WHITLINGHAM: May counts & patch 1000

8th May 2016

Hot sunny days are great for lazing about, but less great for lugging a telescope around a busy country park on the outskirts of the largest urban conurbation for about 100 miles. The place was packed, so I attempted to be as quick as possible whilst carrying out this months wildfowl count. On the Little Broad a couple of Common Terns were resting on the line of buoys and straw close to the south shore, allowing me to take a few photos. Lone Gadwall and Tufted Duck, three Mallard and a couple of Mute Swans completed the Little Broad count.

The only bird present in any numbers on the Great Broad was Lesser Black-backed Gull, with 87 counted, mostly in a flock east of the island. The drake Pintail x Mallard hybrid that now spends most of its time at Thorpe Green was also present near the island. There is a lot of Greylag Geese goslings about, with a creche of 47 goslings probably representing a minimum of six broods. In contrast I only saw one brood of Egyptian Geese and Canada Geese. Only 7 Tufted Ducks were left, although the broad was quite disturbed. Across the river at Thorpe there were lots of gulls and four Common Sandpipers. Frustratingly a group of people were trespassing on the hingle edge fenced off for Little Ringed Plovers. Why do people feel the need to do this when there is an accessible area for them nearby?

It was my most productive day of the year for butterflies, including two Brimstones and a Holly Blue, neither of which are particularly widespread at Whitlingham. Small Tortoiseshell, Orange Tip and Peacock were also present. The hoverfly Leucozona lucorum was nice to see again, but the most pleasing site was a fly, Bibio anglicum, not because it is particularly unusual, but because it becomes the 1000th different species that I've seen on my local patch. A significant personal milestone, and one which I'll probably write more about as some sort of article.

 Leucozona lucroum

Bibio anglicum

NORWICH: Plantation Garden wildlife workshop

8th May 2016

On Sunday morning I went to the Plantation Garden, a restored Victorian garden near the Roman Catholic cathedral in Norwich. As part of a plan to survey the wildlife present in the gardens and to encourage volunteers to take on the ongoing recording of it, a series of four wildlife workshops have been arranged. These workshops are being run by the Friends of Earlham Cemetery - the first two focusing on daytime insects, the third on moths and the fourth on fungi. Through my links with the Friends of Earlham Cemetery I had been asked if I would help with some of the workshops, so I met Stuart Paston (Norfolk's hoverfly recorder) and Jeremy & Vanna Bartlett for the first workshop.

After a brief introduction about why people record wildlife and the sorts of things to record, we headed into the garden. It was a bright sunny day and we saw a range of insect groups, although not too many of any one group. Orange Tips, Holly Blues and a Green-veined White all flew about within the garden. Using Stuart's expertise we looked closely at some hoverflies, seeing two new ones for me, Platycheirus albimanus and Epistrophe eligans. Several bees and ladybirds, Bee-fly, Common Earwig and a Beris sp soldierfly were all added to the list. Hopefully the participants found the workshop useful and there will be a good turnout for the next one in July.

Epistrophe eligans

NORTH NORFOLK: Baconsthorpe picnic

7th May 2016

With nice weather forecast for the weekend we decided to go for a picnic at Baconsthorpe Castle, a ruined stately home near Holt. It's a scenic site, surrounded by a moat that joins up with a small lake. Despite it ostensibly being a non-birding trip we saw a pair of Gadwall, a Little Grebe and some cygnets on the lake. Whilst we ate our lunch Swallows, Swifts and Skylarks flew overhead, and a Whitethroat sang from a nearby tree. Nearby a bee was flying around the base of the ruins, and when I looked closer I saw that it was a Gooden's Nomad Bee, a new species for me. Rue-leaved Saxifrage was growing on the walls, which was also nice to see.

