The Naturalists' Notebook

(Report from John Clegg).  On the hottest day of the year so far, nine menbers joined the tailback of traffic that took 30 minutes to cross the Runcorn Bridge. Whitegate Way is an old railway line, opened on 1st June 1870, to transport salt from the mines along the west bank of the River Weaver to the main Chester-Manchester line at Cuddington.  The line closed in 1966 and is now a shared-use path.

From the car park at the old Whitegate Station the group walked eastwards towards Winsford. As the day was very hot, most of the birds took to cover, so we didn’t see many.  Those we did see were mostly warblers, although we did hear a Green Woodpecker in two places.

In the bright sunshine many butterflies came out, including Comma, Meadow Brown, Large and Small Whites and two sightings of Brimstones.

The only drawback was the large number of cyclists using the path as a race track, with no consideration for walkers. None of them had bells to warn when they were coming up behind, and one cyclist just missed runing into our group.

Small-spotted Catshark (a.k.a. Lesser Spotted Dogfish) Scyliorhinus canicula

Atlantic Mackerel Scomber scombrus

Fantastic day Shark-tagging with the Liverpool Bay Marine Life Trust – unfortunately we didn’t catch any of the Shark species we were hoping to tag (Tope, Common or Starry Smooth Hound) but had lots more besides…

Thornback Ray Raja clavata

Grey Gurnard Eutrigla gurnardus

 Lesser Weever Fish Echiichthys vipera

Bull Huss (a.k.a. Nursehound, Greater Spotted Dogfish) Scyliorhinus stellaris

Red Gurnard Aspitrigla cuculus

Northern Fulmar

Cetacean’s seen included Harbour Porpoise Phocoena phocoena and Bottle-nosed Dolphin Tursiops truncatus. Also great birding with Storm Petrel, Manx Shearwater, Gannet, a Bonxie, Fulmar, Puffin, Guillemot, Med Gull etc. Full report in this years forthcoming MNA newsletter 🙂

As in previous years today’s MNA coach trip to Lathkill Dale was again blessed with hot and sunny weather. Lathkill Dale is one of the country’s finest limestone valleys and is one of five such valleys in the WhitePeak area that make up the Derbyshire Dales National Nature Reserve.

Dog Rose

A large climbing Dog-rose Rosa canina covered a fence beside the entrance gate to the meadow area at the beginning of the walk was covered in Meadow Buttercup Ranunculus acris along with Lady’s Smock a.k.a. Cuckooflower Cardamine pratensis, Salad Burnet Sanguisorba minor, Bird’s-foot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus, Tufted Vetch Vicia cracca, Common Vetch Vicia sativa, Fairy Flax Linum catharticum, Common Milkwort Polygala vulgaris, Meadow Crane’s-bill Geranium pratense, Dove’s-foot Crane’s-bill Geranium molle, Herb Robert Geranium robertianum, Cow Parsley Anthriscus sylvestris, Pignut Conopodium majus, Hogweed Heracleum sphondylium, Field Forget-me-not Myosotis arvensis, Wood Sage Teucrium scorodonia, Greater Plantain Plantago major, Hoary Plantain Plantago media, Ribwort Plantain Plantago lanceolata.

Hoary Plantain

Heath Speedwell Veronica officinalis, Germander Speedwell Veronica chamaedrys, Crosswort Cruciata laevipes, Welted Thistle Carduus crispus, Spear Thistle Cirsium vulgare, Creeping Thistle Cirsium arvense, Greater Knapweed Centaurea scabiosa, Common Knapweed Centaurea nigra, Nipplewort Lapsana communis, Common Cat’s-ear Hypochaeris radicata, Goat’s-beard Tragopogon pratensis, Prickly Sow-thistle Sonchus asper, Beaked Hawk’s-beard Crepis vesicaria, Mouse-ear Hawkweed Pilosella officinarum, Yarrow Achillea millefolium, Oxeye Daisy Leucanthemum vulgare, Pineappleweed Matricaria discoidea, Common Ragwort Senecio jacobaea, Early-purple Orchid Orchis mascula and there was Nettle Rust Puccinia urticata on Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica.

Meadow Crane’s-bill

A few Common Green Grasshoppers Omocestus viridulus were stridulating away and numerous Chimney Sweep Moths Odezia atrata were flying around along with a few Snout Moths Hypena proboscidalis and ‘Grass’ Moths.

