In like a Lion, out like a Lamb

In March, the surveying season starts. And when it starts, it starts with a bang.

After weeks of inaction due to Covid restrictions, the second week of March has been filled with the resumption of surveys of all types.

First off was Sunday morning, 14th March, surveying Maer Lake for the BTO’s Wetland Birds Survey. There were a limited number of bird species, although there was an unprecedented mixed flock of over 300 gulls, as most of the winter waders had left although a pair of Shelduck remained giving hopes of another breeding year. Black-tailed Godwits were also noted; they seem to be residents now.

This was quickly followed the next day by a visit to Tamar Lakes, again WeBS at Lower and Upper Lakes. This was similar to Maer with few winter visitors although the annual Goosander visitation had not come to an end with four remaining on the Lower and two on the Upper Lake.

Mixed flock of Gulls at Maer Lake

The temperature was around 13℃ so high enough to commence the Bee walk in Coombe woods. Although not many were seen, we did find that where Willows were in flower, they had attracted quite a few Buff-tailed Bumblebee queens high up in the canopy.

Thursday 18th was the day we planned the quarterly bird transect around Bude Marshes. Normally this is a group effort, but to conform with Covid regulations, Duncan and I have been the only two participants for a year now. Numbers of species are definitely down; from 31 last March to only 24 this year although it did include Shelduck, Curlew and two Cattle Egret.

Cattle Egret - Bude Marshes

During the month, the invertebrates had begun to appear from their winter absence. Gorse Shieldbugs, 7-spot Ladybirds and Buff-tailed Bumble bees were appearing at the beginning of the month in that short warm spell.

We had the very cold and windy middle of the month, typical of March until the last week when we had the mini heatwave. Butterflies - Small Tortoiseshell and Brimstone, and those harbingers of spring, Skylarks and House Martins.

During this cold spell, I completed my three Riverfly surveys adding another beetle to my growing species list - Oreodytes sanmarkii, a tiny 2-3mm water beetle that zooms about in the water column of stony streams.

2-3mm Water Beetle - Oreodytes sanmarkii

The 30th was a very warm day, hitting 18℃ when I recommenced my Butterfly Transect along the Tidna. Although there were only four butterflies of three species - Speckled Wood, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell, other invertebrates were recorded. Common Carder and Red-tailed joined the Buff-tailed Bumblebees along with more Gorse Shieldbugs and 7-spot Ladybirds.

Of great interest were the Oil Beetles. I recorded both Violet Meloe violaceus and Black M. proscarabaeus in the Tidna Valley as well as the triungulins of the Violet species. These are bee parasites. The adults lay eggs in sandy soil near a bee nest . These in turn hatch into triungulins (so called because they have three claws on each leg)which emerge and crawl onto flower heads and lie in wait for a passing bee. They hitch a ride into the bee’s nest where they eat the bee’s eggs before changing into grubs where they remain until emerging as adults the following year. The cycle then repeats.

Clockwise - Violet Oil beetle, triungulins, Black Oil beetle

On the last day of the month another butterfly, a Red Admiral was recorded along with the first Green Shieldbug of the year.

To top it all off, life has continued to develop in my Lockdown Pond. I built it during Lockdown1 from 8th April and filled it with water on the 16th. At the begining of March, I found a Palmate Newt under a log and transfered her into the pond where she vanished into the bottom mud.

Palmate Newt

 In the last few days of the month I have seen, a Backswimmer (Notonecta), Pond skaters (Gerridae), a Whirligig beetle (Gyrinus) and three Dragonfly nymphs. As I noted ovipositing Broad-Bodied Chasers last May, these would appear to be its progeny.

Broad-bodied Chaser nymph

Those last few days of March were gentle, warm and windless - almost as gentle as the large numbers of new-born lambs in the fields.

Blogs I follow

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