NORWICH: February lichen, moss and aphids

Early February 2023

A few random sightings whilst walking around Norwich. In Wensum Park I had a closer look at some pale 'splats' on the concrete step handrails and think that the lichen involved is Aspicilia calcarea, which would be a new one for me. I hunted around for two of Leif Bersweden's 'Couch to 10 mosses' species - Common Tamarisk Moss (Thuidium tamariscinum) and Springy Turf Moss (Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus). I couldn't find the former, which is more associated with woodland, but did manage to find the latter in St Augustine's Churchyard. Whilst looking for the tamarisk moss I did find lots of Common Feather-moss (Kindbergia praelongia). Back at home some aphids had started to appear on the outside of the house. The small ones were Cinara tujafilina (this is a species associated with cypresses - I mistakenly thought these were Cinara cupressi nymphs when I first saw them last year) and some very large (for aphids) Cinara confinis.

MID-NORFOLK: Brisley church wildlife safari

14th January 2023

There are not usually many outdoor wildlife events in January, but on the 14th county lichen recorder Rob Yaxley hosted a family wildlife safari at Brisley church. It was raining as we drove out to Brisley, but there was still a reasonable turnout for the event. After a brief talk in the church we went outside and had a look for some of the mosses and lichens present on the walls of the church and on the gravestones. Some of the highlights included the lichens Myriolecis (Lecanora) crenulata, Physcia tribacia and Bacidia rubella, plus the moss Orthotrichum anomalum. We then went back into the church for tea and biscuits, followed by a look in the old crypt room and a look at some bat droppings. We were made to feel very welcome and more events are planned for later in the year, so do keep an eye out for details of them.

MID NORFOLK: Barnham Broom Fen fungus foray

20th March 2022

Barnham Broom Fen is a relatively small, privately owned site currently undergoing habitat restoration  and enhancement. The Norfolk Fungus Study Group were invited to visit and survey the site, and we were grateful to Andy for showing us around and telling us about the site, a mixture of fen and wet woodland.

As expected at this time of year most of the fungi found were small species associated with plants. Two species new to me were Calycellina ochracea, a small pale yellow cup fungus, and an unobtrusive lichen called Lecania cyrtellina (found and identified by Rob Yaxley). Another interesting sighting was a woodlouse-like creature that turned out to be a fly larva, that of a Lonchoptera species (probably L. lutea).

WHITLINGHAM: January WeBS and a second patch tick of the year

23rd January 2022

The first WeBS count of the year, and I spent some time around the slipway ring reading, managing 13 Mute Swans, one Greylag Goose, one Barnacle Goose and three Black-headed Gulls. All ringed here or across the river at Thorpe, but at least the sightings are gradually building up a picture that will hopefully be added to when some of them disperse in spring.

Duck numbers were mostly quite low, although 55 Teal was a decent count. Otherwise there was the regular drake Mandarin, 87 Gadwall, 88 Mallard, 10 Shoveler, 4 Pochard and 188 Tufted Duck. The recent Goldeneye and Shag appeared to have departed. There were a few bits and pieces that I hadn't noted on my first couple of patch visits here this year, including a brief snatch of Cetti's Warbler song, a Kingfisher and a Lesser Redpoll.

Of later I have been doing my wildfowl counts in the afternoon rather than the morning so that I can wait until dusk in the hope of seeing a Ring-necked Parakeet that sometimes roosts on the island. I was in position again, and noted how white some of the trees on the island looked (presumably Cormorant guano, which although in some parts of the world is used as a fertiliser, here appears to be killing the trees). At about 16:05 I heard what sounded like a distant Parakeet call. A second call reassured me that it wasn't my imagination, and I managed to pick up the Ring-necked Parakeet in flight and track it as it flew across the island and into the top of a spindly tree. Once perched up it remained silent - had I been distracted or it been a bit noisier I would have probably missed it again, but as it happened I didn't, and I had my second patch tick of the year before the end of January (the pessimist in me says that this just cancels out the two Redpolls that appear to be primed for removal from the IOC list sooner rather than later...).

As with the past couple of years I expect that much of my wildlife recording will be carried out around Norwich in 2022, so I intend spending some time on my more neglected groups including Mosses and lichens. With this in mind I photographed a nice foliose lichen on a willow tree on my way round but haven't yet identified it. It's rather like a dark Punctelia subreducta, but I don't think the underside should be this dark a shade of brown if its that species.

