The Naturalists' Notebook

Some more photos from our Freshfield meeting on 8th September 2012 courtesy of Chris Derri

Tree Bumblebee

 Recently Fledged Swallows

Mating Common Darters

 Ruddy Darter male

Garden Spider With Prey 

Spitfire

Fly Agaric

A great turnout with twenty MNA members including some new faces joining our Fungal Foray around Freshfield Dune Heath and the Formby Pinewoods. Member Tony Carter provided invaluable expertise with fungi identification during the day. The weather was sunny and dry as we walked along toward the small wood adjacent to the dune heath – not your ideal fungal foray conditions but various species were quickly found! Sycamore Tar Spot Rhytisma acerinum and Red Pustule Galls caused by the Mite Aceria macrorhynchus a.k.a. Eriophyes macrorhynchus were on Sycamore leaves Acer pseudoplatanus. As we bravely entered the tangled undergrowth of the wood we added Artist’s Bracket Ganoderma sp. Brown Rollrim Paxillus involutus, Ochre Brittlegill Russula ochroleuca, Fly Agaric Amanita muscaria, a rather slug-attacked Blusher Amanita rubescens, Orange Birch Bolete Leccinum versipelle and Brown Birch Bolete Leccinum scabrum. We eventually reached the more open area in the wood where we found Birch Milkcap Lactarius tabidus, Green Elfcup Chlorociboria aeruginascens, The Deceiver Laccaria laccata, Penny Bun Boletus edulis, Split Porecrust Schizopora paradoxa, Turkeytail Trametes versicolor and Scaly Earthball Scleroderma verrucosum.

Scaly Earthball

A cute young Common Frog Rana temporaria posed on a log before hopping into the leaf litter and there was evidence of Red Squirrels being around with nibbled pine cones.

Common Frog

Nibbled Pine Cones

We ate lunch as a Jay squawked above us then headed out into the sunshine of the heath. A Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum caused excitement and clicking of cameras as it fed on the Ling Calluna vulgaris. It was first recorded in England in 2001 at a site in Hampshire and has rapidly spread North since.

Tree Bumblebee

Butterflies, Spiders and Dragonflies took centre stage for a while as Peacock Inachis io and Small Tortoiseshell Aglais urticae joined the numerous Hoverflies on the Ragwort Senecio jacobaea. Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas and Common Blue Polyommatus icarus led photographers a merry dance as they failed to settle. Spider’s webs covered the Gorse bushes with a few Autumn Spiders Metellina segmentata and numerous Garden Spiders Araneus diadematus taking advantage of the Hoverfly food supply.

Autumn Spider

Garden Spider With Hoverfly Prey

Good numbers of Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum were joined by the svelte of waist Ruddy Darters Sympetrum sanguineum and a few Migrant Hawkers Aeshna mixta.

Ruddy Darter male

The Penduculate Oak Trees Quercus robur on the Dune Heath were taking their usual hammering with Oak Marble Galls caused by the Gall Wasp Andricus kollari, Oak Artichoke Gall caused by the Gall Wasp Andricus fecundator, Oak Common Spangle Gall caused by the Gall Wasp Neuroterus quercusbaccarum, a number of Leaf Miners caused by Micro-moths – a larvae was at home in one of the leaf-mines and Oak Powdery Mildew Erysiphe alphitoides. A few more Fungi species with Meadow Puffball Vascellum pratense and some micro-fungi – Common Grey Disco Mollisia cinerea and Orbillia xanthostigma and Cheilymenia granulata on cow dung. Swallows posed as they gathered on the fence wires gearing themselves up for their forthcoming migration – this year’s youngsters looking drabber in appearance to the adults. Various vintage aeroplanes from taking off from Woodvale en route to the Southport Airshow also put on a good show for us as they performed aerial displays and looped the loop overhead – the MNA delivers!

We crossed the railway track and golf course and into the pinewoods where a few Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria flitted around in the dappled sunlight. A number of Russulas were found including Bloody Brittlegill Russula sanguinea with its bright red cap and pink coloured stem and Crab Brittlegill Russula xerampelina which has a characteristic odour of shellfish. Three life stages of the False Deathcap Amanita citrina were seen together and Weeping Bolete Suillus granulatus, a Pine Spike-cap Chroogomphus rutilus and Bitter Oysterling Panellus stipticus were also noted.

Pine Spike-cap

Bitter Oysterling

A few spikes of Green-flowered Helleborine Epipactis phyllanthes had gone to seed and more Galls with Stem Galls on Narrow-leaved a.k.a. Leafy Hawkweed Hieracium umbellatum caused by the Gall Wasp Aulacidea hieracii and Bedeguar a.k.a. Robin’s Pincushion Gall on Dog Rose Rosa canina caused by the Gall Wasp Diplolepis rosae.

Stem Gall On Leafy Hawkweed

Robins Pincushion Gall

A Buzzard circled overhead and a Great-spotted Woodpecker called as we wandered back out of the pinewoods after a fungi and wildlife packed day.

Tony Carter has sent a species list from our fungal foray at the weekend.

