Bean Geese and Ping pong bats

I don't know whether it is just luck or that spring has come to North Cornwall, but we are extremely fortunate in the two species new to me and quite unusual.

On Monday, 7th February, we decided to take one of our regular walks around Upper Tamar Lake.  We had heard that there were some rare Geese seen in the previous week. Although we had not expected them to still be around, we did look for them anomgst the large flock of Canada Geese on the fields bordering the western (Cornwall) side of the lake.

We were in luck!  Around 200 Canada Geese were grazing on the open field with three Tundra Bean Geese on the edge of the flock.  Even better, they were not too close to take flight nor too far to be photographed.

So, one species new to us - a major "tick" Anser serrirostris.

Two Tundra Bean Geese amongst Canada Geese

A resting Anser serrirostris.

Today, 10th February, was my day for Riverfly - surveying my local stream, the Tidna for freshwater invertebrates.  The stream is found in a deep Cornish wooded valley about 200 feet down a set of steps to the valley bottom.  

Once the survey is complete, it is a slow climb back up stopping occassionaly to catch my breath.  About halfway up I spotted a dead branch beside the steps with an interesting row of tiny orange fungi growing along it.  I stopped to examine them and was surprised to recognise a fungus previously seen on Lundy.

They were Orange Ping Pong bat fungi, an invasive species only recently found in the UK and spreading around Cornwall and Devon.

The cap is only around 7mm in diameter (the picture shows a ruler with 1mm divisions) but the underside is distinctive and diagnostic.

Although invasive, it is no threat to the flora of the UK in that they decay dead and dying timber only.

The rest and the find gave me a spring in my step and the remaining steps did not slow me at all.

What a find two rare species in one week!

Orange Ping Pong Bat fungus underside

Favolaschia calocera - 7mm cap

 

Red Letter Day

A red letter day is one of those days highlighted in red on the calendar, from the medieval practice of colouring saints days in red.

Today, despite the very strong north easterly wind, I embarked on my weekly butterfly transect.  I expected a few stray species not a bumper crop.

Beginning at the Bush Inn at Crosstown, I quickly notched up 5 Small Whites.

Small White

And so it continued through each of the ten sections with butterflies on each of them.

All week I have been noting many Large and Small Whites as well as Red Admirals so was expecting to see some of them.

Red Admiral

I was totally unprepared for the sheer numbers.  I recorded 40 Small and 14 Large whites but what made a real RED letter day was the 51 Red Admirals seen on 9 of the 10 sections.

Small Coppers and Small Tortoiseshells as well as the almost mandatory Speckled Wood and two rather late tattered Silver-washed Fritillaries made up the rest of the list. It was the second largest total of butterflies I have recorded this year.

Small Copper

For a September transect, I counted an unusually large total of 143 butterflies of 7 species.

To top it all off, deep in the woods on Bracken was an unusual sightiing for this area, a Hawthorn Shieldbug.

Hawthorn Shieldbug

Truly a butterfly transect to note on the calendar in red.

Blogs I follow

https://downgatebatman.blogspot.com/

https://maryatkinsonwildonline.blogspot.com/

Two Transects

For the first two weeks in July I was on Lundy.  While I was there I undertook two weekly butterfly transects for UKBMS.  I established this transect in 2019 to cover as diverse a selection of habitats as possible on the island.  

From the pond in Millcombe, the route ascends under trees and shrubs to Millcombe House then loops around the gorse covered slopes of Hangman's Hill and back under the trees to the head of the valley.  From here is follows a level route along the edge of the arable farm fields above the bracken covered sea cliffs to the beginning of the Quarries.

Towards the end of the Lundy Transect near Quarry Cottages

By contrast on Tuesday, I completed week 16 of my local butterfly transect - the Tidna Transet.  It begins and ends conveniently at my local, the Bush Inn and continues for half its length following the Tidna through its wooded valley and emerges at the edge of the Atlantic before climbing flowered covered cliff and returns along a Cornish hedged lane to complete the circuit.

Tidna Valley look inland from the Atlantic Clifftop

Both transects are within 20 miles of each other separated only by the Atlantic Ocean and Bristol Channel and cover broadly similar habitats.

