"For now we are young let us lay in the sun and count every beautiful thing we can see" Neutral Milk Hotel.

Monday 29 September 2014

Crippling Red-throat!

A post showing noting more than  a personally pleasing photo of a Red-throated Diver showing amazingly well on the sea this morning at Holmel.


Tuesday 23 September 2014

A fabulous Comma

I found this brilliantly marked Comma at Ringstead Downs on Monday. It was sunning itself on bramble leaves and behaved quite well for photographs.  There weren't many other butterflies around but I did have 5 Small Coppers on the north slope by the still-flowering Small Scabious.  Also few species at Holme Dunes last Thursday but good numbers of Wall and Small Heath.




Sunday 21 September 2014

Some late flowers

Probably some of the last new plants to be found in flower this year.  Three of them presented some difficulty in identification and one has been in bud for weeks but has only decided to flower in the last couple of days.
A patch of Michaelmas Daisy has been growing alongside the gravel road at Holme Dunes for at least 3 years. After using a number of different keys it has been identified as Narrow-leaved Michaelmas Daisy Aster lanceolatus, an introduction from North America.
Two Bur-marigolds have appeared on the reserve.  A large patch of Nodding Bur-marigold Bidens cernua on the grazing marsh south of the River Hun, and a single small plant of Trifid Bur-marigold Bidens tripartita near the Visitors' Centre.
We have been waiting for the Sea Wormwood Artemisia maritima to flower for several weeks. It grows at various locations on the edge of saltmarshes on the reserve. In the recently published Vascular Plant Red List it is listed as "Near Threatened".

Narrow-leaved Michaelmas Daisy Aster lanceolata

 
Nodding Bur-marigold Bidens cernua



Trifid Bur-marigold Bidens tripartita
 
 
Sea Wormwood Artemisia maritima
 

Sunday 14 September 2014

Wader Roost at Holme-next-the-Sea, Friday 12th September

Gary led the West Norfolk NWT Group on a wader watch at Holme at the morning high tide. About 30 people attended and were treated to a great display by the birds in beautiful weather.
Apart from 30000+ Knot and 3000+ Oystercatcher there were large numbers of Grey Plover (some still in their summer plumage), Bar-tailed Godwit (some still in summer plumage) and Ringed Plover. Also good numbers of Great Black-backed, Black-headed, Herring and Common Gull. Sandwich and Common Tern  were also present.  Gannet, Arctic Skua, Eider and Common Scoter flew East over the sea, with 3 early-arriving Brent Geese. 4 Spoonbill flew East high overhead. The arrival of a Peregrine sent the Knot into the sky.  Other birds seen were Fulmar, Wheatear, Swallow, Wigeon, Turnstone, Linnet, Meadow Pipit, Little Egret, Cormorant and Pied Wagtail.  A perfect morning!






Miscellany at Holme

A few finds while working at Holme Dunes on Thursday.

Sea-buckthorn berries



Sea-buckthorn bracket fungus Phellinus hippophaeicola



Broad Buckler Fern



Intermediate Polypody



A pale Common Carder bumblebee ? on Gypsywort



After watching the wader roost on Friday I found a single Eyebright plant growing by itself on the dunes. It had very pink/purple flowers compared with all the other Eyebrights I have seen on our patch.




Saturday 13 September 2014

Nodding Bur-marigold and some Knot

A good WeBS count on the high tide at 09:44 hrs revealed a good variety of wildfowl including 94 Grey Plover, 66 Ringed Plover, 650 Bar-tailed Godwit, 19, 600 Knot and a huge count of 4450 Oystercatchers - way more than twice the number I've ever counted at the Gore Point roost in over 10 years of counting. Elsewhere the avian highlight was a count of 3 Curlew sandpipers on the pools, where at least 20 Black-tailed Godwits and 2 Ruff were also present. Trifid Bur-marigold was in flower on the grazing marsh. 

Knot, Gore Point, 13th September 2014



Nodding Bur-marigold Holme NWT grazing marshes, 13th September 2014


Sea Aster Colletes

 These fine-looking small bees were active on Ragged Marsh this afternoon, 13th September 2014








Friday 12 September 2014

Two smart autumn moths: Treble Bar and Brown-spot Pinion

Treble Bar, Hunstanton, 9th September 2014


Brown-spot Pinion, Hunstanton, 12th September 2014




Wednesday 10 September 2014

Some recent flowers and fruits

Chalk Eyebright at Ringstead Downs
 
 

Harebells at Holme Dunes



Blue Fleabane at Holme Dunes



Red-leaved Rose hips at Holme Dunes



Annual Sea-blite at Thornham Harbour




Red Goosefoot at Thornham Harbour

Some recent dragons and butterflies



Migrant Hawker at Ringstead Downs
 



Ruddy Darter at Holme Marsh



Speckled Wood at Holme Dunes



Small Copper at Ringstead Downs

 

Tuesday 9 September 2014

Plants and Invertebrate highlights - 7th and 8th September

Blue Water-speedwell, River Hun at Old Hunstanton, September 7th


Wasp Spider, Thornham Harbour, 8th September 2014


Red Goosefoot,  Thornham Harbour, 8th September 2014


Many-flowered Goosefoot, Thornham Harbour, 8th September 2014



Glischrochilus hortensis, Holme NWT,  8th September 2014


Equal-leaved Knotgrass,  Thornham Harbour, 8th September 2014


Oak Bush Cricket, Hunstanton, 7th September 2014


Common Groundhopper, Holme NWT, 7th September 2014


Creeping Thistle Gall caused by the picture-winged fly Urophora cardui, Redwell Marsh, 7th September 2014


Marsh Cudweed, Redwell Marsh, 7th September 2014


Fabulous Fungi and Slippery Slime Moulds

Shaggy Inkcap Coprinus comatus, Redwell, 7th September 2014


Plums and Custard Tricholomopsis rutilans, Holme NWT (pines) 8th September 2014


Earthtongue Geoglossum cookeanum, Holme NWT, 7th September 2014


Ganoderma australe (tbc), Ringstead Downs, 7th September 2014


Beefsteak Fungus Fistulina hepatica, Ringstead Downs, 7th September 2014



Bolete to be identified, Holme NWT, 8th September 2014


Toad's-ear Otidea bufonia, Holme NWT (pines), 7th September 2014


Slime Mould, Fuligo septica, Ringstead Downs, 7th September 2014