Baconsthorpe Castle grounds

 Gooden's Nomad Bee - a bit blurry because its in flight

Rue-leaved Saxifrage

WHITLINGHAM: Black Tern watch (none so far)

6th May 2016

Throughout the day there had been a passage of Black Terns, including birds west of Norwich at Colney and east of Norwich at Buckenham, so after work I headed to Whitlingham to check the Great Broad. Other birders had already checked the previous evening and earlier on Friday, so the CP got pretty good coverage, and sadly no Black Terns (or Whiskered Terns, which had also turned up in several places around the country, though not in Norfolk).

It was a warm day, which made a pleasant change as my last few visits have been either cold or rainy. The Whimbrel earlier in the week was my 997th patch species, so I turned my attention to insects on my walk back to the car park in the hope that I would find three new species. A Syrphus hoverfly turned out to be Syrphus ribesii, which I've seen before. A solitary bee, Andrena nitida, on the picnic meadow was new however, and became species number 998. I had high hopes that a crab spider (Xysticus cristatus) would be 999, but having checked with Pip Collyer (Norfolk's spider recorder) he suggests that whilst likely, it wasn't marked well enough to be definite.

 Syrphus ribesii

Xysticus sp.

As it was I did get my 999th species, a small white-flowered plant called Sticky Mouse-ear. Hopefully one more visit will see me reach the 1000 - Whiskered Tern would be nice!

Sticky Mouse-ear

WHITLINGHAM: A patch Whimbrel

3rd May 2016

On Tuesday evening I'd got home from work and seen a message from Drew about a nasal-saddled Tufted Duck at Whitlingham. This was doubly interesting, firstly in that hopefully we can find out where it was ringed (somewhere in France) but also it shows that there is a turnover of birds going on rather than the same Tufted Ducks that wintered lingering. 

Shortly afterwards I got another message, this time to say that Drew had found a Whimbrel. They are just about annual at Whitlingham, but most records are just of birds flying over. This one had landed out of sight across the river at Thorpe. Going to Thorpe Marsh would give me the best chance of locating it, but the rush hour traffic would delay me getting there. Instead I headed to Whitlingham, carried on to the woodland car park and headed up to the viewpoint. From here you can see much of Thorpe Broad, however bits are masked by the trees. Fortunately I managed to find an angle to look through the trees and located the Whimbrel resting on the shingle edge of the broad. It remained there for about another 10 minutes, before calling repeatedly and presumably flying off. This became my 143rd patch bird - many thanks to Drew for finding it and letting me know.

NORFOLK: Bird race 2016

1st May 2016

The first of Sunday of May usually sees Gary, Adam & I embark on our annual Norfolk bird race. This year we were accompanied by Gary's friend Alysia, who having recently got into birding was keen to see some new locations and birds. For any readers unfamiliar with the concept of a bird race, it is an attempt to see or hear as many species of birds as possible within a fixed time period, usually a day. Imagine a sort of amalgamation of Springwatch, a round Britain rally and 24, with lots of product placement from crisp manufacturers and lucozade.

Incidentally the previous day had seen five teams compete in the Norfolk Bird Race organised in association with the Norfolk Bird Fair, which is being held on 21/22 May. The teams were sponsored to raise money for Wader Quest, and raced across East Anglia rather than just Norfolk. If you are reading this on Monday 2nd May you could still donate to Wader Quest here: https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/Norfolk-Bird-Race-2016. If not, then why not visit the Norfolk Bird Fair and hear about it there?

Gary picked me up at four o'clock, and we headed down to our usual starting point on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. On our way we picked up our first bird of the day, a Tawny Owl, close by in an area of Breckland forest. Incidentally Adam had seen a couple of birds already, and during the day some of us sometimes missed a bird and picked it up later, so my sequence of birds will be slightly different from Gary's for example. We also didn't record some of the common 'heard only' birds, knowing we would see them later in the day. What follows is a rough account, including some but not all of the birds we saw.

