The Naturalists' Notebook

Chris Derri has sent me some pictures from our coach trip to Holyhead and Beddmanarch bay on 9th February. First, two shots of a Black Guillemot in winter plumage.

A Ringed Plover

Two pictures of a Shag

A trio of Red-breasted Mergansers and a close-up of the nearest male.

(Report by John Clegg)
A total of 20 members arrived at Burscough Bridge Interchange, by bus, train or car, for our walk on a mild sunny morning. As we left the station a group of Jackdaws flew over, the first of many birds seen. The morning was spent walking over farm fields, where we had close views of over 300 Pink-footed Geese, a single Raven and some Siskins.  We had lunch at Martin Mere then walked around the reed beds outside the reserve, seeing many ducks and geese. On a row of fence posts were three Peregrine Falcons. A large female and two smaller ones who might have been last year’s young. A buzzard was close by.
A total of 52 bird species were seen.
Jackdaw, Black-headed Gull, Magpie, Goldfinch, Carrion Crow, Raven, Pink-footed Geese, Greenfinch, Dunnock, Wood Pigeon, Skylark, Lapwing, Whooper Swan, Fieldfare, Redwing, Moorhen, Shelduck, Tree Sparrow, Robin, Collared Dove, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Siskin, Blackbird, Treecreeper, Coot, Mallard, Greylag Goose, Pheasant, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Teal, Wigeon, Mute Swan, Canada Geese, Shoveler, Peregrine, Long-tailed Tit, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Buzzard, House Sparrow, Wren, Linnet, Blue Tit, Barn Owl, Redpoll, Pied Wagtail, Greater Black-backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Photos taken by Chris Derri on the MNA Burscough Reedbed walk

English Longhorn Cattle

Barn Owl

Pinkies

Siskin

Whooper Swans

Mute Swan

Well not quite
I was working on some oil-well drill cuttings from Kurdistan. Lifted the penultimate sample bag from one of the boxes when out pops a gecko! These boxes have been in a storage garage on the Wirral for the past week – no idea how long they took to clear customs.

It sat for a while on the bench but became restless so I tranferred it to a glass sample jar, dripped in a few drops of water from a pipette for it to drink and found a few tiny dead flies on the lab window – heh heh. Had a quick photo session – put some sand in the bottom of a shallow tray and it posed nicely before I returned it to its jar.

After the rather frustrating RSPCA call system – no appropriate buttons to press for exotic reptiles in your lab! I finally got through to a human and the little fella was collected at lunchtime.

Had a quick google and it looks like a Rough-tailed Bowfoot Gecko Cyrtopodion scabrum a small, nocturnal ground gecko, with exceptionally long, angular toes.

The first MNA Coach trip of 2013 saw us returning to a familiar venue at Holyhead Harbour and the nearby Breakwater CP. It was a misty and drizzly day but we soon got down to some birding with Starlings and a Pied Wagtail on the grassed area beside the shore and a Song Thrush perched low down in a bush. A dark coloured Grebe diving amongst the boats in the harbour had us puzzling its identity. Elsewhere in the harbour we found a Cormorant, a few Shag, Little Grebe, a Black Guillemot already in summer plumage, a male Red-breasted Merganser with his entourage of four females who were observed performing synchronized diving – diving in unison then popping back up together.Chris Derri did some sea-watching and was rewarded with sightings of a few distant Common Scoter, a Red-throated Diver, Common Guillemot and Razorbill. 

I had a good root around the seaweed on the harbour shore. There were three different Wrack species and a few long strands of Sea Belt Kelp Laminaria saccharina.  There was Spiral Wrack Fucus spiralis, Knotted Wrack Ascophyllum nodosum which has long strap like fronds with large egg-shaped air bladders at regular intervals. A number of fronds bore tufts of the small reddish-brown filamentous epiphytic algae Polysiphonia lanosa.

Egg Wrack with red algae Polysiphonia lanosa

Fronds of Toothed Wrack Fucus serratus were covered in the Tubeworm Spirorbis spirorbis. These are often overlooked due to their small size. Their smooth, white spiral tubes, which coil to the left (sinistral) are only 3-4 mm diameter.

Spirorbis spirorbis

A few thin encrusting patches of an orange coloured Sponge species Pseudosuberites sulphureus clung to the rocks.

Plenty of Common Periwinkles Littorina littorea and a bright yellow Flat Periwinkle Littorina obtusata shell. Harry and Les found a Sea Slater Ligia oceanica, this littoral woodlouse is an inch in length. 

