Winter Thrushes

At this time of year, we are visited by thrushes from the continent. These are, mainly, Fieldfare and Redwing. The Redwing is a small thrush, with a distinctive stripe on its head and a red patch under the wing. The Fieldfare is a larger thrush with a speckled breast and grey head. Both tend to travel in small noisy flocks. This year it seems that numbers are less than usual, but this may change if harsher weather arrives. Have you seen one yet?

Their main source of food is berries in hedgerows but, especially in severe weather or when berries run short, they can be tempted into gardens. They are quite partial to half an apple left face-up on the ground or stuck on the end of a branch or a stick in the ground. 

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) - Pastures Lane, Oakthorpe

Redwing (Turdus iliacus) - Oakthorpe Colliery

Wishing all a very happy Christmas, and a much-improved 2021!

Take good care

Richard

Birds from Brian

Greetings, all! I hope you are all well, and staying safe.

The weather has been more than a little grim of late, so here are a couple photos from Brian, taken of birds in his garden, to brighten your day! Thank you Brian.

I am using Brian's captions as I don't think anyone will have difficulty in identifying the species!!!

Sentry Duty on a misty morning

Another Sentry

Hang on in there - there's a light showing at the end of the tunnel. Best wishes - - - Richard

 

Goat Moth

Group member Sallie Corfield has sent in an exciting bit of news about a moth sighting she reported to the County Moth Recorder. Sallie, in her capacity as Community Ranger for Forestry England, was working on Forestry England's stand at the Timber festival in Feanedock Wood in July, 2019. County Moth Recorder for Leicestershire & Rutland, Adrian Russell had a 'walk-in' moth trap (something I'd love to see in action!) set up there, and Sallie wandered in and spotted and photographed a hitherto undetected moth, which she reported to Adrian. It was a Goat Moth! This once-common moth has become extremely rare, and the previous record in VC55 (Leics & Rutland) was in 1990 at Brown's Hill Quarry, near Melton Mowbray.

Adrian suggested to Sallie that it might be worthwhile surveying the area for signs of the Goat Moth, and I agree with Sallie's suggestion that we should make the groups members aware of this in case they would like to involve themselves in such an activity. Although the moth flies in June and July, its presence can be detected by the holes bored in trees by the caterpillars. If you would like to know more about the Goat Moth, which is one of UK's largest moths, and how to find them, please look at https://butterfly-conservation.org/sites/default/files/1.goat-moth-species-factsheet.pdf. If you would like to discuss this with me (Richard Pegler), please get in touch. In current circumstances, visits will have to be on an individual basis but, in happier times ( fingers are crossed) a small group visit might be arranged. I visited Feanedock Wood yesterday, and it is a splendid place. It is within walking distance of Blackfordby and can be found on the right hand side of Gorse Lane bridleway (as accessed from Boothorpe) through a gate before you descend the hill to Rawdon Road and Conkers.

Goat Moth (Cossus cossus) - Feanedock Wood

Incidentally, I didn't find any hard evidence during my visit yesterday, but did see a couple of tree trunks that had me wondering!?

Thank you, Sallie for this, and congratulations on this fabulous find!

Take great care and stay safe, everyone - - - Richard
 

Cue For a Song?!

Brian has sent in a wonderful image, with the following note:-

Attached is a picture a friend in Montrose, Scotland, sent me of Pink-footed Geese flying in front of a rainbow. My friend's name is Andy Wakelin. Montrose has an inland sea called Montrose Basin which has a Wildlife Centre. It is famous for it's flocks of geese every Autumn. This year there were over 84,000 at the basin. It is a great place to visit if any members are ever on the East Coast of Scotland see web site https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/reserve/montrose-basin/

Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus) - Montrose Basin, Scotland

Thank you, Andy and Brian - much appreciated! 

 

Mouse Problem - Solved!