The next birds on the list were things like Pheasant, Carrion Crow and Magpie, before we stopped to look for Treecreepers. We could hear several, but it took a few minutes before I eventually picked one up on a nearby tree. A couple of Mandarin flew past, the first of three pairs we saw in the area. A Water Rail called and went down on the list as we thought it possible we'd not see one later (and we didn't). Nuthatch and Great-spotted Woodpecker were added to the list, but most pleasingly of all we got excellent views of two Lesser-spotted Woodpeckers.

Heading back along the riverbank we saw Marsh Tits, Green Woodpecker, a Sparrowhawk, two flyover Lesser Redpolls and a singing Garden Warbler. Heard but not seen were Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler and Willow Warbler. A Kingfisher flew downriver, and a Siskin flew over us. The lack of floating leaves in the river meant that we were concerned we might miss out on Grey Wagtail, but handily one flew past us shortly after. Goldcrest, Jay and Coal Tit were handy early additions, so we moved on having seen 42 species with another 7 heard. A look around St Helen's picnic area added Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Linnet and some rather picturesque Mute Swans.

Next stop was some forest rides nearby, where we successfully saw some Tree Pipits. Skylarks had begun to sing, and we saw a Willow Warbler having heard them earlier in the day. A Stonechat was a nice surprise and meant that we could cut out a stop for them later in the day. Our next stop was Lynford, and we headed towards the lakes first. A smart male Bullfinch was visible from the car park, and a Cuckoo and a Common Sandpiper were present around the main lake. In some open land nearby see found some Woodlarks and a Wheatear.

Heading back into the arboretum we heard a Firecrest singing and located it close by. Heading down to the lake we saw a Little Grebe, before heading to the paddocks. A Grasshopper Warbler reeled from a small tree close by, before being chased out by a bird that looked like it could have been a Lesser Whitethroat, but vanished before we could confirm it. Heading back through the arboretum we got a proper bonus bird, as a calling Hawfinch flew over us and away into the trees.

Our next stop was Weeting Heath, but on our way we stopped in Weeting village to add House Sparrow, Collared Dove, Rook and Swift. We were to see lots of Swifts throughout the day at a range of sites. Despite quite a few cars in the car park there was nobody in either hide at Weeting, and we couldn't blame them as there was no sign of Stone Curlews from either of them. This was our first 'miss' of the day, but we were still doing well and didn't have time to hang around so we headed off towards Welney, adding Swallows, House Martins and Red-legged Partridges.

As we neared Welney I noticed a Yellow Wagtail in a field. By the time we stopped and reversed it had gone, but in a field the other side of the road there were several more and also some White Wagtails. Further round Gary spotted a Little Owl on a building roof. He wasn't sure at first, asking if it was a bird or just a knob on the roof, so it wasn't surprising that it flew off before he could photograph it.

 Yellow Wagtail

Little Owl

At Welney we added a few birds from Lady Fen (Shelduck and Avcocet), before heading to the main observatory hide. Here a Little Ringed Plover and two Garganey were the highlights, along with a few Whooper Swans, Common Terns and other common ducks. A Cetti's Warbler sung and we added Lesser Whitethroat, Wigeon and Reed Warbler along the path. A bit further up we stopped at one of the wicker hides. Dunlin and Ringed Plovers were on a scrape, and a Great White Egret was feeding along the back of the pool. A Meadow Pipit became my 100th bird of the day at 11:45, the first time I've got to the 100-mark before 12. After hearing loads I finally saw a Sedge Warbler in the car park before we left.

 Garganey

 Little Ringed Plover

Great White Egret

Herring Gull and Feral Pigeon were additions as we travelled up through Norfolk to Tottenhill, where fortunately there weren't many leaves on the trees allowing us to see a Black-necked Grebe on one of the pits when it swam out into open water. We arrived at Flitcham, where a Red Kite was flying over a roadside field. Our first Egyptian Geese of the day were in a field on the otherside of the road. We had a brief look from the hide, where an adult Yellow-legged Gull was perched up close by. We walked into the village and saw some Tree Sparrows.

