Off Patch: two liverworts from Dersingham Bog

Ciliated Fringewort, Ptilidium ciliare, Dersingham Bog, 29th February 2020

Ghostwort, Cryptothallus mirabilis, thallus, Dersingham Bog, 29th February 2020

 Ghostwort, Cryptothallus mirabilis, sporophytes,  Dersingham Bog, 29th February 2020

Four lichens, a moss, a cluster of heralds and a crescent moon

Physcia adscendens, Hunstanton Lighthouse walls, 2nd January 2017

Cladonia portentosa, Holme Dunes, 2nd January 2017

Cladonia foliaceae, Holme Dunes, 2nd January 2017

Phaeophyscia orbicularis, Holme Dunes, 2nd January 2017

Tortula muralis, Hunstanton cliffs (lower face), 2nd January 2017

Heralds (hibernating), Holme Dunes, 2nd January 2017

Crescent Moon, Hunstanton, 2nd January 2017

Friday 30th May

A superb sunny day. Plants new in flower today included Common Sea Lavender, Water Figwort, (Fragrant or Large-flowered) Evening Primrose, Hemlock, Scented Mayweed, Foxglove, Tufted Forget-me-not and, for me, Spurge Laurel and Common Mallow. Butterflies were numerous with Common Blue, Holly Blue, Brown Argus, Small Copper, Small Heath, Speckled Wood, Small White, Green-veined White, Peacock, Red Admiral, Small Tortoisehell, Wall, Green Hairstreak and the first Large Skipper on the wing, as well as Blue-tailed and Azure Damselflies and Four-spotted Chaser. Migration was little in evidence with fly-over Tree Pipit and Yellow Wagtail and a Greenshank on Lavender Marsh. I found a Common Groundhopper associating with more numerous Slender Groundhoppers and myriads of assorted grassshopper nymphs in the forestry, where a string of fresh Natterjack spawn was neatly woven around the stems of waterweeds in one of the scrapes. A huge eel was lurking in the river below the Hun bridge, alongside numerous Three-spined Sticklebacks. Moth highlights included Saltmarsh Plume, Large Yellow Underwing and 5 Small Elephant Hawkmoths in the NOA traps, 60 Diamondbacks (migranta), Pebble Prominent, White Point, Cabbage, Small Sqaure Spot and Campion in my Hunstanton garden ttrap and at least 3 Yellow-banded Longhorns Nemophora degeerella and several Cinnabars in Ringstead Downs. Also in the Downs were several Volucella bombylans hoverflies, all of the red-tailed morph and several patches of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha at the foot of the east end quarry face.

White Point, Hunstanton, 30th May 2014

Wasp Beetle, Holme NWT, 30th May 2014

Natterjack Toad spawn, Holme NWT, 30th May 2014

Downlooker Snipefly, Holme NWT, 30th May 2014

Saltmarsh Plume, Holme NOA, 30th May 2014

Small Heath, Holme NWT, 30th May 2014

Yellow-banded Longhorn, Ringstead Downs, 30th May 2014

Volucella bombylans , Ringstead Downs, 30th May 2014

Cinnabar, Ringstead Downs, 30th May 2014

Water Figwort, Ringstead Downs, 30th May 2014

Common Liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, Ringstead Downs, 30th May 2014

Foxglove, Ringstead Downs, 30th May 2014

4 new moths, 5 newts, a Peacock, sun, fog and a brilliant sunset

Another glorious day on the patch began with thick fog swirling around the dunes and marshes. It became patchy by about 9 am but dimmed the bright sunshine until early afternoon whenever it held sway. 2 Avocets and 2 Greenshank fed on Lavender Marsh - the former only recently back from wherever they winter. A Cetti's Warbler gave a burst of strident song, unseen, along The River Hun. 2 drake and a duck Pochard were on Broadwater, with several Tufted Ducks, whilst Shoveler were numerous on the North Fields and a lone Fieldfare fed on the still-abundant Sea Buckthorn berries. 230 Golden Plovers and Bar-tailed Godwit fed amongst the Curlew on the grazings whilst a noisy Great Spotted Woodpecker proclaimed from the pines. A light left on in the porch of The Firs had attracted a stunning-looking Shoulder Stripe, a Mottled Grey and at least 5 Dotted Borders and a search of a bunker later in the day revealed two hibernating Heralds - all new moths for the year. Robert had come armed with new sieves, vast flexi-bucket and new gloves so we spent some time sifting through debris on the strand line and on the immediate landward side of the dunes. We collected a couple of vials of beasts to identify - including several snails, a couple of woodlice and something smaller and altogether less interesting. Julia Masson joined Robert, Phil and myself for a moss-hunting session in the afternoon (list below), during which we also found some excellent lichens and 5 Smooth Newts. A Peacock was on the wing in my garden.