Our Chaiman, Brian, has had a mouse problem. I'll let Brian take over with the description, extracted from his emails to me. If you have a mouse problem you might find the following useful :-

 

I have a lot of problems with House mice in the shed that we store bird & dog food in, they even chew through plastic storage boxes if given the chance. I hate using lethal traps so bought a humane trap to try. I had tried a different design last year that wasn't very successful, however the new one has been out only 3 days & has already caught 2 mice so seems quite good. I am fairly sure they are House Mice (Mus musculus) but not certain. This one got a bath when I released it in the field away from the house as it jumped straight out of the trap into a puddle, shook itself and hopped off at a great pace. You need to clean & dry the trap between baiting it or the seesaw trap door sticks. They then eat the bait and can escape, cleaning & drying it stops that happening. Best bait is crunchy peanut butter.

The trap came from Ivanhoe Country Store & was less than £8. It works on a seesaw principle the weight of the mouse tips the seesaw & this raises the weighted door on the other end stopping the mouse from getting out again - (most of the time). The previous type I tried was much smaller & the whole trap was supposed to tip & a door shut but I never got it to catch anything so I threw it away. I always use Peanut butter as a bait as they love it, I also bait not only inside the trap but also on the inward end of the seesaw 

 

Thank you for this interesting information, Brian. I hope that the trap is continuing to serve you well

The Marmite Bird!

There are, I know, mixed feelings out there about visits to the garden by Sparrowhawks and taking the birds that we are attracting to the garden bird feeders. My wife is very much set against them and, although she wishes no harm to the Sparrowhawks, she insists on banging on the window or waving her arms to discourage them. I, however, am pleased to see them, and regard them as magnificent creatures and an indicator of the state of the environment  - although I'd prefer it if they'd not take some of our less common birds!

The male Sparrowhawk, with its orange tinged frontage, is somewhat smaller than the female, and confines its prey to the smaller species of bird.

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (male) - our Ashby garden on 9th October, 2020

The larger female of the species, which has the orange replaced by brown on the frontage, will take larger birds, such as Collared Doves, as prey. The one below is, I believe, a young female, having pale edges to the wing coverts and yellow, rather than orange, eyes.

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (female) - our Ashby garden on 23rd October, 2020

I would be interested to hear whether you see Sparrowhawks in your garden, and what your attitude towards them is!

Until the next time - take good care and stay safe - - - Richard Pegler

Shieldbugs

I'm no expert, but I have a passing interest in shieldbugs, sometimes referred to as 'stinkbugs' with good reason!

There are, I believe, 32 species of shieldbug to be found in UK if you exclude the Coreidae (which includes the common Dock Bug). Of these, I think that 23 species have been recorded inVC55 (Leicestershire and Rutland vice-county).

An excellent guide to shieldbug identification can be found here:-  https://www.britishbugs.org.uk/heteroptera/idcards/life_stages.html

There are still some to be found at this time as I write this and this is one I found recently sitting on top of my garden waste recycling bin.

Birch Shieldbug (Elasmostethus interstinctus) (adult) - our Ashby garden on 22nd October, 2020

If you have any information or photos of local wildlife interest, please contact me at blackfordbywg@btinternet.com

Best wishes to all - - - Richard Pegler
 

A Caterpillar and Some Fungi

Our Chairman, Brian, has recently had a short break in Suffolk, where he visited Sutton Hoo, and also took some photos of a caterpillar and some fungi. Brian asked if I thought it appropriate to put up non-local material, and I certainly do in this case as it has relevance to the local area too as it is a good time for fungi. However, I know virutally nothing about fungi, other than that the Parasol Mushroom is said to be excellent eating - provided you are confident in your identification!

Parasol Mushroom (Macrolepiota procera) - Sutton Hoo

Shaggy Inkcap (Coprinus comatus) - Sutton Hoo

The Fox Moth caterpillar is a fully-fed individual, which will bide its time without further feeding and pupate in the spring.

Fox Moth (Macrothylacia rubi) (larva) - Sutton Hoo

Thank you, Brian for these, which are much-appreciated. 

Please, folks, don't hesitate to send in your photos and observations. In the meantime, take great care and stay safe - - - Richard Pegler

 

Toadlet Rescue!

