peacock sized, sunning itself on one of the posts by the side of the Dry Valley, but I had put it up before I saw it properly and wasn't able to identify it.
A nice white erineum on one of the newly planted lime trees suggested.
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