More fungi

In October I came across of a couple of new species of fungi. The first was Shaggy Ink Cap - unfortunately I was a day or two too late to eat them as they were already deliquescing. The second is I think Sulphur Tuft (photo shown).

How do they do that?

The accompanying picture shows a spider's web. You may not be able to see the web itself which is in the top left corner but you should be able to make out the top thread under from which the web is suspended. The thing that amazes me is how the top thread was put in place. It is over four feet long and is attached at the left end to the tip of the hawthorn about eight feet above the ground (top left of photo) and at the other end to the lime about six feet up (on the right margin). Did the spider jump four feet horizontally streaming the thread behind it? That is the only sensible explanation. That is some feat.

Good Year/Bad Year

This is just my opinion based on observation of the fauna seen in the Moat House grounds.

Good Year - Butterflies, Ducks, Song Thrushes

Butterflies - see earlier posts regarding species and quantities seen this year. I don't know whether this has been a good year generally or whether it is factors peculiar to the site. One difference this year is that the small field next to the church has not been cut. Even today (2 Oct) I saw three species just on one patch of ivy (Peacock, Red Admiral and Speckled Wood)

Ducks - there was not the quantity of mallard ducklings born this year that there was last but even so there were several broods seen on the moat. However the first brood born, who stayed on site, were a joy to watch, being both well-behaved and spending time on the lawn which seemed almost friendly. Also to have the new species of Tufted Ducks just turning up and staying was brilliant.

Song Thrushes - whereas there have been a few thrushes on site before there just seemed to be young thrushes all over the place this year and lots of singing which is the best bit with song thrushes........

Bad Year - Bees, Ladybirds, Dragonflies

Bees - there have been pieces in the press regarding problems with honey bees and diseases but I noticed a distinct lack of bumble bees this year.

Ladybirds - Very few have been seen this year.

Dragonflies - I only have two species that have in past years been definitely identified and regularly seen - the Southern Hawker and the Common Darter. However this year I have only seen Southern Hawkers on three or four days and then only one individual. No Common Darters have been seen. Being away for ten days in August and then two weeks in September may mean this is a false view of the prevalence of dragonflies. I wonder whether the glut of mallards over the last couple of years, the appearance of the kingfisher last summer and then the presence of the four tufted ducks mean that anything that moves in the moat, such as a dragonfly larva, gets eaten.

Sparrowhawk???

I found this pile of pigeon feathers in the garden close to the moat. I hope that it is a sparrowhawk's work and I have seen a sparrowhawk take a dove from the garden before. If a cat or fox was responsible I would be concerned for other birds such as the tufted ducklings.

Dryad's Saddle - back again

The Dryad's Saddle that has taken my beech trunk seat as its home has made its annual appearance. The fruiting body is growing very fast - a further photograph will be taken when it reaches full size.

Tufted Ducklings

The female duck has not been seen for the last week or so. The ducklings stick fairly closely together just as they did when under parental control. I have no idea whether this is normal and the ducklings are at the stage of being left to get on with it or whether something has happened to the parent. They certainly have grown significantly since they appeared but they are not as old as mallards that are still with mum.

Butterfly update

Over the last week there have been a few sunny days and most of the butterfly species seen this year have been out and about including Comma, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Green Veined White, at least one other species of White, a species of Blue and Red Admiral. Species seen earlier in the year but not in the last week include Ringlet, Brimstone, Orange Tip, Small Skipper (probably - see below) and Small Tortoiseshell. All in all a good year for butterflies with some large numbers of some species seen. I struggle a bit with identification of butterflies that need close examination to ID them as I don't like to even capture them for observation let alone kill them. I recently checked the sources on the Small Skipper and found that the almost indistinguishable Essex Skipper has also been found close to here as it is spreading from the South East. The main differences seem to be in the colour of the undersides of the antennae and in the angle of a marking on the male upper wing. I am now re-examining photographs to see if I can confirm which type of skipper we have or indeed if we have both.

Two new species - both welcome

The last couple of days has yielded two new species for the database - Field Mushroom and Green Dock Beetle. The Field Mushroom is welcome for obvious reasons (tonight's tea) and the Green Dock Beetle is a welcome organic dock control mechanism. I have only seen the larvae rather than the adult - they are currently stripping dock leaves at a rate of knots.

Grass snake spotted today

For only the second time I saw a grass snake swimming in the moat. I was watching the ducks around mid day when I heard a little splash and saw a snake plop into the water about two metres away. They swim brilliantly - a very sinuous movement. It was about 400mm to 500mm long and surprisingly thin. The much fatter snake that I saw part of, a while back ,must have been pretty long if the proportions stay the same.

A small bit of good news

I saw my first fish since the sewage pollution on Monday. One tiny baby stickleback or minnow. On Tuesday I saw two tiny fish so things are heading in the right direction.

