Vis-mig today was OK with the highlight been two large flocks of continental Starling that came in from the N/E. One party was estimated to contain 450 birds and all flying fairly low…an excellent autumn sight!
Recently I have been searching Aspen trees in Raw Nook Nr to try to find the moth leaf mine of Ectoedemia argyropeza with no luck. So I tried again today looking at Aspen leaves at the vis-mig point at Caldene fields.
There were none at the first two trees but further on to my excitement I didn’t find one leaf containing the moth larvae but 15!
If you look at the base of the yellow leaf you can see the dark triangle and the green above. The larvae are active mainly at night and retreat into the petiole (stalk) during the day.
The great news is that the moth is a bit of a rarity! National Status: Local. Local Status: Rare and local resident.
and according to Yorkshire moth the nearest site to ours is 20k away! So really pleased! That brings my moth species list for our recording area to 366.
Yesterday there was little vis-mig due to the blanket fog. The little bit I did produced 3 skeins of Pink-footed geese moving N/W I could hear them but couldn’t see them in the fog.
I then walked to Raw Nook NR where the recent rain has brought our pond back to life. And the first bird I saw was a lovely Kingfisher feeding!.
Today I walked to TH Beck and heard the Kingfisher calling at the small pond, so keep your eyes peeled for that lovely flash of blue!
On my way back I couldn’t help but noticed the aptly named Jelly Ear Fungus – Auricularia auricula-judae on a dead piece of Elder.
Interestingly you can see the dead black Jelly Ear fungus below with a burst of new growth above.
Four Bullfinches were showing well in a nearby Hawthorn tree.
Wow! what a day at the vis-mig point. Wood Pigeon were on the move again and the conditions were just right cold with good visibility up to 20 miles.
It was an unprecedented morning !!! With my previous WP record totally smashed. The birds moved before dawn with one four figure count the highlight. Around 8am I had strings of 4,500, 2,400 and 4,560. Most birds observed moving to the E of the watch point. However, the count is probably an undercount as a casual glance over my shoulder and a ” Black cloud ” of pigeon passed high to the W. Passage stopped at around 09.00 then picked up again around 09.10 petering out around 10.00.
Wood Pigeons have been moving S over and to the E of the watch point for the last few days. I must admit I was surprised that the birds would start to move with a strong headwind…but they did.
Normally Wood Pigeons seem to favour the cold frosty mornings in autumn with little wind to move S. However, the birds have started to move in unfavorable weather conditions i.e. mild weather and a strong headwind. The weather is to settle and turns cooler in the next few day so it will be interesting to noted what happens then.
Following on from our Fungus foray on the 20/10/20 Peter Gurney YWT who attended the foray found another photo of a fungus Spinellus fusiger Bonnet Mould which was not added to the original list!
And even better it’s a new Fungi species of our list! Well Peter..and an excellent photo too..
FROM ”first-nature.com” This very common little parasite of Mycena species (and of several other mushroom genera) is known as a pin mould. It appears on the caps of larger fungi as erect pale brownish-yellow sporangiophores (specialised hyphae) on which its zygospores are produced.
Bonnet Mould and the other members of the Spinellus genus are able to reproduce when ‘pins’ from the same mycelium contact one another; such fungi are termed ‘homothalic’. FROM ”first-nature.com/
On the 20th of October I attended a Fungus foray at Raw Nook NR lead by the very knowledgeable Kat Woolley of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. This follows on from last years successful fungus survey by Kat on the 22/10/19.
Sadly due to Covid 19 restriction only 6 people could attend and social distancing was in place. The main aim of the meeting was to build a better understanding of the species that inhabit the reserve and to increase the species list which stood at 48 species, so there was no pressure of Kat..ha..ha
Kat…quickly finds some interesting fungi
We first headed for the dense Hazel and Willow scrub area in the middle of the meadow.
It was suppose to be a quick look but we kept Kat that busy with the interesting finds….we were in there a good hour!
