Chris Lansdell's Birding & Nature Diary

Dickleburgh Moor, 7 April 2024

After a day out museum visiting in Yarmouth (just Jersey Cudweed growing at South Quay of interest) I popped down to the moor for a quick evening visit.

Bumping into Ben Potterton he kindly drove me around the eastern side to see if the pair of Little Ringed Plovers were still about - and happily they were! Other highlights were fairly sparse but my first Swallow of the year was good as were 3 Pochard (including a pair), 3 lingering Wigeon, 2 Oystercatchers and several Lapwings. Shoveler numbers were impressive too and 2 Stock Doves also seen.

Jersey Cudweed

Thelnetham and Betty's Fens, 6 April 2024

A favourite walk of our is around the maze of footpaths through the fens around the headwaters of the Little Ouse. Normally this is an area we visit once the numerous marsh orchids are up so it was nice to visit at a different time.

With little in the way of birds or flora it was once again the insects that stole the show. Along the north bank of the fledgling Little Ouse I found numerous Alderflies had emerged with a couple of nice beetles - Mitten Blackclock and the diminutive Cereal Leaf Beetle. Also quite numerous were Nemoura cinerea which also goes by the slightly unfair english name of Small Dull Brown and the wetland-loving spider Pachygnatha clerki. Kentish Snail was another good find with several Brimstones out enjoying the watery sun. Awat from inverts I spotted some pretty large Eyelash Fungus on wet rotting logs.

After our walk we retired to nearby Redgrave and Lopham Fen where we just managed to catch our regular coffee vendor before he shut and enjoyed our coffee sitting watching displaying Marsh Harriers over the fen.

Mitten Blackclock

Small Dull Brown

Cereal Leaf Beetle

Pachygnatha clerki

Alderfly

Kentish Snail

Eyelash Fungus

Larch Ladybird at long last! 2 April 2024

Larch Ladybird has proven to be a bit of a nemesis for me so I was delighted to hear that Vanna had found one in Earlham Cemetery and had it 'in pot' for my viewing pleasure!

So, after work on Tuesday I ventured into Norwich to view said beast - and a nicely marked one it was too. Into the bargain Vanna also had another pseudoscorpion she'd found - Common Chthonid, Chthonius ischnoceles.

Larch Ladybird

Dunwich Forest and Westwood Marshes, 1 April 2024

An Easter Monday April Fools Day on the Suffolk coast.

Parking in Dunwich Forest we did a long walk through the frest to Dingle Hill and on over Westwood Marshes to Westwood Lodge and back via Newdelight Walks. Belinda was disappointed that most of the Wild Daffodils at Dingle Stone House were over but I was please with a few insects using the newly emerged Alexanders for nectar. I found Noon Fly, Face Fly and Phaonia valida all in the same clump in the forest and the lovely White-striped Darwin Wasp along the lane near Westwood Lodge.

Birdwise the walk had it's moments too with 2 singing Firecrests, Woodlark, Bearded Tits, Red Kite, Marsh Harriers and the now plentiful Blackcaps.

After the walk Belinda wanted to look for snakes on Westleton Common and after a shrt search I managed to find her an Adder and a Slow Worm. She's started to call me the snake charmer!

Noon Fly

Face Fly

Phaonia valida

White-striped Darwin Wasp

Adder

Slow Worm

Wild Daffodil

Shotesham Bioblitz! 30 March 2024

What started out a a field trip organised by Rob Yaxley to survey the churchyards of Shotesham for lichens quicky morphed into a bit of a bioblitz!

After a few minutes concentrating on lichens on the church wall at All Saints I quickly realised that I have an enormous amount to learn about them and the lure of insects proved too much!

Shotesham has (or rather had) 4 churches. Only 2 are now in use, All Saints and St Mary's. St Martin's is a picturesque ruin next to St Mary's while the 4th, St Botolph's is a pile of rubble after it's demise in the Reformation.