Also on the positive side the Tufted Ducks are still here.......

Tufted Duck - still here

The Tufted Duck that appeared on Sunday is still around with its three ducklings. I haven't managed any good pictures yet as it remains elusive but at least it seems to get on with the Mallards.

and now for some good news.....

Just two days after the depressing pollution incident and I feel much better. The Wimbledon men's final was in a rain break at around 8pm so I popped out to check on the stream. I was amazed to see a new species of duck on the moat - complete with three ducklings. Having never seen any duck except loads of Mallards in the four and a half years we have been here or indeed seen any other species of duck in the village in fifteen years, a Tufted Duck has made an appearance. Whilst we were watching the duck, lo and behold a kingfisher flashed by having been absent since early January.......

The duck and ducklings seem to be feeding on the moat. I am wondering where they were born since the ducklings look a couple of week sold but are not ready for flying anywhere yet. If they stay I wonder how they will get on with the mallard brood who are now all adults but still spent most of the day here and will no doubt be back shortly.

Pollution incident

I can confirm three new species for the Moat House species list - sadly the circumstances are due to pollution of the stream by raw sewage resulting in extensive fish deaths. I first smelt the problem after 4pm on Friday and soon found that the smell was coming from the stream which had turned a grey colour. Fish were gasping at the surface. I called the Environment Agency just after 5pm and to their credit they were on site just after 7pm together with Severn Trent water who they had called out. By then I had traced the source of the pollution which was coming from the grounds of a building on the opposite side of the stream. Whilst Severn Trent were tracking the problem back to a blocked sewer I started trying to rescue dying fish in order to take them upstream. I had always wondered whether the little fish in the stream were Minnows or Sticklebacks. At close quarters I was able to see we had both species and a third that I had not even suspected - Bullheads. I left the scene around 10pm, hopefully having rescued some fish to survive and breed again to repopulate the area with a larger vehicle awaited to finally unblock the sewer. By the next morning the stream refreshed by some overnight rain had returned to a proper colour but was littered with the corpses of dead fish. All very depressing but the one positive I can take out of the incident is that we have water that is normally of good quality in that it supports Minnows and Bullheads as well as the more common Sticklebacks.

Butterfly update

Tuesday was sunny and there were butterflies on the wing and mating in paddock adjacent to the church. The grass has not been cut there to date this year and that may be helping with the butterfly population. Most numerous were Ringlets followed by Meadow Browns with an occasional Small Skipper (shown)

New bird species - Chiff Chaff

A common bird but only seen on site for the first time today. Not surprisingly it was the distinctive Chiff Chaff song that alerted me to the bird and fifteen minutes with the binoculars paid off eventually.

Waterbird progeny update

There have now been three broods of mallards hatched. The first brood were originally nine but reduced to eight after a few days and are pretty much grown up now and there are still eight. Two recent broods have not stayed around but have gone off in search of better or maybe less crowded water. The second brood was eleven (but one was lost) and the third brood was nine - as shown.

There have been at least two broods of moorhens. The first was five chicks and although one of the parents died there were still some chicks when last seen. The second brood was six chicks and at least one has died and possibly more. Moorhens are diffcult birds to count.

Bat in the lounge

A bat suddenly appeared in the lounge a little after 11pm. I Have no idea how it got in the room but my efforts to let it out were held up for a quarter of an hour by the window having been painted shut at the last decoration. I couldn't tell the species. That is now three times that bats have appeared in the house - all in different rooms.

Single parent moorhen

Having written in a recent blog that both parents as usual were attending to the needs of the five moorhen chicks, I was surprised to find only one parent on duty. The reason became clear as there was a dead moorhen close by floating in the water.The cause of death is not obvious although the neck is broken which may have occurred as I fished it out of the water. The genders are identical so I don't know whether it is the mother or father that continues on feeding duty. I hope it can cope with five chicks....

Butterflies at last

Up until the last few days the only butterflies seen this year have been a few bedraggled looking Tortoiseshells and Peacocks. The warmer weather has brought them out and there seem to be a large number on the wing. The most numerous have been Speckled Woods and Orange Tips but Brimstone and some yet-to-be- identified blues (I haven't got close enough so far) have also been seen.

Moorhen chicks

The first moorhen chicks of the season were out and about today. There is a brood of five which I think is the biggest I have seen here on the moat. Unlike the mallards where the most the drake gets involved in parenting seems to be an occasional bit of guard duty, both moorhen parents are assiduous in their feeding and looking after duties.

Squirrel carrying squirrel

I saw a squirrel yesterday moving slowly away from the house carrying something large in its mouth. I followed it and when I got close it dumped its load which was......another squirrel. The squirrel being carried was slightly smaller and so I am guessing this is its young which was being moved. I left the dumpee alone and when I looked back later it had gone. This activity may be related to the fact that I heard some squirrel type noises from the attic the previous night and we had guests which in turn may have disturbed the squirrel. We had also some attic lights fitted a few days previously so again the combined disturbance may have been too great - I'm pleased to say. It's obviously time to put more peppermint essence in the attic and to try and block the entrance again.