 Yellow-legged Gull

 Tree Sparrow

Our next stop was Snettisham CP. Last year we had tried here and not seen much, but we thought it was still worth a go. It didn't look promising with lots of people and dogs running around, but further away from the car park Gary heard a Ring Ouzel calling and I spotted a Redstart perched up on a Hawthorn. With not much other than a distant Marsh Harrier, we headed up to the top path to look for waders. The tide was in, and there weren't any. Darn. Walking back I spotted a Whinchat perched up nicely, steadfastly ignoring the hubub going on along the beach. We then cut back through an area of scrub, and Gary was vindicated as a Ring Ouzel flew out of the area he had heard it in originally.

Whinchat

A quick stop in Hunstanton added Fulmar to the list, before we went to Thornham Harbour. There were less waders than we'd hoped for, but Curlew, Brent Goose, Whimbrel and Grey Partridge were all added to the list. There was even time for me to photograph the hoverfly Rhingia campestris along the coast path. Heading inland we stopped to twitch nine Dotterel south of Choseley, taking me up to 120 species at around 15:30.

Rhingia campestris - note the long 'nose'

At Choseley Drying Barns the star was a Turtle Dove, feeding alongside Stock Doves, a Collared Dove and some Woodpigeon. Yellowhammer was an 'upgrade' from heard-only, and Corn Buntings were a relied have missed them earlier. We headed to Titchwell on 123 birds, with a seemingly good chance of beating last years total of 140 species.

Turtle Dove

Arriving at Titchwell at around 16:00 we checked the sightings book before heading off to Patsys reedbed. Common Gull, Med Gull and Red-crested Pochard were all added from the bird screen, whilst there was another Little Ringed Plover and another Cetti's Warbler called but remained hidden. Scanning from near Island Hide we heard Bearded Tits, but a Turnstone, Great Black-nacked Gull and a Grey Plover west of the the bankwere the only additions. From Parrinder Hide a Little Stint eventually appeared, but we were still missing quite a few waders. We headed to the beach, and a scan out to sea gave us Sandwich Tern and Common Scoter, whilst a single Black-tailed Godwit and some Sanderling were on the beach.

 Red-crested Pochard

 Turnstone

 Little Stint

Leaving Titchwell we were on 135 species, and our options were running out for new ones. A stop at Gun Hill gave us Barn Owl (we had seen one earlier in the day, but it had been in Suffolk!) and Short-eared Owl. Another stop further along added Spoonbill and Pink-footed Goose, taking us to 139 with a couple of hours of daylight left. Surely we could do it from here.

Working out the commonest birds we still hadn't seen it became apparent that most were waders or seabirds. We had a quick look up at Kelling Heath, where a purring Turtle Dove was nice to hear, but no birds were added. Our hopes were pinned on Cley, but we failed to add any birds on the reserve, and only Black-headed Gulls and Sandwich Terns were moving out at sea. Rather than wait around and then attempt to see a Nightingale in North Norfolk we decided to return to the city early and hope that the male Peregrine would be roosting on the spire of Norwich Cathedral. We returned in just enough light, but despite trying multiple vantage points there was no sign of it (the other bird was out of site on the nest platform). We did manage our final bird, a singing Nightingale on the outskirts of Norwich.

So another excellent if frantic days birding, ending just short of beating last years total, and thanks in particular to Gary for driving duties.

YARE VALLEY: Freshwater study group

28th April 2016

Having mentioned finding a Saucer Bug at Whitlingham a few weeks back, Dan Hoare (Norfolk's aquatic invertebrate recorder) had asked if I'd like to come to a meeting of the Freshwater Study Group. I thought it sounded interesting, so on Thursday evening I headed to Wheatfen. There were several other first-time attendees, and two samples to look through, one from a pond at Brundall and one from a dyke near Acle.

