The Whitlingham Bird Report for 2023 is now available to download from the Bird Reports page or from here

WHITLINGHAM: Orange Ladybirds and Scarlet Elf Cups

5th March 2022

Another rainy day. With an hour free I called in firstly at Trowse Woods, then at Whitlingham to read a few Mute Swan rings. At Trowse the highlight was finding a large number of Orange Ladybirds, around 80 in groups of up to 15 on twigs of a couple of large deciduous trees. I also saw some Scarlet Elf Cups, which I took home and incubated until they produced budding from the spore ends, an apparently definitive feature for Sarcoscypha austriaca (which is what almost all of the Norfolk ones turn out to be).




At Whitlingham I saw the local Mandarin, Black-headed Gull Blue 2K91 and 6 ringed Mute Swans before it was time to head back.


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