I did my first Lundy transect on the 10th July on a really hot day only affected by a stiff North-west breeze although we were shielded from it by the field walls on the eastern side of the island.  Butterflies were recorded in each of the nine sectors with a total of 71 butterflies of seven species seen.  These were Small and Green-veined White, Red Admiral, Grayling, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Small Heath.  On the second transect on the 15th, the weather was poorer resulting in fewer butterflies and only five species.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Tidna Transect

By contrast, my local transect, on the 21st July was in very hot weather with clear skies and hardly any wind.  Here also, butterflies were recorded in all ten sectors with a total of 155 butterflies of 14 species.  The species recorded were; Large, Small and Green-veined White, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Small Pearl-bordered and Silver-washed Fritillaries, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Small Heath.

Silver-washed Fritillary - Tidna Transect

With a few exceptions, both transects resulted in very similar species.  It was a little early for Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood is rare on Lundy and the Fritillaries have never been recorded.

A Lundy Grayling

I am jealous of the sighting of the Grayling though.  I have not yet seen one here on the mainland, but continue to be hopeful.

Recommended blogs

Lundy Birds

Mary Atkinson Wild

"mock Tudor, half-timbered building"

After a week of poor weather, we were rewarding by another mini-heatwave.  I took the last opportunity to complete week 12 of the UKMBS butterfly survery yesterday (23rd June).  It was the hottest day of the year with a temperature of 26C.

But, half of the transect is along a delightful stream running through a maturely wooded valley.  

Tidna Valley main part of the transect

The temperature in the shade of the trees was much more reasonable.  Having seen a Meadow Brown on the first of the ten sections, I dared to anticipate a full house (https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2530752943335211299/3755956790555006431 ) that is, recording butterflies on every one of the ten sections.  Meadow Brown and Speckled Wood were common under the trees particulalry where the canopy is open allowing brambles to flourish and produce flowers attractive to all insects.

It was in one of these sunlit open areas that a New For Year (NFY) Silver-washed Fritillary appeared on section three.

Silver-washed Fritillary

Where the route emerges from the tree cover, at section six, it is more open with steep sided slopes covered in Gorse either side of a more open scrubby pathway.  It is here that the Large Blue Butterfly became extinct in Cornwall in 1979.  Despite efforts to reintroduce it, the ecology is still not yet suitable.  However Skippers and Small Heaths did appear here as well as Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries in season.  And it is here where another two more NFY appeared, a Small Skipper and a Ringlet.

Small Skipper

Ringlet

The best was yet to come.  Further along this valley, within sight of the Atlantic Ocean I spotted a large, dirty white flying insect.  I could not be sure if it was moth or butterfly, but the blurred, dirty white was similar to the colour moths present as they flap their wings.  However as it came nearer, it was apparent that it was a large black and white butterfly.  I could see that the black and white were in distinct panes not unlike a mock Tudor, half-timbered building - it was a Marbled White.  So, not only NFY, but also new to this site and an uncommon species in North Cornwall VC2.

Marbled White

I couldn't beat that, but did manage to complete the "full house" with a least one butterfly in each of the ten sections.  It was not the highest number seen so far this year, but 64 butterflies of ten species with four NFY and one new for the site was very satisfying.

Week Six – Full House?

Week six of my butterfly transect, the weather was perfect.  No clouds and 100% sun, virtually no wind, just a slight breath of air from the southwest and a temperature of 18C in the shade.

Green-veined White

Orange Tip

I began the survey on the first sector with three Green-veined Whites followed by two more and a Speckled Wood and my one and only Orange Tip on the second sector.

I began thinking that I might have sightings on all ten sectors after the first five very sparse weeks.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Speckled Wood

I continued to record Green-veined Whites and Speckled Woods until I emerged from the woods to where the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries appear.  And appear they did.  I saw one and photographed it and another appeared later in this sector (No 6).  Walking along the valley towards the sea I could see a bank of sea mist hugging the cliffs.

