The Lyons Share

I may be doing less natural history than usual but I still had an amazing year in 2012 so I thought it only fair to pull together some of the highlights and my favourite photos! I saw an additional 414 species in 2012 starting the year on 3735 and ending the year on 4149 species. So, in reverse order then my highlights were:

I found Marsh Clubmoss at Stedham after not being seen for a decade. We also then went onto Graffham and found three RDB saproxylic beetles on a single fallen birch tree including this Diaperis boleti.

Getting the twitch on again is always good value. Common Yellowthroat, Spanish Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Paddyfield Warbler, Kentish Plover, Siberian Stonechat (photo {of a photo}) and Desert Wheatear.

This was the Fern Weevil Syagrius intrudens. A remarkable alien weevil that got everyone excited and was my highlight of the meeting. I hope someone is going to organise an event next year.

During a walk around Iping and Stedham today, I spotted two little green plants in an area of wet heath. A particular shade of green that I know very well so I knew instantly we were talking about Marsh Clubmoss! This is not a common species and the plant was last seen towards the far south eastern side of Stedham, some ten years ago. Scrapes were put in in this area but as yet, we have not recorded the clubmoss in this spot. So it was a complete surprise to find two plants growing close to each other at the opposite end of the reserve. It's great to see that the poaching and bare ground caused by the cattle will have helped this early-successional species get a new lease of life at Stedham. Brilliant news!

The rest of the day followed a similar pattern, with several RDB beetles and nationally scarce spiders turning up at Graffham but after a long day, that will have to wait until another time...

Rushed over to Waltham Brooks to see the Night Heron but dipped. Went out looking for Adder's-tongue Fern at Ditchling Beacon but dipped (two species I have seen before I should add). However, the first thing I saw when I woke up this morning was this crab spider. I thought it looked like a Philodromus and considering I have only ever identified two before (histrio and dispar - both distinctive looking spiders) I thought it might be a tick. It was, being Philodromus aureolus. The literature states it's one of the commoner species and does sometimes enter houses. I was amazed at how metallic the abdomen was when I shone a light on it. That was my 3931st species.

Wow what a day, I just tallied up all the firsts and I added 13 species to my list today (with a LOT of help from Howard Matcham). We went to Wakehurst Place to look at the vegetation that grows on sandrock cliffs. There are some pretty rare liverworts (I saw five new ones day) that show a relict distribution in the Weald where their main stronghold is the north west. This includes this rather fancy (it's glaucous!) liverwort, Calypogeia integristipula. Here it is again with gemmae.

This is also a real rarity, we saw what is most likely to be the vast majority of this liverwort that exists in south east England, Harpanthus scutatus.

Perhaps the most abundant moss on the rocks after the common Mnium hornum is Tetraphis pellucida.

Here is Howard investigating a tiny patch of green on a huge rock. It's amazing how someone elses expertise appears so effortless to them, I'm lucky to be able to spend time in the field at a leisurely pace (I wasn't working today) with such a great botanist!

Not far from there we noticed this HUGE patch of Tunbridge Filmy-fern riding out the hot weather unscathed.

If you think I wasn't keeping an eye on the invertebrates today, you'd be wrong! I caught up with this smart little harvestman Megabunus diadema. Check out his eye-spikes, like a cowboy's  stirrups. However, the thing that got me really excited was an amazing black and red bug called Corizus hyoscyami but I didn't get a photo!

So, all in all I have added 5 liverworts, 2 fungi, an algae, a moss, a moth, a bug, a fly and a harvestman leaving me on 3264! Watch out Martin Harvey I am closing in on you!

We went to Old Lodge yesterday to talk about bird monitoring and had a nice walk around. There are lots of Redstarts there that seem 'exotic' to me in a Sussex setting, the feel of the Ashdown Forest being much more like the north western heathlands I grew up very close to. Lesser Redpolls, Tree Pipits and Ravens added to the feel. I saw two specimens of this click beetle which is a new one on me. At first glance I thought it was Agrypnus murinus that I know from chalk-grassland in Sussex but it was too small and looked too shiny. It's Prosternon tessallatum (my 16th click beetle) and I like its military green colouration, like something straight out of World War II. The patterning is formed by beautiful swirling hairs when you look closely at it, somehow make it appear greenish .

We were also shown the location of the Stag's-horn Clubmoss there, two very small plants that even with a GPS I would struggle to relocate. They are even harder to find than the Marsh Clubmoss at Graffham. Not at all like the specimens I have seen in Scotland. My list is currently at 3244.

I had a great day yesterday showing Jane Willmott around Iping and Graffham Commons. Jane is a new member of the Reserves Team at the Trust and after a hot morning at Iping, we went to Graffham to look at the small area of M16 wet heath that supports Marsh Club-moss, Sphagnum compactum and sundews. The Marsh Club-moss is harder to see at this time of year but we did find six plants. Jane suddenly shouted 'there is a bright green and purple one here!' (referring to a beetle). I new without seeing it it was going to be Agonum sexpunctatum because by a strange twist I had read up on the thing the night before and thought I might bump into it one day at Iping or Stedham, it being a specialist of wet heaths. This beautiful Na carabid is quite spectacular and I assume the Latin name refers to the line of punctures on the third elytral interval, mostly visible in the photo. A great spot by Jane and it rounded off a brilliant day in the field, I'm still waiting on an identification or two before I post the Iping sightings. 

On the way back from the shops just, a big sawfly landed in front of me of the cimbicid type, never seen it before, I must try and get that identified too. My list is currently on 3220.