White Saddle Helvella crispa
One of the more strange looking fungi found in this area is the White Saddle Helvella crispa which was also found last year in the same location.
Also found was the delightfully name Lemon Disco – Bisporella citrina fungi…
Incidentally Sarah Goldsmith YWT who also attended has brought out an excellent ” Virtual fungus foray” https://www.facebook.com/groups/BUD.Bradford/ with a map…So you too can find and enjoy the Fungus Foray!
Walking on to the flooded area on the left we found hardly any fungi however, Kat pointed out on a nearby Willow a lovely Blushing Bracket Daedaleopsis confragosa. One of my favorite members of the Bracket family.
Blushing Bracket (Underside)
It was soon time for a well earned rest….Well for Kat anyway… so it was a quick stop for lunch.
As we continued more and more new species were found including the Leaf Parachute Marasmius epiphyllus, Common Rustgill Gymnopilus penetrans and the worryingly name Poisonpie Hebeloma crustuliniforme.
Heath Waxcap Gliophorus laetus
We eventually arrived at the top of the reserve by the large heather patch ( Near the bridge. ) It wasn’t long before Kat let out a ” Oh! brilliant ” as she had identifield not one Waxcap fungi species but three! Which is excellent news for this urban reserve.
The three species were the Heath, Meadow and Vermilion waxcap.
Yellow Club – Clavulinopsis helvola
Another new species found just by the Waxcaps was the lovely Yellow Club – Clavulinopsis helvola
So as we came to the end of the foray it was time to total up Kat’s finds. An excellent 18 new species were added to our list of 48 fungi species for the reserve.
However, there was one species that summed up the fungi walk for me, the privilege to witness the birth of an emerging fungi.
An emerging Fly agaric Amanita muscaria about to burst into life
Special thanks to Sarah Goldsmith for arranging the foray and an even bigger thank you to Kat Woolley for all her patience and knowledge.
It’s been a busy few days at the watch point at Caldene fields. Favourable weather conditions allowed winter thrushes to take advantage and arrive in the UK on mass. The influx started here on the 13/10 with 515 Fieldfare and 193 Redwings observed moving through our area and beyond.
The following day Redwings were noted coming in from the S and moving N many well east of the watch point.
Passage carried on again today with birds moving N. Redwings were the most evident with the majority of birds moving again to the east of the watch point, 2,997 in total with just 215 Fieldfare noted.
Caught in these movement are Song Thrushes and Blackbirds but in much smaller numbers. A small number of Skylarks and Chaffinch have also been involved in this influx again moving N.
Lastly there was an excellent movement of incoming Pink footed geese high in the sky moving S/E around 10.15 seven skeins were observed and a total of 1660 was noted.
Whilst it might be a busy time I still have time to admire the wonderful autumn colours at the watch point….and not only for any possible migrant birds! ha
Most of my time at the moment is taken up with visible migration. Especially as moth numbers have reduced as autumn progresses. In fact the last moths were caught on 29/9 and included a Barred Sallow and 2 Lunar Underwings both are regular autumn moths.
As I reported earlier Goldfinches seem to have an an excellent breeding season. To illustrate this point this September I have recorded an excellent count of 2,115 birds passing the watch point. In 2019 1,082 were recorded, 2018 = 717, 2017 = 1,135.
On the 27th of September there was an early influx of Redwings moving through our area with 407 S/W + 37 N/W. A Crossbill flew S on the 1/10 and today 2 Swallows moved S and I had a nice surprise with a Shelduck that flew high to the N/W
Well what an excellent job Peter Gurney and his team from WYT have done cutting back that meadow area at Toad Holes Beck.
The area was full of Himalayan balsam and rank vegetation with few nectar rich wild flowers. All the cut vegetation has been removed so to reduces soil fertility, which is the long term key to encouraging more wildflowers.
On a different note. Yesterday I watch a Grey Squirrel and a Jay both collecting Acorns to store for the winter. However, when the sunlight hit the Oak tree I never realised just how beautiful the fresh acorn is!
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