Mosses this afternoon at Holme NWT - dunes, dune-slack and a wall

Hornschuch’s Beard-moss    Pseudocrossidium hornschuchianum 
Broom Fork Moss     Dicranum scoparium 
Neat Feather Moss    Pseudoscleropodium purum 
Lesser Bird’s-claw Beard-moss  Barbula convoluta
Heath Star-moss                        Campylopus introflexus
Great Plait-moss Hypnum lacunosum 
Yellow Feather-moss  Homolothecium lutescens 
Redshank Ceratodon purpureus 
Marsh Bryum Bryum pseudotriquetrum 
Grey-cushioned Grimmia Grimmia pulvinata 
Cylindric Beard-moss Didymodon insulans
Great Hairy Screw-moss Syntrichia ruralis ruralis
Sand-hill Screw-moss      Syntrichia ruralis ruraliformis
Capillary Thread-moss Bryum capillare
White-tipped Bristle-moss Orthotrichium diaphanum
Bird’s -claw Bear-moss Barbula unguiculata
Endive Pellia                              Pellia endivifolia

The Herald, Holme 1st March 2014

Mottled Grey, Holme 1st March 2014

Smooth Newt, Holme 1st March 2014

Shoulder Stripe, Holme 1st March 2014

Dotted Border, Holme 1st March 2014

Heath Star-moss Campylopus introflexus, Holme NWT, 1st March 2014

Lesser Bird’s-claw Beard-moss  Barbula convolute, Holme NWT, 1st March 2014

Broom Fork Moss Dicranum scoparium, Holme NWT, 1st March 2014

End of the day, Holme 1st March 2014

End of the day, Holme 1st March 2014

Calm - at last

What great weather today - just about the first this year with little or no wind at all and, until early afternoon, bright and sunny. I bumped into Phil first thing and after a brief look at the sea (perhaps 8 summer-plumaged Great Crested Grebes, 2 Red-throated Divers, a drake Eider and a single redhead Red-breasted Merganser) and around us from Gore Point (about 200 Brent Geese on the shore, 2 Greenshank on Lavender Marsh and a Barn Owl hunting over the grazing marshes) we walked along the beach from The Saltings to the Harbour mouth, noting various creatures along the way. We found:

Whelk	Buccineum undatum
Sting Winkle	Ocenabra erinaceus
Blunt Gaper	Mya truncata
Horse Mussel	Modiolus modiolus
Edible Mussel	Mytlus edulis
Thick Trough Shell	Spisula solida
Edible Periwinckle	Littorina littorea
Slipper Limpet	Crepidula formicata
Common Cockle	Cerastoderma edule
Black/Variegated Scallop	Chlamys varia
White Piddock	Barnea candida
Dog Whelk	Nucellus lapillus
American Jack-knife Clam	Ensis directus
Baltic Tellin	Macoma baltica
Pullet Carpet Shell	Tapes corrugata
Banded Carpet Shell	Tapes rhomboides
Common Oyster	Ostrea edulis
and
Sea Urchin	Psammechinus miliaris

plus at least 3 species of Bryozoans, yet to be identified, and a large sponge of some sort.

Far offshore were two huge rafts of Common Scoter which we estimated, very approximately, held some 5000-7000 birds - by some margin the most we've seen all winter. A closer group of about 200 birds held at least three Goldeneye and one Velvet Scoter which obliged by flying along the shore as soon as I set my scope up on the flock. As we set of back, an adult Mediterranean Gull, already attaining the black head of its it summer plumage, flew over us towards the shoreline. We returned via the track above Broadwater (noting several Winter Stalkballs) and then along the main entrance track. I suggested we checked the wet splashes and pool edges for Water Pipits and as I set the scope up Phil said 'here's one !' . To our amazement, a well-marked Water Pipit gave great views (rare here, though the birds are likely to be much less rare than the few sightings suggest) until it flew off high, in silence, out onto the grazing marshes. It was companied by 3 Pied Wagtails - an amazing tally if we ignore last night's 34 which flew west over the pools, presumably towards an unidentified roost.