A whole range of Ferns were identified including Common Polypody Polypodium vulgare, Black Spleenwort Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, Maidenhair Spleenwort Asplenium trichomanes, Wall-rue Asplenium ruta-muraria, Brittle Bladder-fern Cystopteris fragilis and Male-fern Dryopteris filix-mas.

Common Stretch Spider

An unidentified Spider was wandering about its web, a Zebra Spider Salticus scenicus was on a stone wall and a Common Stretch Spider Tetragnatha extensa was in camouflage mode on a grass head. We noted our first Large Red Damselflies Pyrrhosoma nymphula and Common Blue Damselflies Enallagma cyathigerum attracted by the small pond hidden from immediate view behind a stone wall.

A few stunning male Redstarts were calling, Wrens in song, Barn Swallows and Swifts zooming overhead, Rooks and Jackdaws flying over

Entering the wooded area there was Herb Bennet aka Wood Avens Geum urbanum and some large clumps of Water Avens Geum rivale that were being visited by the Hoverfly Rhingia campestri plus Lords and Ladies Arum maculatum. A lone Common Spotted-orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsia was hiding amid some ferns.

Common Spotted Orchid

I noted a few insects with a few Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva, a lone Soldier Beetle Cantharis rustica, three Orchid Beetles Dascillus cervinus, a handful of Scorpion Flies Panorpa communis and a Nettle-tap Moth Anthophila fabriciana. There wasn’t the usual profusion of Hoverflies on the umbellifers with only a single Volucella pellucens. Ash Leaflet Roll Gall on Ash Fraxinus excelsior leaves caused by the plant louse Psyllopsis fraxini was noted.

Orchid Beetle

We were now in the dramatic setting of the central gorge with limestone cliffs on either side. A fenced off area was to protect the mass of Jacob’s Ladder plants. A few plants were situated outside the fence area which allowed for photos.

Jacob’s Ladder

Biting Stonecrop

Rocky boulders were covered in Biting Stonecrop Sedum acre, Wild Thyme Thymus polytrichus, Harebell Campanula rotundifolia, Lady’s Bedstraw Galium verum, Limestone Bedstraw Galium sterneri and some orange patches of Lichen.

Lichen

The botanists noted a multitude of other flora including Greater Stitchwort Stellaria holostea, Red Campion Silene dioica, Large Bitter-cress Cardamine amara, Hairy Rock-cress Arabis hirsuta, Orpine Sedum telephium, Dropwort Filipendula vulgaris, Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria, Silverweed Potentilla anserina, Tormentil Potentilla erecta, Black Medick Medicago lupulina, Red Clover Trifolium pratense, Great Willowherb Epilobium hirsutum, Broad-leaved Willowherb Epilobium montanum, Eyebright Euphrasia officinalis, Cleavers Galium aparine, Common Valerian Valeriana officinalis, Small Scabious Scabiosa columbaria.

Common Blue

We were encouraged to see the variety and numbers of Butterflies on the wing noting Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris, Dingy Skipper Erynnis tages, Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni, Orange Tip Anthocharis cardamines, Common Blue Polyommatus icarus, Small Tortoiseshell Aglais urticae, Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta, Peacock Inachis io, Pearl-bordered Fritillary Boloria euphrosyne, Dark Green Fritillary Argynnis aglaja, Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria, Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina, Small Heath Coenonympha pamphilus and a couple of Brown Plume Moths Emmelina monodactyla.

Ravens flew over the gorge croaking and an adult Peregrine circled overhead. Those members that reached the River now a mere trickle added Mallard and Grey Wagtail to the list.

Returning to the start of the walk an Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator was on the small pond behind the stone wall and at a large fenced off pond four male and two female Broad-bodied Chasers Libellula depressa were in high-speed aerial combat mode. Plenty of Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula, Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum and Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans with a few mating pairs.

Common Blue Damselfly

A wide photographic selection of birds, marine life, insects, mammals, orchids & wildflowers, fungi, tribal people, travel, ethnography, fossils, rocks & minerals etc. is available on my Alamy webpage

If you are interested in the wildlife of the North-west of England and would like to join the  walks and coach trips run by the Merseyside Naturalists’ Association, see the main MNA website for details of our programme and how to join us.