24-spot Ladybird on Sea Campion

Wall 

It was Sector Eight that let me down.  Here the footpath ascends the cliffs and the sun was hidden by the mist just overlapping the cliff edge.  So no full house although I did search for and found four 24-spot Ladybirds.  They were where they always are in season, on the Sea Campion that grows all the way up the cliff path.  So the sector was no a total loss although no full house this time.

Once at the top of the cliff I turned inland with the mist behind me and the sun fully blazing once again.  The last two sectors produced butterflies, notably three Wall Brown, another first species of the year.

Nine out of ten sectors produced 26 butterflies of 6 species giving me a target of a full house for next time.

The Last Post

27^th October was the last day of the last week for undertaking my butterfly transect survey. I had missed the previous week (week 29) as I was away from home on Lundy which meant I had missed the after effects of Hurricane Ophelia and Storm Brian. I didn’t anticipate seeing any butterflies except perhaps the odd Red Admiral.  So I was really surprised to find two very faded and bedraggled Speckled Woods in the wooded part of the transect.

The broken bridge

The fallen tree

What did come as a surprise was the broken bridge at the bottom of the footpath to Rectory Farm.  Cattle had trashed the boardwalk between this path and the Bush Inn steps some months earlier and perhaps weakened the bridge.  In any event it is badly broken.  A little further on my way was blocked by a fallen tree.  This was obviously the result of one or other of the storm events.  It was no great problem to bet by but both of these problems have been reported to the owners, the National Trust, who will no doubt address them in due course.

I was pleased to see both Peregrine and Buzzard in the open area between wood and sea.  Even better were the Ivy Bees colonising the northern edge of the new path section which climbs the cliff. 

A new colony of Ivy Bees

The last section from cliff top to Crosstown was most rewarding – a Small Tortoiseshell and four Red Admirals, one pair of which were engaged in a mating dance.

Pair of mating Red Admirals - one much the worse for wear

This final survey of the year enabled me to compare this year's survey  with last year's survey

2017       21 species totalling 845 individuals over 26 weeks of a possible 30 week season

2016       22 species totalling 977 individuals over 26 weeks of a possible 30 week season.

The numbers are down – one species fewer, I failed to see a Green Hairstreak this year.  The totals might just reflect a much wetter summer this year compared to last.

A new sighting in the valley on an Ash stump was Cobalt Crust – a rare and spectacularly coloured encrusting fungus. At first sight I thought someone had marked the stump with blue paint so vivid is the colouring.

Cobalt crust on an Ash stump

It might have been the last butterfly transect posting of the season but I can’t wait to see what species next year will bring.

Fritillaries on my Butterfly Transect

What a fantastic butterfly survey today. (10^th May).

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

The local weather forecast warned of a blanket of rain for the whole day over the southwest ruling out surveys of any kind. In the event, the day dawned clear with a heavy dew but fine, no wind and warm.

So we grasped the opportunity for a late morning survey expecting the weather to come in later and planned to have lunch in our local pub, the Bush Inn, which is conveniently situated at the start and finish of the transect.

Violet Oil Beetle

It was very muggy and close as we parked the car with a shade temperature of 19ºC – I leave a thermometer under the car in the shade.

It was a good walk in sheltered woodland followed by a steep climb up the southwest coast path with a refreshing on-shore breeze.

The survey increased our survey count of butterflies as is expected as the year progresses, but the number of invertebrates was very good too. The butterfly highlight has to be the three Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries in the valley. But we also added Small Copper, Wall and Meadow Brown bringing our species list from 6 to 10.

Additional invertebrate species recorded included two Violet Oil Beetles, three 24-spot Ladybirds, and shieldbugs. I was looking for and found Dock Bugs as well as chancing on a Sloe Bug and a new one, a Boat bug (Enoplops scapha) and a mating pair of nice bugs, Dicranocephalus agilis or Spurge Bugs.

The highlight of these highlights was a Bee fly. I have seen everyone posting pictures of these on Facebook so was delighted to see one even if I didn't manage a photograph; this time … …

Spurge Bug

The Tidna Valley continues to be a delightful are to survey coming up with unusual and interesting species each time we visit.

Boat Bug

Lunch at the Bush Inn was a shared Garden Platter and a pint of cider to round off an excellent survey.