First impressions were that it was a bit overwhelming. When I was younger I did quite a bit of pond-dipping, so I was familiar with the basic IDs, e.g. 'caddisfly larva', but had never really tried keying out anything. I had brought my Aidgap key to cased Caddisfly larvae, but it soon became apparent that it was going to be harder than I'd thought. Geoff, who had brought the samples along, suggested that the caddis that I was looking at could only be identified by removing the larva from its case, so I left it to him!

Having developed an interest in woodlice I decided to switch my attention to some water slaters. I knew there were more than one species (three freshwater ones as it happens), so I picked up an old Freshwater Biological Association key and looked up the differences. It turns out they can be identified by head pattern, and I quickly identified all of ours as the common Asellus aquaticus.

Turning next to snails, Dan helped us identify a Planorbis sp, Lymnaea palustris and Radix balthica. There was a bit of excitement as a Water Measurer was found and identified as Hydrometra stagnorum, whilst a Hydra (Hydra vulgaris) was very interesting to see. Many thanks to Dan and the group for allowing me to attend and for the help identifying the invertebrates.

 Damselfly larvae

 Aquatic snails

Water Measurer

WHITLINGHAM: Pair of Mandarin

27th April 2016

On Monday night I headed down to Whitlingham in the evening, and was hailed on and thoroughly soaked. I did see and hear a Reed Warbler before the rain started.

On Tuesday I was at home when I got a phone call from Justin to tell me that his friend Chris had found a pair of Mandarin on the Little Broad at Whitlingham (it transpires that a different Chris had seen the male bird fly over just before). It was getting dark, but they were close to the car park and a nice bird to see, so Cathy & I headed down and managed to get good views of the Mandarin before more rain came. Mandarin haven't been very regular here in recent times, these were my 3rd and 4th patch birds, and only my 2nd drake.

THORPE MARSH: Grasshopper Warblers and common things

22nd April 2016

With bad weather forecast for the forseeable future, I headed to Thorpe Marsh after tea on Friday evening. It was a crisp, cold evening, which ensured that the marsh was quieter than usual, and I was able to scan the broad in peace. I saw a flurry of 'common' things - a Common Sandpiper flew low across the broad, and later I picked up a second bird working its way along the western edge. Turning round I saw two Common Buzzards soaring up over Whitlingham Woods, and from scrub near the river I heard my first Common Whitethroat of the year.

Common Sandpiper, about two thirds across, along the waterline

Despite the low temperatures I kept an eye out for insects as I walked along to the bird screen. Little was flying, but I stopped to look at a Spear Thistle covered in Copse Snails and noticed some small bugs. A closer look told me that they were Spear Thistle Lacebugs, a new species for me and another one for the patch list. I also saw a reddish coloured ant, but didn't identify it to species.

I had almost completed a circuit of the marsh and had yet to hear any Grasshopper Warblers. They don't always 'reel' if the weather is cool, so I checked with Ricky where he had last heard some. With his directions I located two. They hadn't been reeling earlier, so it was just a case of waiting a bit longer. One in particular was very vocal, although as is often the case they remained hidden in the vegetation. As I listened to the louder individual I was treated to a lovely orangey-pink sunset, a fitting close to another excellent local patch evening.

NORTH NORFOLK: Swanton Novers NENBC trip

17th April 2016

On Sunday I attended a North-east Norfolk Bird Club event at Swanton Novers Great Wood. This event had stood out from their programme, as Swanton Novers is a national nature reserve with no public access. There are a number of largely inaccessible wildlife areas in Norfolk for varying reasons. Some, such as Swanton Novers and Sutton Fen are sensitive to disturbance and not suitable for large numbers of people. Different examples would be places like Scolt Head, which are tricky to get to because of the tide cutting you off, or STANTA, where you have the risk of getting shot or blown up. Numbers for the walk were limited to 20, and fortunately I was one of them.