Escaping from work for the day Richard Surman kindly drove Dave Bryant and I to the Llyn Peninsula in Gwynedd, North Wales. Our first stop was the small fishing village of Trefor. The tide was out leaving the fishing boats resting on the wet sand beside the harbour wall.

Yellow-horned Poppy

Typical maritime plant species growing amongst the shingle edge of the harbour and on the path included Yellow Horned-poppy Glaucium flavum, Spear-leaved Orache Atriplex prostrate, Thrift Armeria maritima, Common Mallow Malva sylvestris, Kidney Vetch Anthyllis vulneraria, Hemlock Water-dropwort Oenanthe crocata, Sea Carrot Daucus carota, Common Centaury Centaurium erythraea, Carline Thistle Carlina vulgaris, Yarrow Achillea millefolium and also three spikes of Common Spotted-orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsia.

A small meadow area held a few Butterflies with Common Blue Polyommatus icarus and Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina along with half a dozen Six-spot Burnet Zygaena filipendulae including a mating pair.

Six-spot Burnet Moths

A gathering of Herring with a few Great Black Backed Gulls was on the beach and a few close Gannets flew by on the sea. Blackcap and Chiffchaff were singing and Greenfinch uttering their wheezy call from bushes on the path, a Rock Pipit was noted, Jackdaws were chacking and House Martins circling over the village.

Gutweed

A Grey Seal Halichoerus grypus watched us from the sea as we mooched around the beach and rock pools finding Common Shore Crab Carcinus maenas, Grey Topshell Gibbula cineraria, Common Periwinkle Littorina littorea, Flat Periwinkle Littorina obtusata, Common Limpet Patella vulgata, Black-footed Limpet Patella depressa, Channel Wrack Pelvetia canaliculata, Sea Belt Kelp Laminaria saccharina, Gutweed Enteromorpha intestinalis, Red Algae Corallina officinalis and an Encrusting Algae Lithothamnia sp.

Black-footed Limpet on Bed Of Lithothamnia

Common Shore Crab with Grey Turban Shell – left and Common Periwinkle -right

Our next stop on the Llyn Peninsula was at Pistyll, close to Nefyn. We wandered down to St Beuno’s Church – the original church was established here by St Beuno in the sixth century with the present building completed around the twelfth century and was popular with pilgrims as a stop-off on their way to Ynys Enlli – Bardsey Island. The floor of the church was strewn with rushes and sweet smelling wild herbs and pots held Red Valerian Centranthus ruber.      

St Beuno’s Church

We ate lunch in the graveyard with stridulating Common Green Grasshoppers Omocestus viridulus in the grass, a few Meadow Browns Maniola jurtina and a lone Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus proving camera shy. A few Goldfinches were twittering in the trees, a Buzzard was circling and House Martins were zooming around.

We wandered along the Wales Coast Path, crossed through a field of sheep and exited a gate before descending down the steep cliff path to the beach below passing a wind-sculpted Hawthorn bush Crataegus monogyna and watching a few Pied Wagtails in the stream.

The shingle beach comprised of some quite large pebbles at the top that were graded down to smaller pebbles close to the waterline – these were slightly easier to walk along – only just!

We stumbled along the beach towards Birds’ Rock ‘Craig yr Adar’ – the majority of the cliff adjacent to the beach was composed of Boulder Clay and there had been a few large landslips.  Even larger boulders as stepping stones as we approached Birds’ Rock – Herring Gulls and Great Black Backs took off from the beach and the Cormorants on the main rock headed to the water.

It was a bit too dangerous to clamber over the rock to view the main seabird cliffs round the corner so we had to be content watching the continual passage of Razorbills and Guillemots to and from the cliffs through our bins. A mooch around the rock-pools revealed a scattering of Beadlet Anemones Actinia equina and similar species to those at Trefor: Grey Topshell Gibbula cineraria, Common Periwinkle Littorina littorea, Common Limpet Patella vulgata etc.

Rockpool

Beadlet Anemone

As we headed back along the beach we found a huge specimen of Furbellows Saccorhiza polyschides with undulating wings on the bottom of the stipe and a bobbly looking that attaches the Kelp to boulders in the sea.holdfast . There was also Sea Belt Laminaria saccharina this Kelp has a distinctive frilly undulating margin along the long fronds.