Our Chairman, Brian, found this baby toadlet in his dog's drinking bowl. It had managed to get itself in, but couldn't get out again as the sides of the bowl were too slippery. Brian rescued it and it hopped away again. Well done Brian - see you in the honours list for services to young toads! 

 

Brian's Hedgehog - and other night visitors!

Hi Folks. I know some of you will have seen this already, but our Chairman, Brian, put out some food for the Hedgehogs recently. He had three visits by a Hedgehog that night, but also two cats got in on the act. 

Cats are a tad more cunning than hedgehogs, and there's a danger that they will spread the word and you'll soon find that  you are being eaten out of house and home by the felines, and the poor hedgehogs won't get a look-in. 

I guard against this with home-made hedgehog feeding stations, made out of an upturned clear under-bed storage box (cheap in Wilko's), with a 13 cm x 13 cm hole with a rounded top cut in one end. The lid then forms the base of the feeder, and can be lined with newspaper. I also make a tunnel entrance from two house bricks on their sides with a roof tile on top, weighed down with a rock. With adjustment, cats can't get in. I leave Tesco's kitten biscuits (recommended by the Leicester Hedgehog Rescue people) in a raised mesh tray of the type used for bird seed. I also leave a dish of water outside the feeding station - I use the flat plastic dishes of the type that you stand plant pots in, but use chicken 'drinkers' if I'm going to be away for an extended period. 

Take good care and stay safe - - - Richard

Sallie's Dragon - August, 2020

Group member Sallie Corfield has sent in some super photos with the following message:-

"Thought I’d send these photos on of a southern hawker (unless I’m wrong in my ID?) ovipositing in my pond. It must have been doing this for around 45 minutes and mostly in the same place in the moss on this log next to the water. My kids were absolutely captivated! My pond is quite new having been put in around a year ago. "

What a wonderful experience, Sallie! Nothing wrong with your ID - a female Southern Hawker is probably the most likely dragonfly to visit a garden pond in these parts in order to lay eggs, and they do like a patch of moss to lay into too!

I hope that, if you have a garden without a garden pond, this will help to encourage you to put one in. You might be amazed and entertained by what visits.

Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea) (female) - Sallie's garden

Thank you so much for sending in these photos and information, Sallie - very much appreciated! 

Take good care, folks, and stay safe - it's not over yet!

Introducing The Rat-tailed Maggot!

I have a new mini-pond in my garden. It sits on the patio and is approximately 1 metre square by half a metre deep. I chose this as, being raised up, it would exlude frogs, for which my dear wife has a phobia!

The pond came as a kit and only took a couple of hours to build. Planting it up took a little longer.

Garden Mini-pond

Just 10 days after planting up and filling the pond with water, we had our first visit by a damselfly - a male Large Red Damselfly.

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (male)

Anyway, to cut to the chase, one day when out in the garden with the camera I noticed a small 'blobby' thing with a long 'tail', and took some photos. Bear in mind that this 'thing' was only about 10 mm long!

Rat-tailed Maggot (Helophilus pendulus) (larva)

It turns out that this is the larva of a hoverfly species. There is one group of hoverflies that have larvae that live in damp places, and this particular species favours ponds. That 'tail' is actually a tube that it breathes through.

Here is the adult hoverfly - also taken at the new pond.

hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus) (adult male)

Who'd believe that such a repulsive looking larva could transform into something as handsome as that hoverfly?!

I hope that you are all well, and staying safe. One day we'll all meet again!

Birds in Colin's Garden

Colin Carr has sent in a couple of delightful photos showing birds in his garden. I would be somewhat excited to have had any of these in my garden. This was the message from Colin:-

Some Blackfordby birds enjoying the rain.

A mother thrush trying to persuade her youngster to start eating for itself, and failing miserably!

And almost in the same spot (taken through the window) a relatively rare sighting of a female black cap.

A lovely little thing.

Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) (female) - Blackfordby Garden

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) (adult and young) - Blackfordby Garden

Thank you for these, Colin. Keep up the good work.