First ducklings of the season

Woke up to find ten mallard ducklings had been born. Just after we spotted them there was a problem with a couple of drakes seemingly harassing the mother who flew off with her partner and then just circled back to the spot where the ducklings were. They meanwhile had instantly disappeared into the reeds to reappear as a fluffy mass as soon as the parents were back.

New species - Blackcap

Not an unusual species but seen for the first time yesterday in the grounds after living here for almost four years. I had seen one in the village before - about nine years ago so the blackcap is like another recent new species, the bullfinch, in being not often seen in the village.

Mallard disturbed

I inadvertently scuttled a mallard duck sitting on a nest of eggs on Sunday. I was about to finish off some ivy clearance where previously I had pulled some thick ivy away from the wall of an outbuilding. The nest was built resting on the ivy ledge I had created. She flew away at the point where I was just a couple of feet away. I have no idea whether one disturbance will lead to an abandonment but I am staying away from the area in the hope that she has returned.

The pipistrelles are out and about

For the last three nights there have been pips hawking in the garden. Tonight I dragged myself away from the Champions league to see if they were also in residence. I saw no bats exiting the normal roost entrance but there was at one point five separate pipistrelles hawking in the garden. I can only assume at this point they are roosting somewhere else

It's all kicking off moatside

The breeding season tensions are rising and the water fowl are getting wired. First of all there was rape and violence on the lawn this morning. Four mallard drakes had got hold of a duck. One had her neck in its bill, a second was getting on top of her and two more were crowding in as well. Our presence at the window scuttled the drakes and the duck cleared off. I have noticed similar behaviour before. It's as if there are couples on the one hand who quietly swim around together, and gangs of lager lout drakes on the other who take what they want by force. Or am I being anthropomorphic?
Meanwhile the temperature is rising with the moorhens as well. After some months of general mingling there was a moorhen altercation this morning which ended up with one bird escaping to a branch about fifteen feet up in a Scots Pine tree. They look rather comical when perched due to the size of their legs and feet and they don't often head for the trees.

Mallard mayhem

The breeding preparations erupted into aggression yesterday. I heard a loud splashing sound and looked out to see two mallard drakes chasing each other round and round in a tight circle. They looked intent on violence but I am not sure whether much contact was actually made. The confrontation turned into a chase, first on the water and then into the air. On the second circuit round, the lone female, who presumably was the reason for the aggression decided she had had enough of the testosterone action, and flew away.

This episode, with two drakes and one duck, follows a period of a couple of weeks where there has been two ducks and one drake around - swimming happily together. I am not sure what sort of selection process was going on, if any.

Prior to that we had a period of a couple of weeks when there were at least two and sometimes three separate pairs of mallards all looking like they had selected their mates.

The more I see of mallards, the more I find it difficult to draw any conclusions as to their social patterns.

New species - but not welcome

Yesterday I found a ladybird in the lounge and it was not obvious to me what sort it was. Investigation showed it to be a Harlequin ladybird - an invasive and destructive species from Asia. According to some sources this is very bad news for some of our domestic ladybirds and other beetles. It is spreading North and West and it is not new to the Midlands. Having checked the pictures I remember some larvae that I found last year which may be the Harlequin's larvae. I will need to find the photographs I took at the time to be sure. I found a ladybird outside today and I am pleased to say it was a 7-spot.

New bird species - Kestrel

Although I see kestrels regularly in the area I have seen one in the grounds for the first time yesterday so it gets added to the species list. I was alerted by sundry passerines moving swiftly and right behind them was a kestrel , which soared up and perched when it spotted me. I didn't realise that kestrels chased birds at low level but that was what it seemed to be doing.

RSPB birdwatch - Spring 2008 results

The January 2008 birdwatch recorded 10 species in the allotted hour (cf 2007 - 11 species). The species common to the two years were blackbird, moor hen, mallard, crow, robin, blue tit, wood pigeon and collared dove. In 2007 I also recorded goldfinches, great tits and coal tits but at the time I was feeding birds which I no longer do due as it attracted a rat and squirrels. The other two species that made an appearance this year but not in 2007 were jackdaws (a troupe skittered by just in time to be recorded) and starlings.

Owl Central

The tawny owls have been out and noisy over the last few days. The male and female calls are straightforward enough to recognise but there was an additional sound that I was puzzled by. It sounded a bit like a bird imitating a dog barking or a deer grunting. At first I didn't make the connection with the owls but listening to some tawny owl recordings I heard a similar sound on just one recording. It was described as a female impersonating the male cry so at the moment that it is my conclusion. I shall see if it disappears when the owls stop calling.