DaveB with Furbellows

Sea Belt

We climbed back up the cliff and again followed the Coast Path passing some rather confident sheep with their grown lambs that we had to shoo out from nestling in the field gates in order to pass through.

Cute Lamb

A Peregrine cried from its perch on a scree slope and a few Ravens croaked overhead. The stone wall that meandered its way adjacent to the path provided a vantage perch for the numerous Wheatears numbering over thirty individuals – it was encouraging to see that many of these were juvenile birds. There were also a good number of Stonechats, Whinchats and Linnets perched on the walls and Meadow Pipits were still indulging in their parachute display flights. We watched a male Dor Beetle Geotrupes sp. hopelessly chasing after a female – pausing only briefly to examine a pile of cow dung. A smaller than usual Small Heath Coenonympha pamphilus was noted along with a mini Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva. A good find of a Bird Pellet – shimmering blue-black from the numerous Beetle elytra (the hardened outer wings) it contained.  Little Owls regurgitate pellets containing obvious Beetle elytra but this pellet was too large to be theirs measuring 4.5cm x 1.5cm.

Bird Pellet

Three Choughs flew over uttering their distinctive call – DaveB went off-roading and observed a pair – one of which was colour ringed – feeding a loudly begging youngster and also saw a sun basking Common Lizard Lacerta vivipara.

A few plants of note along the walk: Red Campion Silene dioica, Tormentil Potentilla erecta, Herb-Robert Geranium robertianum, Skullcap Scutellaria galericulata, Wood Sage Teucrium scorodonia, Selfheal Prunella vulgaris, Foxglove Digitalis purpurea, Thyme-leaved Speedwell Veronica serpyllifolia and Sheep’s bit Scabious Jasione montana.

We re-traced our steps back along the Coast Path watching a flock of ten Mistle Thrushes taking flight from some Hawthorn bushes, two Choughs feeding on one of the Yellow Meadow Ant Hills Lasius flavus and as a finale four Magpies – unusual in these parts in a field beside the car and five distant Chough tumbling in the air.

A hedgehog slowly ambling across the road close to DaveB’s house was a nice end to the day.  The hog is known to one of DaveB’s neighbours and will even curl up with her cat.

Hedgehog

A wide photographic selection of birds, marine life, insects, mammals, orchids & wildflowers, fungi, tribal people, travel, ethnography, fossils, rocks & minerals etc. is available on my Alamy webpage

If you are interested in the wildlife of the North-west of England and would like to join the  walks and coach trips run by the Merseyside Naturalists’ Association, see the main MNA website for details of our programme and how to join us.

Today the MNA coach trip visited another new venue Hutton Roof which has some of the best areas of limestone pavement in Britain We initially planned to visit this Cumbria Wildlife Trust Reserve last summer but a coach breakdown made us abandon our plans. Despite the appalling weather today we were determined to reach our destination!

Fairy Foxglove

We parked close to a limestone quarry where large patches of  Fairy Foxglove Erinus alpinus were in full bloom all along the quarry face and we also noticed some low-growing Juniper Juniperus communis and Meadow Vetchling Lathyrus pratensis. In the woodland area beside the quarry we noted Welsh Poppy Meconopsis cambrica, Red Campion Silene dioica, Wood Avens a.k.a. Herb Bennet Geum urbanum, Lady’s Mantle Alchemilla sp. Herb-Robert Geranium robertianum and Hedge Woundwort Stachys sylvatica.

We ate lunch at the bottom of the quarry sitting on limestone blocks arranged in a spiralling ammonite effect. I had a mooch around finding a mass of Dark-lipped Banded Snails Cepaea nemoralis and a few Garden Snails Cornu aspersum in the damp vegetation.

Dark-lipped Banded Snail

A few Wild Strawberries Fragaria vesca featured as member’s lunchtime dessert but they avoided the green Star Jelly Nostoc commune growing amongst the Strawberry plants – it is a colonial species of cyanobacterium. We noted Mouse-ear-Hawkweed Pilosella officinarum and another member of the Hawksbeard family with a large flower and square-ended leaves.