We met at the Swanton Novers raptor watchpoint at nine. The weather was bright but breezy, and rain the previous day meant that conditions were wet under foot. At least three Buzzards soared over the woods, and the sound of Skylarks was constant around us. We also saw Yellowhammers and Chiffchaffs around the watchpoint, and a Willow Warbler called in the distance. The warden arrived and we condensed into fewer cars before heading off in convoy into the wood.

Swanton Novers has a very large species list, partly due to the mixture of habitats present, but also because it has been extensively studied. The most interesting aspect of the day was seeing and being told about the different habitats present. Deep down the wood is on chalk, but covered by acidic soils, which means that there are both acidic and basic habitats present. Some areas are relict heathland, whilst others are ancient coppiced woodland. Along one boundary is a conifer plantation to add to the mixture. Of the pools, at least one is thought to be a natural pingo, whilst others were cut for cattle drinking or for removal of raw materials.

Being fairly early into spring, and with a large group moving about, the birds we saw were largely the expected woodland species. We got good views of Nuthatch, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Marsh Tit, Coal Tit, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Siskin. Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and Buzzard were seen flying over, and we heard Treecreeper and Blackcaps. Bluebells, Early Dog Violet, Wood Sorrel and Wood Anemone were all flowering, whilst Wild Garlic was in bud and it was too early for Lily-of-the-valley. I was told that that May Lily, formerly a specialty here, had died out. I had hoped to see Lemon-scented Fern, but it was too early for it.

 Wood Sorrel

 Bluebells and Wood Anemone

We spent around three and a half hours exploring the wood, and still only covered less than half of it. On our way back we walked down a wide ride that plays host to numerous insects in the summer, before looking at an area of newly recreated wet heathland, where we saw lots of Green Tiger Beetles. Many thanks to both NENBC and Robert, the Natural England warden, for facillitating our visit.

Green Tiger Beetle (honest!)

WHITLINGHAM: April count & Arctic Terns

16th April 2016

There is a strong argument for April being the best month for birds at Whitlingham, so a walk around the CP to carry out April's wildfowl counts seemed to be the best way to dispel the frustration of Norwich City's latest defeat. I hadn't been at Whitlingham long when I bumped into Mark Eldridge, so asked me if I had heard the Lesser Whitethroat singing from some scrub nearby. I hadn't, so after a quick catch up I headed off to have a look. Lesser Whitethroats are scarce at Whitlingham - typically there might only be one or two reports a year, so I was grateful to Mark for giving me directions, and in the end I got good views as it sung away from a small tree.

I went back to the Little Broad and carried on, only to see Mark again. He was listening to a 'mixed singer' Phylloscopus warbler. It appeared to be a Willow Warbler, however in addition to Willow Warbler song it was also giving Chiffchaff song, and occasionally a combined "chiff-chiff-do-do-do-do-do" half-and-half song. Incidentally Drew had mentioned this bird to me last week, but at the time I hadn't heard it do the Chiffchaff bits. It was a very interesting bird to listen to, but after a while with no song I had to carry on with the WeBS count.

At the west end of the Great Broad there was a pair of Egyptian Geese with five goslings, which are always nice to see. I haven't seen the two goslings that the first pair had for a while now, so I fear the worst for them. The broad was fairly empty, with 68 Tufted Ducks mostly condensed into the east half (perhaps the west part had been disturbed earlier in the day?) As I approached the island I scanned further down and noticed eight terns hawking insects over the water. The first couple were definitely Arctic, but as we sometimes get mixed flocks of Common and Arctic Terns I waited until I was a bit closer before putting the news out that all were Arctic Terns. They were mesmerising to watch as they swooped back and forth, replete with their long tail streamers.

I waited for Justin to arrive and see the terns before I continued the count. There wasn't much visible at Thorpe, although pairs of Gadwall and Teal were still present on the broad, along with another 11 Tufted Ducks. Further round I scanned the opposite shore of the river for a Muscovy Duck that has been around Thorpe Green for a while. There was no sign of that, but I did find an orange-ringed Mute Swan. Many of the Whitlingham swans are ringed, but all previously had just been metal ringed local birds, so I was pleased to find one that has travelled a bit further. I have reported it to the East Anglian Swan Study Group and await details.