New Plants in flower were Common Chickweed and Alexanders and I identified a new (though extremely abundant) moss - Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus. A Chinese Water Deer was in its favoured spot in the field by the reserve entrance mid-afternoon. 

Springy Turf-moss Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus, Holme NWT, 10th February 2014

Water Pipit, Holme NWT, 10th February 2014

Water Pipit, Holme NWT, 10th February 2014

Alexanders, Holme village, 10th February 2014

Two unidentified Bryozoans, Holme NWT, 10th February 2014

Mossin' about

Robert, Phil and I spent much of today looking for mosses and liverworts in Ringstead Downs, led in our quest by friendly local bryophyte expert Julia Masson. As we are at that early stage of learning when it takes about 1000 times as long to identify a species as it does to find one, we quickly amassed enough specimens for many, many hours of work. Sat at a convenient, if decidedly ill-placed table, given the windy conditions, Julia repeatedly guided us through the key and we clocked up a modest tally of species new to each of us. We confidently identified Common Feather-moss Kindbergia praelonga and Rough-stalked Feather-moss Brachythecium rutabulum as the abundant species of both grassy and rocky areas and of the many fallen logs at the west end of the reserve. We  also found a patch of Cypress-leaved Plait-moss Hypnum cupressiforme on a log, a large patch of Forked Veilwort, Metzgeria furcata on a sycamore trunk, Bifid Crestwort Lophocolea bidentata, on the chalk cliff (this liverwort smells strongly of earth), together with Many-fruited Thyme-moss Plagiomnium affine) and what were probably Capillary Thread-moss Bryum capillare and Creeping Feather-moss Amblystegium serpens on a rock at the base of the cliff. In the arable field we identified Bird's-claw Beard-moss Barbula unguiculata whilst on the open, south-facing downs we found Yellow Feather-moss Homolothecium lutescens, Neat Feather-moss Pseudoscleropodium purum and Common Pocket-moss Fissidens taxifolius. Colour was added by numerous flowering Common Field Speedwell and by a single flower of Ground Ivy.

Robert and I then looked, successfully, for the larvae of some mining fly that lives in Stinking Hellebores and unsuccessfully (yet again) for the Stonechats on the beach. 5 Snow Bunting were mixed in with about 30 Linnets on the salt marsh.

Forked Veilwort, Metzgeria furcata on a Sycamore trunk, Ringstead Downs, 8th February 2014

Signs of Woodpecker (presumably Great-spotted) activity in the Downs, 8th February 2014

Common Field Speedwell, Ringstead Downs, 8th February 2014

Neat Feather Moss Pseudoscleropodium purum, Ringstead Downs, 8th February 2014

Common Pocket-moss Fissidens taxifolius, Ringstead Downs, 8th February 2014

Ground Ivy, Ringstead Downs, 8th February 2014

Hazel Catkins, Ringstead Downs, 8th February 2014

Monday 27th January

The sea was very quiet today - 3 Great Crested Grebes was all I could muster and little appeared to be moving save for a party of 62 Snow Buntings which made their way west along the beach. The now very wet North Fields held 11 Ruff, 50 Lapwing, 30 Golden Plover, 40 Curlew, 48 Dunlin and a lone Bar-tailed Godwit. The Kingfisher was, as usual, very confiding in front of the hides on Holme Marsh but three Water Rails feeding in very close proximity to each other, out in the open, was an unusual sight. A bank of Winter Aconites in the village was a sign that the longest nights are behind us. A few more mosses grabbed my attention today - photos, with tentative identifications, appear below.

Winter Aconites, Holme Village 27th January 2014

Capillary Thread-moss Bryum capillare, Holme Village, 27th January 2014

Endive Pellia Pellia endiviifolia, in dune slack, Holme Dunes NWT, 27th January 2014

Great Plait-moss Hypnum lacunosum, Holme Dunes NWT, 27th January 2014

Whitish Feather-moss Brachythecium albicans, Holme Dunes NWT, 27th January 2014