Star Jelly

We headed through the woodland on the slippery track beside and sometimes through the limestone pavement taking care to avoid the many Black Slugs Arion ater out and about. We stopped to look for some of the scarce plants growing in the grykes of the pavement including Hart’s Tongue Fern Asplenium scolopendrium, Maidenhair Spleenwort Asplenium trichomanes, Wall-rue Asplenium ruta-muraria, Broad Buckler-fern Dryopteris dilatata and Limestone Fern Gymnocarpium robertianum. The damp was getting to Olives brain! She thought that some of the limestone on the path resembled Queen Victoria 🙂

Queen Vic

Only a few insects braving the weather – Scorpion Fly Panorpa communis, Snipe Fly Rhagio sp. and a Green Lacewing Chrysopa perla.

Green Lacewing

The plants growing on the Yellow Meadow Ant Lasius flavus hills included Wild Thyme Thymus polytrichus along with Heath Bedstraw Galium saxatile, Bird’s-foot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus and Black Medick Medicago lupulina. We continued through a more wooded area – very little in the way of bird song with only a few parties of Great Tits and Long-tailed Tits and singing Garden Warbler and Willow Warbler. Fungi on log piles and tree stumps included Beech Woodwart Hypoxylon fragiforme, Turkeytail Trametes versicolor, Lumpy Bracket Trametes gibbosa, Coprinus sp. an unidentified purple coloured fungi and the Slime Mould Lycogala terrestre.

Beech Woodwart

More botanical interest with Male-fern Dryopteris filix-mas, Elm Ulnus sp. Common Rock-rose Helianthemum nummularium, Spring Cinquefoil Potentilla tabernaemontani, Broad-leaved Willowherb Epilobium montanum, Common Milkwort Polygala vulgaris, Wood Speedwell Veronica montana, Crosswort Cruciata laevipes and Greater Burdock Arctium lappa.

We exited a gate before walking a short distance along the edge of a moss-coved stone-wall on which Wood-sorrel Oxalis acetosella was growing with some fine Bugle Ajuga reptans on the lane edge. We re-entered the reserve and climbed the track where I found some Dog Lichen Peltigera sp. growing on a tree stump.

Peltigera sp.

Some squelchy dog poo had a Red-breasted Carrion Beetle Oiceoptoma thoracium and the friendly cattle that we walked by had produced some dollops of dung on which was growing the tiny orange discs of the micro-fungi Cheilymenia granulata.

We arrived back to the quarry and decided to head along to Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve for the last hour. I had a quick nose at the bird feeders being visited by juvenile Great and Coal Tits along with Chaffinches, Robin and Dunnock.

Common Blue Damselfly

Donacia vulgaris

I then had a mooch around the vegetation close to Lillian’s Hide to see what insects were hiding and in the short time managed to find Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum, Leaf Beetle Donacia vulgaris, Nettle-tap Moth Anthophila fabriciana and what I initially thought to be a Long-horned Moth but I later identified as the Long-horned Caddisfly Mystacides longicornis.

Nettle-tap

Long-horned Caddisfly

A Bird Cherry Tree Prunus padus was taking a battering with some leaves having a covering of larval tents of the Bird Cherry Ermine Moth Yponomeuta evonymella and other leaves with the pink Nail Galls caused by the Gall Mite Phyllocoptes eupadi. Some Ash Fraxinus excelsior leaves had Leaflet Roll Gall caused by the Plant Louse Psyllopsis fraxini. Fungi included Dock Rust Puccinia phragmitis on Broad-leaved Dock Rumex obtusifolius leaves.

Bird Cherry Ermine Moth larval tent

The two Daves headed down to the causeway where a dozen Common Spotted-orchids Dactylorhiza fuchsii were growing along the bank. From Public Hide they watched a female Marsh Harrier carrying nest material and a juvenile playing in the air climbing high then dropping down. On the water a Great Crested Grebe had a line of chicks in tow. The Yellow Flag Iris Iris pseudacorus growing in front of the hide had a number of Common Amber Snails Succinea putris of various sizes crawling up the stems.

We boarded the coach and drove along the minor road running beside the coastal marsh where a dozen or so Little Egrets were stalking around and Swifts were scything the air.           

A wide photographic selection of birds, marine life, insects, mammals, orchids & wildflowers, fungi, tribal people, travel, ethnography, fossils, rocks & minerals etc. is available on my Alamy webpage

If you are interested in the wildlife of the North-west of England and would like to join the  walks and coach trips run by the Merseyside Naturalists’ Association, see the main MNA website for details of our programme and how to join us. 