The majority of the day was spent at All Saints where invert finds included the small ladybird Scymnus interruptus, Cricket-bat Orbweb Spider, the ghostly white Ant Woodlouse, Bristly Millipede, Small Nettle Weevil, Pied Shieldbug, my first Holly Blue of the year, Green Parasitic Fly and Red-bellied Housefly. Andrena mining bees were much in evidence around a flowering shrub late in the morning when the sun came out. Star of the show was Ashy Mining Bee but I was personally very pleased with my first Common Mini-miner. We also recorded Buffish Mining Bee, Grey-patched Mining Bee and Tawny Mining Bee. The eagle-eyed Vanna found a microscopically small pseudoscorpion under a tile of the ground that has subsequently keyed-out to the scarce Dimple-clawed Chthonid.

Others were looking at micro fungi and I personally noted Arum Rust, Hollyhock Rust, Celandine Clustercup Rust, Firerug Inkcap and Xylaria filiformis.

The lichens I paid attention to were Lechanora sulphurea, Tephromela atra, Candelariella vitellina, Verucaria nigrescens and Dirina massiliensis that had the rare fungi Spiloma auratum growing on it.

Scymnus interruptus

Cricket Bat Orbweaver

Ashy Mining Bee

Small Nettle Weevil

Pied Shieldbug

Ant Woodlouse

Green Parasitic Fly

Common Mini-miner

Lecanora sulphurea

Hollyhock Rust

Arum Rust

Celandine Clustercup Rust

After lunch we relocated a mile down the road to St Mary's where I was very pleased to find Shield Pinkgill (confirmed with microscopy by Jeremy), a new fungi for me. 10-spot Ladybird and 24-spot Ladybird followed and I managed to photograph Tawny Mining Bee at last. The main interest here was on the verge just outside the church were the Lesser Celandines and Primroses held Chocolate Mining Bee, Yellow-legged Mining Bee and best of all personally (as it was one I've been looking for) - Gwynne's Mining Bee. Two snails on gravestones proved to be Hairy Snail and Two-toothed Door Snail.

Birds seen during the day included Grey Wagtail, Blackcap and Red Kite.

10-spot Ladybird

Tawny Mining Bee

Gwynne's Mining Bee

Yellow-legged Mining Bee

Two-toothed Door Snail

24-spot Ladybird

Hairy Snail

Shield Pinkgill

Insects at home, 28 March 2024

Rather a dreary Thursday was at least livened up with a couple of new insects found in the garden at home when the sun peeped out.

A wasp on the front wall of the house turned out to be my first German Wasp (well, the first one I've bothered to check!) while a hoverfly was then id'd as Melanostoma scalare. Early Mining Bee, Andrena haemorrhoa and Hairy-footed Flower Bee where also buzzing about.

German Wasp

Melanostoma scalare

Early Mining Bee

In search of Ladybirds, Earlham Cemetery, 27 March 2024

I spent a good couple of hours in Earlham Cemetery yesterday, primarily looking for ladybirds.

My quest was to find Larch Ladybird, a species I've never caught up with - and still haven't! Despite much scouring of the accessible branches and trunks of 3 large Larches I couldn't find one. Despite that I did find an amazing 33 Pine Ladybirds (including several mating pairs), several Harlequin Ladybirds of different forms, a Tawny Mining Bee and the dark green ant Formica fusca. While diligently checking the branches I also came across the tiny but distinctive Fringed Rosette Lichen, Physcia tenella.

A vocal Nuthatch was also in the same area.

Fringed Rosette Lichen

Formica fusca

Pine Ladybirds

5 Lesser Scaup at Minsmere! 24 March 2024

For once we were in the right place at the right time! Having almost completed our long walk taking in Thorpeness, Sizewell and Aldringham Walks news broke of this group of 5 Lesser Scaup on Island Mere at Minsmere. We scorched in and Belinda dropped me off at the Rhododendron tunnel from where it was a short walk to the hide. All 5 birds were bobbing about together on arrival and having no scope with me Jane Ferguson kindly lent me hers so I could have a close look. The group comprised 3 drakes and 2 females and are the same group that overwintered at Abberton and have now decided that spring is here and are moving north. A dozen or so Sand Martins over Island Mere were my first of the year and 2 Bitterns were booming away in the reedbeds.

Earlier our walk had yielded very little apart from numerous Chiffchaffs and a handful of Kittiwakes around the platforms at Sizewell.

Leaving the house that morning however and my usual quick check of the shrubs in the front garden revealed a new hoverfly for me Hairy-eyed Flower Fly plus a skittish Chocolate Mining Bee.