18th May 2024
An enjoyable visit to the nature reserve at Dickleburgh Moor with the Norfolk Fungus Study Group, seeing a good mixture of insects and fungi. Invertebrate highlights included the hoverfly Chrysotoxum cautum, the weevil Dorytomus hirtipennis and a psyllid new to Norfolk, Aphalara maculipennis, whilst in terms of fungi the rust Puccinia conii on Hemlock and Woolly Woodwart were both new for me.
2nd July 2022
At the start of July I visited Sustead Common, a small nature reserve near Felbrigg, at the invitation of the Felbeck Trust. This small charity do some excellent work managing several small sites and enhancing them for wildlife. My role was to help with a bioblitz they were holding, which largely meant wandering over the site recording whatever I came across, talking about it to anyone who expressed an interest and stopping occasionally for cake and tea. You can read a bit more about the bioblitz on their blog here: https://www.felbecktrust.org.uk/single-post/sustead-bioblitz-july-2nd-2022. Since that blog entry was written I have received a newsletter with the species tallies - a very respectable 371 species recorded, of which 112 were new to the site.
Despite the relatively small site and having recorded here before, I still saw a few new and/or interesting things. A moth trap had been set overnight and having a look at some of the moths that had been caught I saw my first Gold Swift (I'd been wanting to see one of these for a while, partly because I like the swift moths, but also partly because it was the first regularly occurring macro moth on the Norfolk checklist that I'd not seen if you order them by number. That mantle now passes on to Goat Moth). The other highlight from the moth trap was a Hydropsyche caddisfly, which Rob identified later as Hydropsyche contubernalis.
Elsewhere I saw the leafhopper Edwardsiana geometrica on Alder, a Tuberous Polypore, and a Nipplewort plant came held both an occupied mine of Liriomyza puella and the rust fungus Puccinia lapsanae.
Early June 2022
Having barely been to the coast in the past few years, I was back for the second time in a week, this time at Wells. I could probably spend several happy days (at least!) recording wildlife amongst all of the different habitats here, but had to make due with a walk up and down the quayside and the nearest part of the dune system. Still plenty of time for some some interesting finds, including some species new to me. The highlight though was a Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth found nectaring on Viper's Bugloss. I've seen one before, but they are such amazing moths.
Late May 2022
A family visit to Hickling Broad, and despite several squally showers we managed to see two Swallowtails, the latter of which flew through the garden near the visitors centre. My elder daughter enjoyed looking for caterpillars as we went round, with over 20 Garden Tiger and 12 Drinker moth caterpillars found. It was also a good day for Black Colonel soldierflies, whilst new species included Creeping Thistle rust (Puccinia punctiformis) which was abundant on thistles along the long track to Whiteslea Lodge, a case-bearer on willow Coleophora lusciniaepenella, a mating pair of Platychierus fulviventris hoverflies and the psyllid Chamaepsylla hartigi on birch.
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6th April 2022
A brief visit to Whitlingham in the hope of seeing some spring migrants. Other than Chiffchaffs the only other warbler heard singing were Blackcaps, and there were no hirundines etc. After reading a few Mute Swan rings I noted rust fungi on Lesser Celandine and Cuckoo Pint before having a look around the picnic meadow, seeing a very obliging Little Nomad Bee, Nomada flavoguttata.
Late February 2022
Having read an article about a genus of white rust fungi on ferns, I started checking various fern species as I walked around the city. I had no luck on the small amounts of Black Spleenwort and Wall Rue that I came across, and also drew a blank on Polypody. I did however manage to find Milesina scolopendrii on Hartstongue Fern and a few days later Milesina kriegeriana on Male Fern.
Whilst checking ferns and other plants growing on walls I also found various other things of interest. The scarcest find was Black Fern Aphid, Idiopterus nephrelepidis, which was first found in Norfolk a few years ago by Dave Appleton, and at the time was believed to be the first time it had been foud outside in the UK (Dave tells me there is possibly one earlier record that has come to light since, but otherwise it remains restricted to North Elmham). The nymphs that I found were on Polypody in a church doorway.
On the same fern community as the aphids mentioned above I also found lavae of the Fern Smut moth and some Soft Brown Scale Insects, Coccus herperidium. Another interesting aphid, also found previously by Dave Appleton, was Dysaphis gallica on Ivy-leaves Toadflax.
Elsewhere in the same week around the city I found the fungus Septoria chelidonii on Greater Celandine and the liverwort Fullania dilatata.
Early April 2021
A patch visit early in the month started well, with a mixed flock of hirundines containing House Martins, a week earlier than my previous earliest record here. At least two Mute Swans were on nests, and two Wigeon were on the Great Broad along with Mandarin, Mallard, Gadwall, Teal, Tufted Duck and Pochard. There was a large flock of 1st-winter Black-headed Gulls near the end of the broad, but I couldn't pick out anything else amongst them. Heading off into the wooded edge a Stock Dove was singing, and after checking a couple of patches of Moschatel I found some with Puccinia albescens, the second of the two rust fungi that specialise on it (having found the first one in Whitlingham Woods a few years ago).
I then headed round to Thorpe Marshes for my first visit of the year. The water levels were very high and the river had started to overflow onto the path, so I decided to do a quick lap. The pair of Stonechats that had overwintered were still present out on the marsh, and there was success on St Andrews Broad where a winter-plumaged adult Little Gull was with the Black-headed Gulls. At that point I found out that Justin had found two Kittiwakes on the Great Broad! He assured me that they looked very settled, so applying Sod's law it wasn't any great suprise that they had flown off 20 minutes later.
There was however a reprise, with an adult Kittiwake being found at Whitlingham a few days later. Rose and I took a walk along the southern shore of the Great Broad and eventually saw it at the east end. This was only my second live bird here (having also found a recently dead 1st year bird as well as an adult).