From Tony Carter

On Friday 14th June, I accepted an invitation to join Professor Tom Bultman of Hope College, Michigan at Court Hey Park.  He has been studying the fungi of the Epichloe family. This fungus causes Choke Disease in grasses. The fungus forms a sterilising ‘collar’ round the stem of the grass where the immature flowers are, and reduces flowering and seed production.  This has commercial consequences, particularly in the United States, where the fungus did not exist until it was introduced on infected seed from Europe in 1996. Professor Bultman is a leading expert in this subject.

My photograph shows the young white collars that form early in the cycle. Later, as the spores develop, they will turn yellow or orange. They remind me then of a small bullrush and they are also much easier to find. I shall try to take some photos later in the year. You can see lots of images on Google.

Infected grass

It had been thought that there was only one species, Epichloe typhina but DNA testing has shown that the fungus is often host specific. You have to be able to identify the grass in order to identify the fungus.

Professor Bultman was collecting samples from various grasses to take back for laboratory testing. We did manage to find some, in scattered patches but some distance apart. The reason may be because of its interesting reproduction method. The fungus has to cross-pollinate in order to reproduce. The fungus attracts a fly of the genus Botanophila. The fly feeds on the young ‘male and female’ fungal fruit bodies, ingesting the pollinating substances. It then deposits the mixture on another fungus when it lays its eggs. This pollinates that fungus enabling it to produce spores and also provide food for the fly larvae.

Botanophilia egg

The spores are ejected into the air to infect another plant. The larvae hatch and the process starts again. Interestingly, in order to benefit from the efforts of the fly, the fungus has to sacrifice some of its spore production to feed the larvae. Clever stuff.

The two Dave’s, Ron Crosby, Chris Butterworth and I headed over to Acrefair near Wrexham, Wales for the day. After alighting in the village we walked up Chapel Street through a small housing estate and continued along a country-lane called Bowers Road. Oxford Ragwort Senecio squalidus was growing on the side of a stone wall, a garden held Greater Periwinkle Vinca major and there was a field full of Common Comfrey Symphytum officinale. Fairies Bonnets Coprinus disseminatus were growing from a log beside the small stream that runs alongside Bowers Road and further up the lane was a most impressive Chicken Of The Woods Laetiporus sulphurous.

Chicken Of The Woods

Bird-life was quiet with only Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blue and Great Tit. We then heard the characteristic chattering of Greater Spotted Woodpecker chicks coming from the trees and tried to spot their nest hole. On a field a newly hatched Lapwing chick was being protected from a scavenging Carrion Crow by its attentive parents.

The lane edges were covered in a variety of plants including Meadow Buttercup Ranunculus acris, Hop Humulus lupulus, Greater Stitchwort Stellaria holostea, Red Campion Silene dioica,  Common Sorrel Rumex acetosella,  Broad-leaved Dock Rumex obtusifolius,  Garlic Mustard a.k.a. Jack-by-the-Hedge Alliaria petiolata,  Wild Strawberry Fragaria vesca, Wood Avens Geum urbanum, Tufted Vetch Vicia cracca, Dog’s Mercury Mercurialis perennis, Herb-Robert Geranium robertianum, Cow Parsley Anthriscus sylvestris, Yellow Archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon, Ribwort Plantain Plantago lanceolata, Wood Speedwell Veronica montana, Cleavers Galium aparine, Crosswort Cruciata laevipes, Winter Heliotrope Petasites fragrans leaves, Spanish Bluebell Hyacinthoides hispanica, Ramsons Allium ursinum and Black Bryony Tamus communis.

We crossed a wooden stile and walked through a herd of Sheep, who immediately charged off with the intrusion, and reached the Bottom Reservoir where a female Mallard was swimming with a line of duckling in tow. Bugle Ajuga reptans, Water Mint Mentha aquatica and Parsley Water-dropwort Oenanthe lachenalii were growing at the water’s edge. We lunched in a meadow overlooking the Bottom Reservoir surrounded by Heath Bedstraw Galium saxatile, Cat’s-ear Hypochaeris radicata and Mouse-ear-hawkweed Pilosella officinarum and heard the call of a Nuthatch.