NORWICH: Snakefly and an unusual lichen

First half of May 2021

Various sightings on my walks to and from the city, culminated with the finding of my second ever Snakefly. Identification relies on the pattern of veins in the fore and hind wings - fortunately I managed to get a photo of the hindwing of this one to confirm that it was Xanthostigma xanthostigma.

 

Other sightings included Regal Piercer, a micro moth associated with Sycamore, the beetle Bruchus rufimanus and some Tawny Mining Bees. The first Swifts returned to our housing estate on 9th May, and on the same day I found an out of place Reed Warbler singing from scrub along a pathway at Waterloo Park, well away from any suitable habitat.

Finally, having seen it mentioned online I searched for and found Phylloblastia inexpectata. This is a foliicolous lichen (i.e. one that grows on leaves) and is almost certainly hugely overlooked, with this being the first VC27 (east Norfolk) record.

NORWICH: Early February & a city centre lichen

1st week of February 2021

A rather low key week. Whilst in the city I remembered to have a look at a tree on Haymarket (next to Peter Mancroft Church), which held the yellow lichen Candelaria concolor. It had been mentioned in Peter Lambley's 2019 lichen report in the NNNS journal "Transactions.." and I assumed it would be something I've never seen, only to find out checking my notes that Peter had actually shown me it near Sparham on an NNNS event several years ago.

 

On the bird front the wintering Yellow-legged Gull was still present in Wensum Park when I went that way into work and I heard some Greylag Geese flying over the house early one morning, but I didn't see or hear anything new this week. The only other species of note was the springtail Orchesella cincta on one of the pavilion pillars at Waterloo Park, a species I've seen before but nice to recognise one straight away.

NORWICH: A showy Kingfisher and a new lichen

1st week of January 2021

As we entered lockdown number 3, the opportunities for anything that resembled recreation were cut (other than fishing, which a government minister, who presumably has never been fishing or seen a fisherman decided could count as exercise). Entried for the forseeable future therefore all relate to ad hoc sightings around Norwich.

Five more birds were added to those seen on January 1st, all on my way to or from the city - Jackdaw, Redwing, House Sparrow, Stock Dove (briefly singing from Train Wood) and Wren. I also got some nice views of a Kingfisher perched up along the river near Fye Bridge. I even managed to see a new species, although I couldn't identify it myself so ended up sending the pictures to Peter Lambley, who confirmed my lichen was Diploschistes scruposus.

NORWICH: Plantation Gardens lichens & invertebrates

22nd February 2020

With an hour or so of free time in Norwich city centre I went for a walk down to the Plantation Gardens, a small and sheltered ornamental garden hidden away behind the Roman Catholic Cathedral.

There wasn't much about in the way of insect life, but I spent some time looking at the old walls, seeing a few lichens and springtails that I didn't recognise, plus an interesting fly that turned out to be Liancalus virens, a new species for me. Whilst looking in the flower beds I also noticed Bluebell Rust (Uromyces muscari) on some Bluebell leaves.

 Liancalus virens,

 Lepidocyrtus sp.

Bluebell Rust

NORWICH: A few pre-Christmas observations

Mid December 2019

As Christmas approached I tried to make sure that I got out for a little bit of a walk when possible. One one day I took a circuitous route into the city to follow the river. A few days previously a seal had been seen from one of the bridges at Riverside, presumably the same seal that had reached the city centre in November. I walked as far as the path allowed just past Carrow Bridge, but there was no sign of the seal. A couple of Grey Wagtails and an Egyptian Goose were the only birds of note.

On another day I dropped Cathy & Rose off and stopped at a nearby cut stump. This stump has an amazing display of fungi on - mostly the fairly scarce Hairy Bracket (Trametes hirsuta), but also Splitgill (Schizophyllum commune), Giant Polypore (Meripilus giganteus) and Turkeytail (Trametes versicolor).

On Christmas Eve I called in at Whitlingham for a brief look around in the rain. The broad hadn't been disturbed by boating so there was a nice spread of the same species seen on the recent WeBS count, but nothing new and no sign of that dimension hopping Mandarin again. I had a quick poke around in the nearby scrub and noted Stigmella aurella mines on Wood Avens, plus a nice pattern of lichens on some tree bark, made up of Lecidella eleachroma, Lecanora chlarotera and another one that might be Arthonia radiata (or something similar).