On the harbour wall we watched a few Rock Pipits flying up to catch flies – which were about despite the weather. On some rocks we watched an Oyk, a Ringed Plover, a sentinel Shag with tufy hairdo. Limestone blocks on the harbour wall gave an interesting diversion as they were packed with fossils including numerous brachiopods, solitary and colonial corals and a lone gastropod. 

Fossil Gastropod

We walked past the dramatic cliffs which are composed of Holyhead quartzite, a massive white quartzose sand deposit with some relict sedimentary features but now fused by metamorphism into a crystalline rock. There was plenty of Sea Ivory Ramalina siliquosa growing on the stone walls, this distinctive Lichen has grey tufted strap-like projections attached to the rock. Agrey Heron took off from the shore and a Curlew flew overhead.A shrill cry of ‘chee-ow’ quickly had binoculars scanning for the source – Red-billed Chough. This beautiful bird sometimes called the sea crow has glossy black plumage, a red bill and legs. A couple of Chough were located feeding on a grassed field along with Oyks and a Redshank.We stopped to admire the mosaics at the Breakwater CP visitor centre before walking back along the lane towards the harbour.

The lane edge had plenty of Winter Heliotrope Petasites fragrans which is one of the Aster family. This European herb has vanilla-scented white-pink flowers, hence the latin name fragrans. Its large green, leathery leaves were not dissimilar to those of Butterbur Petasites hybridus. 

Winter Heliotrope

Our usual Brent Geese were missing when we arrived at Parc Arfordirol Penrhos CP, Beddmanarch Bay. The tide was out so we scanned the mudflats through the mist for any sign of life. Shelduck looked monochrome in the gloom, Curlews were probing in the goo with their long down-curved beaks, a Bar-tailed Godwit with upturned bill also probed and Grey Plover had a quick burst of energy darting around before standing motionless again. A few Red-breasted Mergansers were around along with a couple of Great-crested Grebes and a lone Slavonian Grebe. The small pond held Coot, Moorhen, Mallards and a few Black-headed Gulls.The feeders held Chaffinches, a Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, a Robin trying to grab hold of the feeder with Dunnock and Blackbird more sensibly feeding below. Goldcrests calling away from the pine trees proved elusive. Snowdrops were peeking up through the muddy ground and a bright burst of colour was a couple of blobs of Yellow Brain Fungus Tremella mesenterica.

Yellow Brain Fungus

Just returned from hols on the tropical island of Sri Lanka. Although mainly a cultural tour visiting ancient painted cave temples, numerous gigantic Buddha statues, the dramatic sky fortress of Sigiriya, tea plantations and deserted ruined cities, I managed to see a great variety of wildlife along the way 🙂

Negombo Fish Market was a lively place with fishing boats landing their catch on the beach, rows of fish drying in the sun, fresh fish for sale such as Swordfish and Red Snapper plus prawns and a few different species of crabs

Blue Swimming Crab Portunus pelagicus

Good selection of mammals with Toque Macaque Macaca sinica, Tufted Gray Langur Semnopithecus priam thersites, Purple-faced Leaf Monkey Trachypithecus vetulus, Grizzled Giant Squirrel Ratufa macroura and the ever present chimpmunks – Three-Striped Palm Squirrel Funambulus palmarum

Toque Macaque enjoying the spicy food

An ‘ever so serious looking’ Tufted Gray Langur

Chestnut-streaked Sailor Neptis jumbah

Indian Wasp Moth Amata passalis – female laying egg

Signature Spider Argiope sp.

Cricket

Red & Black Millipede

A great selection of Dragonflies and Damselflies were seen including Asian Skimmer Orthetrum glaucum, Crimson-tailed Marsh Hawk Orthetrum pruinosum, Indigo Dropwing Trithemis festiva, Asian Groundling a.k.a. Ditch Jewel Brachythemis contaminate,Pied Parasol Neurothemis tullia, Common Bluetail Ischnura senegalensis, Painted Waxtail Ceriagrion cerinorubellum, Yellow Waxtail Ceriagrion coromandelianum and Marsh Dancer Onychargia atrocyana

Crimson-tailed Marsh Hawk Orthetrum pruinosum

Marsh Dancer Onychargia atrocyana 

Baby Turtles at The Kosgoda Turtle Hatchery

Left – Olive Ridley Sea Turtle Lepidochelys olivacea, Right – Green Sea Turtle Chelonia mydas

Lizard

Water Monitor Varanus salvator

An endemic Scrub Frog Philatus rus

Yala Toad a.k.a. Atukorale’s Dwarf Toad Bufo atukoralei