Climbing across a wooden stile and walking across another meadow we noticed a large number of Snipe Flies Rhagio scolopacea – there must have been a recent hatch, also a few Hoverflies Heliophilus pendulus, Eristalis pertinax and Syrphus ribesii. The Broad-leaved Dock Rumex obtusifolius leaves were infected with Dock Rust Puccinia phragmitis and one leaf had a juvenile slug sliming across it.

A muck heap beside a farm had some Inkcaps Coprinus sp. growing on it and beside the enclosing stone-wall was Round-leaved Crane’s-bill Geranium rotundifolium and Germander Speedwell Veronica chamaedrys with Common Dog-violet Viola riviniana and Salad Burnet Sanguisorba minor further along. We walked up the track beside Trefechan Brook to the Upper Reservoir where a bloke was fishing and Canada Geese were willing their crèche of 22 goslings down the bank towards the Reservoir. Large White Pieris brassicae, Orange Tip Anthocharis cardamines were on the wing and a few good insects in the vegetation: Wasp Nomada sp. Soldier Beetle Cantharis nigricans, Garden Chafer Phyllopertha horticola and Two-banded Longhorn Beetle Rhagium bifasciatum. Like other Longhorn beetles, Rhagium bifasciatum lays its eggs in dead wood, often using coniferous trees, where they bore deep, broad tunnels until they are ready to pupate after about two years.

Garden Chafer

The track continued through the coniferous Tyddyn-uchaf Wood where Opposite-leaved Golden-saxifrage Chrysosplenium oppositifolium was growing in a shady patch and we found two different Weevil species on Alder – one a metallic bronze colour possibly Phyllobius glaucus an arboreal species favouring Alder, the other a metallic green colour similar to the Phyllobius and Polydrusus Weevils usually seen on nettles.

Weevil Phyllobius glaucus

We exited the Tyddyn-uchaf Wood onto a patch of rough grazing land with scattered Hawthorn bushes and Apple trees and watched as a Buzzard circled and Raven croaked overhead. DaveB thought this would be a great spot for Redstart and as if by magic a stunning male flew from a nearby hawthorn and posed on top of a fencepost.

We passed a ruined building and were immediately out on the moors dodging the Tormentil Potentilla erecta growing on the track. We watched a male Kestrel hovering who flew off after being harassed by three Meadow Pipits. We could hear the calls of Red Grouse on the moor which appeared well managed for this species with swathes of Bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus running at intervals through the Heather. Common Cottongrass Eriophorum angustifolium and Mosses grew in the more boggy areas.

Moss with sporophytes  – the spore containing capsule on the end of a stalk

A male Black Grouse flew up from the edge of the track as we climbed higher. A few Reed Buntings were perched up, Cuckoos and Curlews calling and a Small Heath Coenonympha pamphilus was flying around.

Cuckooflower

ChrisB was knackered and decided to retrace his steps. After a bit of deliberation the rest of us also decided we didn’t have enough time to continue across the moor and down the Eglwyseg into Llangollen so also headed back to the ruined building and returned towards Acrefair. Beside a stone wall we found the orange Nettle Rust Fungi Puccinia urticata causing swelling, distortion and discoloration of stems and leaves of Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica.

Nettle Rust

A boggy area held some fine Cuckooflower Cardamine pratensis and Green Alkanet Pentaglottis sempervirens was growing in profusion in a sunny spot beside another farm. As we continued down the lane we noted yet more plants with Lords-and-Ladies Arum maculatum and some late-flowering Primrose Primula vulgaris. I found some Red Pustule Galls on Field Maple Acer campestre leaves caused by the Gall Mite Aceria myriadeum. These are similar in appearance to the Red Pustule Galls on Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus leaves caused by the Gall Mite Aceria macrorhyncha which we also noted. Some Sycamore leaves were also affected by Felt Galls caused by the Gall Mite Aceria pseudoplatani.  

Field Maple Galls

We were amused as a Red-legged Partridge ran Roadrunner style through a herd of Sheep. All too soon we were passing the still raucous Great Spotted Woodpecker chicks in their nest hole and were back in Acrefair.

A wide photographic selection of birds, marine life, insects, mammals, orchids & wildflowers, fungi, tribal people, travel, ethnography, fossils, rocks & minerals etc. is available on my Alamy webpage

If you are interested in the wildlife of the North-west of England and would like to join the  walks and coach trips run by the Merseyside Naturalists’ Association, see the main MNA website for details of our programme and how to join us.