Best wishes to you all. Stay safe - - - Richard

BLACKFORDBY MOTHS at the end of June

First, my apologies for not keeping the blog up-to-date lately - things have been a bit hectic in the Pegler household of late! 

Our Chairman, Brian, had his moth trap out on 24th June, and he got more than he bargained for! He ended up with over a hundred moths of over thirty species. I can fully imagine just how time-consuming that can be as I ventured to put my own trap (somewhat less sophisticated than Brian's) out on Thursday, thinking that it would be a night with few moths to trouble me the next day, and I ended up with 59 moths of 28 species which has taken me until today to identify them all. 

Brian was particularly pleased to get a Satin Beauty, which is a bit of a rarity for Leicestershire and Rutland. Here are a few of Brian's moths from that night.

Beautiful Hook-tip (Laspeyria flexula) - Blackfordby garden

Leopard Moth (Zeuzera pyrina) - Blackfordby garden

Phlyctaenia coronata - Blackfordby Garden

Satin Beauty (Deileptenia ribeata) - Blackfordby Garden

Shoulder-striped Wainscot (Mythimna comma) - Blackfordby garden

Small Blood-vein (Scopula imitaria) - Blackfordby garden

Smoky Wainscot (Mythimna impura) - Blackfordby garden

Thank you, Brian, for sharing these images with us. You have some wonderful finds there!

Take good care, folks, and stay safe - it'll be a while before this virus becomes history!

Richard Pegler

ORCHIDS OF NORTH WEST LEICESTERSHIRE

Our Chairman, Brian Hammond, has kindly supplied some photos and words about some of the fabulous orchids that he has found recently. I'll let Brian describe these in his own words.

ORCHIDS OF NORTH WEST LEICESTERSHIRE

All photos were taken in the last 2 weeks and all are within 15 miles of Blackfordby. 

Lizard Orchid - Himantoglossum hircinum - Very rare this far North, only specimens in Leicestershire. Normally a plant of Kent & the South Coast.

Lizard Orchid (Himantoglossum hircinum)

Bee Orchid - Ophrys apifera - Quite a few arroud this year in different locations.

Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera)

Greater Butterfly Orchid - Platanthera chlorantha - A beautiful but uncommon British Orchid.

Greater Butterfly Orchid (Platanthera chlorantha)

Common Spotted Orchid - Dactylorhiza fuchsii -This is the most common local Orchid.

Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii)

Violet Helleborine - Epipactis purpurata - Uncommon Orchid that grows in a few dark woodland. Flowers in mid to late July so this specimen is just coming up ready to flower in a few weeks. The violet colour that gives it it's name is clearly visible in the picture.

Violet Helleborine (Epipactis purpurata)

Thank you, Brian, for these great photos and interesting information.

Take good care folks, and stay safe. 

Birds, a Bee, and a Bold Squirrel

I've received some delightful photos submitted by Brian and Simon. I confess to examining Simon's beautiful shots rather closely to check if that tree that both the shots featured was artificial or Photoshopped, as there did not seem to be a hair out of place between the two. It's real, folks!

Robin (Erithacus rubecula) - Simon's garden

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) - Simon's garden

Here are Brian's birds:-

Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) - Brian's garden

Magpie (Pica pica) - Brian's garden

Starling  (Sturnus vulgaris) (juvenile) - Brian's garden

Rook (Corvus frugilegus) - Brian's garden

Brian has nicely documented a Grey Squirrel raiding his bird feeder. There are mixed feelings about squirrels out there, but I'm rather fond of them, and it's not their fault that somebody brought them here from America!

Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) - Brian's garden

Brian also sent in a photo of a bee, asking if I could ID it. Sadly, I'm not knowledgeable about bees but, by consulting on the excellent Naturespot web site, I have come to the conclusion that it's Early Bumblebee - please let me know if you think I've got it wrong!

Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) - Brian's garden

That's all for now folks. Until the next time, take good care and stay safe - - - Richard