It was beginning to cloud over, but there was still time to see two more nice birds before the rain arrived. The first was a Green Woodpecker that showed well in the young trees in the conservation area, allowing me to digiscope a few photos. The second was a male Linnet that was singing from a tree along the riverbank, rounding off another excellent patch visit.

WHITLINGHAM: Common Scoter flock

11th & 12th April 2016

Having not been to Whitlingham over the weekend I was keen to go at some point in the hope of seeing a (still relatively early) House Martin. As two Little Gulls had been reported on Monday afternoon I headed down after work. There was no sign of any Little Gulls, but I did see an adult Yellow-legged Gull with some Herring Gulls. I scanned across to Thorpe, seeing a flock of Swallows and some frustratingly distant Martin sp.

On Tuesday afternoon Drew Lyness found a flock of eight Common Scoter at Whitlingham. Having never seen more than one at Whitlingham I was keen to see them, and again called in after work. Seven of the Scoter were still present (one female had flown off east). Drew was still onsite and we watched them swim about and diving regularly. Having gone through the records it appears that this is the record flock size here (previously four) and the first April record, despite there being several in late March.

As the weather became more overcast a flock of Swallows became visible, and this time with the aid of my telescope I finally picked out my first House Martin of the year over towards Thorpe Marsh. There was another bonus bird whilst I was talking to Drew, a Little Egret flying eastwards. There were lots of Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers and Blackcaps singing, a Coal Tit called nearby and two Mistle Thrushes flew over. So a very productive couple of evenings birding, and we still have the Terns to come hopefully.

YARE VALLEY: Wheatfen fungi workshop

10th April 2016

For the past few years the Norfolk & Norwich Naturalists Society have put on a programme of wildlife workshops throughout the year. These workshops are run by local experts, often the county recorder for a particular group, and cover things like where to look for species, how to identify them and what literature/equipment you need to further your interest.

The first workshop of 2016 was held today at Wheatfen, looking at microfungi. Given the rather niche subject I was one of six participants. For the morning session we went through a presentation looking at the various different groups of microfungi, a name that like micro moths is used for convenience but doesn't have any particular taxonomic implications. Again like the moths there are a few large microfungi (such as King Alfred's Cakes), but they also include some particularly small groups like smuts, rusts and powdery mildews.

Having discussed the various groups, we headed out for a brief trip around Wheatfen to look for some microfungi to bring back. We found two rusts almost straightaway, one on Nipplewort and another on Lesser Celandine. Many of these are host-specific, which helps identification! We also found a range of small black growths on the stems of various plants, as well as some larger Woodwarts on Hazel branches.

 Nipplewort Rust (Puccinia lapsanae)

Whilst walking around the reserve in the sunshine Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps sung along the edge of the woodland. Three Brimstones and at least one Peacock butterfly flew along the rides. Whilst searching through a moss covered log I noticed a red velvet mite, but it disappeared deeper into the moss before I could get a good photo. Whilst looking at some leaf litter I noticed two large Craneflies mating. These can be tricky to ID, but the distinctive wing-pattern allowed me to identify these as Tipula vitatta.

As it was a sunny day we moved some chairs outside for lunch. We then headed back inside and had another short presentation before getting the microscopes out and having a look at some of the specimens that we had collected. The session also gave us a chance to have a look at a selection of reference books to see what we found most useful. We finished around four, having had a very informative day.

There are a number of other workshops planned, so if you fancy learning about a new group of species you may be interested in attending a workshop on solitary bees, flowering plants, lichens, seaweeds, grasshoppers or shieldbugs & ground beetles. For more details see here: http://www.nnns.org.uk/content/workshops