 AINSDALE WOODS

Chroogomphus rutilus                       Copper Spike  (See photo below)

Lycoperdon pratense                          Meadow Puffball
Suillus granulatus                                Weeping Bolete  (See photo below)

Panellus stipticus                                Bitter Oysterling (See photo below)
**First record for Ainsdale**

Amanita citrina                                    False Deathcap
Russula xerampelina                        Crab Brittlegill
Piptoporus betulinus                          Birch Polypore

FRESHFIELD
Amanita muscaria                               Fly Agaric
Amanita rubescens var. rubescens   Blusher
Boletus edulis                                      Penny Bun
Cheilymenia granulata                        (See photo below)

Erysiphe alphitoides                            Powdery Oak Mildew
Fuligo septica
Laccaria laccata                                  Deceiver
Lactarius tabidus                                 Birch Milkcap
Leccinum scabrum                             Brown Birch Bolete
Leccinum versipelle                            Orange Birch Bolete
Mollisia cinerea                                   Common Grey Disco
Orbilia xanthostigma                           (See photo below)

Paxillus involutus                                Brown Rollrim
Puccinia obscura                                Rust on Lazula  (See photo below)

Phragmidium violaceum                    Blackberry Rust
Russula ochroleuca                            Ochre Brittlegill
Scleroderma citrinum                          Common Earthball
Scleroderma verrucosum                   Scaly Earthball
Trichaptum abietinum
Lycoperdon pratense                          Meadow Puffball
Rhytisma acerrinum                           Tar Spot
Sawadaea bicornis                              Powdery Sycamore Mildew
Tremella mesenterica                         Yellow Brain
Ganoderma australe                           Southern Bracket

Some more pics from our coach trip to Blacktoft Sands RSPB Reserve – courtesy Of Chris Derri

Konik Pony

Grey Heron

Greenshank with fish

Green Sandpipers

Long-tailed Tit

Nineteen MNA members joined the Coach trip across the Pennines to Blacktoft Sands RSPB Reserve on the Humber Estuary nr Goole in East Yorkshire. The reserve has a large tidal reedbed and saline lagoons and this provided good views of some migratory waders including Ruff, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper and Snipe. Little Grebes were still feeding young and there were Gadwall, Mallard, Teal and Moorhen mooching around. The Marsh Harriers put on a good show and some members also viewed Peregrine and Hobby. One member was lucky enough to see a Bittern fly deep into the reeds on one of the small islands. Those infamous reedbed skulkers Water Rail and Bearded Tit were also viewed by a few members.

It was great to see the four Konik ponies – they are part of a very ambitious and serious trial to see how these ponies can be used to manage the grassland, fenland, scrub and pools to make them better for birds and other wildlife.

Most of the flowers now past their best but still flowering were Teasel Dipsacus fullonum, Marsh Thistle Cirsium palustre, Perennial Sow Thistle Sonchus arvensis, Greater Burdock Arctium lappa, Water Mint Mentha aquatica and Wild Angelica Angelica sylvestris.

A few Butterflies battling with the wind Peacock Inachis io, Small White Pieris rapae and a few Silver Y Moths Autographa gamma hunkering down. A number of Migrant Hawkers Aeshna mixta were zooming past the hide windows and I managed to find one resting that posed for a pic.

Migrant Hawker

Garden Spider

Plenty of Spiders around with Garden Spider Araneus diadematus, Autumn Spider Metellina segmentata a few different species of Wolf Spider and a female Harvestman Mitopus morio.

Wolf Spider

A number of the more common species of Hoverflies were noted Helophilus pendulus, Tapered Drone Fly Eristalis pertinax and Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus.

Tapered Drone Fly

The umbellifers attracted a variety of insects including Turnip Sawfly Athalia rosae, Flesh Fly Sarcophaga sp. Muscid Fly Graphomya maculata, Tachinid Fly Eriothrix rufomaculata, Green Bottle Lucilia sp. Ichneumon Wasp Gasteruption jaculator, Ichneumon Wasp Pimpla rufipes, Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris, German Wasp Vespula germanica and Sand Wasp Ectemnius continuus. Other insects included a Green Shield Bug nymph Palomena prasina, a Marsh Damsel Bug Nabis limbatus, a few Chironomid Midges and the Crane Fly Tipula oleracea.

Chironomid Midge

Galls included Blister Galls on Crack Willow Leaves Salix fragilis caused by the Sawfly Pontania proxima. A huge Common Frog Rana temporaria with fantastic markings sitting on the path was a nice find to end our day.

Common Frog

Eleven members and former members turned up at the south end of Sefton Park at 8pm. It was a perfect evening for bats – dry, warm and still. Three of us had bat detectors, so we set them to different frequencies and stolled along the west side of the lake and up to the café, detecting nothing. We spotted the Little Grebes, though, which was a first for some of the group. On the way back south we made detour up the stream to the east, where we heard the call of a Tawny Owl and Terry spotted a probable Daubenton’s bat over the narrow waterway.

The clickings from the detectors grew more frequent on the east side of the lake, some very fast, like the rude noise called a “raspberry”. Dave Hardy though those were Pipistrelles, but we didn’t see them. After some people had left, the remaining five or six of us saw and detected several more probable Daubenton’s bats over the lake, flying low and fast through a patch of pale reflected light from the sky. The clicks from the detectors were all around us now, and we turned to the lakeside trees and lit up the trunk of a pine with our torches. At least two bats were flying around at head height, clicking in the 45-50 kHz range. After a quick consultation of the FSC guide, we thought these might have been Natterer’s bats.

No Noctule bats were seen or detected, although they have been seen in Sefton Park in previous years.

A few nice pictures of British bats and their habitats are here: