As I was walking back from the bar at the Shepherd & Dog in Fulking I had a look at a decaying cherry tree that drew my eye. I walked right up to a specimen of the nationally scarce b saproxylic beetle Oedemera femoralis, wrapped in spider's web and barely alive. Not only was this stonking species a lifer for me, it was my 750th species of beetle. We were there because Mum is down visiting for the weekend. Here she is next to the cherry tree. I suddenly thought after I had taken the photo that it might not have been the decaying tree that had attracted the beetle but rather the light on the tree. I have heard of this species turning up in moth traps, has anyone else recorded it this way?
Just had a great view of a very confiding White-letter Hairstreak feeding on Red Valerian on the way to the pub for a roast. Really close to Fiveways and only five minutes from our house. Sadly, I didn't have my camera on me, Jo attempted to take a picture with her phone but her bag fell off her should and knocked the plant and it flew off out of site.
Here is the photo of Anaglyptis mysticus, an amazing looking nationally scarce longhorn I found at The Mens. I'm off to the Springwatch Bioblitz event at Stanmer Park now.
On the way into town last night I saw five Yellow-barred Brindles and a Least Black Arches on one column of service station. Not bad for a quick trip to a cash point, two local moth species!
This is a bit of a strange one but I think this blog is exactly the place for this! Most of my friends are not naturalists and birders and they find what I do anything from fascinating to hilarious. Explaining birding to people that really do not know much about birds or birding is a great way to expose yourself to ridicule but fun none the less. However, I have experienced on enough occasions for it to be inter sting (5 or 6) a strange phenomena whereby I am asked if I have ever seen a Lesser-spotted Grebe and this happened again last night down the pub. This bird is as real as a Unicorn or a Honest Politician. It led to an interesting discussion about collective consciousness and whether there was perhaps some cultural reference that had infiltrated our subconscious minds (the works of Peter Sellers and Dudley Moore and possibly the Python team were suggested). A quick look on the internet continued the trend with a few references to this 'species' one a piss take of Tolkien's work and another in an episode of Bob the Builder! Actually this was the Lesser-spotted Grebe-warbler in the classic episode 'Bob's Hide'. A quick look in 'Grebes of the World' confirmed there was no such species globally, the closest being our familiar Little Grebe and the Central/Southern American Least Grebe. So where did it come from? The rather pedantic double adjective 'lesser-spotted' is perhaps the sort of thing people would associate with anorak wearing bird spotters (it also contains the word 'spotted' and confuses non-birders in its meaning - is this a bird that is less often spotted?). And grebe is again a bird that few non-birders know but seems to encapsulate birdwatching. So maybe this is an inevitable choice for a bird which somehow represents the negative image that bird watchers often have, despite it being ficticious! I challenge you to find more information on this and to see if we can find a cultural reference or maybe a photo of this elusive species!
A slow walk around Hollingbury Park and the hill fort was about all I could manage after a heavy night on the pop. Hollingbury woods are full of Cuckoo Pint right now and there are hundreds of Early Purple Orchids on the top of the fort. Very few invertebrates around today with colder than usual temperatures. I did see a pair of Kestrels and a pair of Linnets there too.
Saw my first Swift of the year last night over The Roundhill at about 7.30pm.
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