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

Sunday, 23 February 2014

Wind and Waterbugs

Today was windy - way too windy to provide productive birding. After rather fruitless forays to the Harbour (Peregrine and 9 Mutes Swans west, the latter landing on Broadwater) and the village hides (Water Rail and an interesting mine/gall or fungus - later identified by Robert as a rust fungus Puccinia smyrnii), Robert and I tried our hand at some early season pond-dipping in a ditch on Redwell Marsh. Rewards were three species of water boatmen:

Notonecta glauca
Corixa punctata
Hesperocorixa linnei

and 2 freshwater snails:

Anisus vortex (Whirlpool Ramshorn)
Lymnaea peregra (Wandering Snail)


Notonecta glauca, Redwell Marsh 23rd February




Ditch-dipping, Redwell Marsh, 23rd February


Caddis sp. Redwell Marsh, 23rd February


Alexanders Rust, Puccinia smyrnii, Holme Marsh







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