July 2023 - A Year in the Valley

Swifts and other birds

I mentioned back in June that I was having trouble taking photos of birds in the valley. I would have no trouble inventorising the birds in the garden – around the bird feeder, in the shrubs and on the lawn and flower beds. The watermeadow, though, is much more difficult because the birdlife is either tucked away in dense foliage or speeding up and down the valley, as is the case with the swifts.

After a few days of scanning the sky with my camera, I managed to get a fairly decent photo of a couple of swifts. These are not over our actual airspace, but, trust me, they were flying through!

Mostly, I’ve not focused on the birds, as the majority will still be here over the winter, when the wildflowers have finished, and the bugs are hibernating. Obviously the swifts and house martins have been exceptions, as they are summer visitors.

Other birds that I have seen in the valley are buzzards, a sparrowhawk, and a kestrel; magpies, pigeons, pheasants, goldfinches on the telegraph wires, and long-tailed tits. There was a crow family with white markings, though I haven’t seen them recently, but there is often a crow on top of the sea buckthorn. I have seen a greenfinch and a couple of bullfinches recently, and a woodpecker on the telegraph pole. A chiff-chaff regularly makes his presence known. A female blackbird makes a commotion every spring when she is nesting. Then there is a heron, an egret, seagulls flying up and down the valley at the beginning and end of the day. Finally, moorhens and mallards are on next door’s pond, but we will have to wait till the winter floods to see them in our watermeadow. All of these birds I hope to spot again, to photograph and tally.

Daisy D

31 July 2023

Birds

Swift

Common Daisy (Bellis perennis)

A Common, or Lawn Daisy peeping up from the grass is quite a rare thing down in the watermeadow, only really occurring on the grass paths that we mow occasionally. Bellis perennis means ‘beautiful perennial’, which is what it is. The colloquial name ‘Daisy’ means ‘Day’s Eye’ and refers to the heliotropic nature of the flower which follows the position of the sun across the sky during the day and then closes its petals at night to open them again come daylight. The Common Daisy is in flower from March to September and the flowers are actually a bunch of tiny flowers on a single stalk, mimicking a single flower.

Daisy D

30 July 2023

Flowers

Common Daisy

Other stripy things that fly

Flying things are notoriously difficult to photograph and even when they look as though they are settling, you have to be quick as they are constantly moving even in the flowers. There were many bees on the Mallow and Toadflax. This one was distinctly ginger with black stripes. I identified it as a Common Carder Bee.

This is a Melanostoma mellinum hoverfly, one of the most common hoverfly species in the UK. It is found in grassland. It doesn’t have a common name, as we tend to just call it a hoverfly, but the Wildlife Trust says there are over 280 species of hoverfly in the UK. This one has the big-eyed head of a fly in a russet-red colour, and a black and yellow body in W-stripes.

Daisy D

29 July 2023

Insects

Common Carder Bee, Hover Fly

Two Wasps

There were wasps round our tall willow. Many wasps. We decided to leave them, as it is better to have them out here than in the eaves of the house. These wasps seemed happy in the environment of the Willow tree.

I took two photos of wasps and noted the different markings. I assumed they were both Common Wasps, just with individual markings. I knew they weren’t Hornets or types of solitary wasps because they had the regular wasp shape and colouring. However, the German Wasp, also common in the UK, has separate dots and thinner stripes on its back, so I think I’ve got one of each here. The German Wasp is above and the Common Wasp is below. The definitive way to identify them is to look at their faces. The German Wasp has three black dots on its face. However, I wasn’t going to get that close to find out!

I haven’t seen a wasp nest in the tree yet and the fact that the two different wasps in the environment indicates that they might have been just visiting. The Common Wasp is on a bindweed leaf near the willow, anyway. So what were they doing? Adult wasps eat only sweet foodstuffs like nectar and honeydew (and sweet picnic foods!). They live for so little time that they only need the carbohydrates to keep going, not proteins for bodybuilding. One source of honeydew is the trail that aphids leave behind them. So it is likely that both these wasps with their heads down to the surface of the leaves, were feeding on honeydew deposited by aphids. And why so many wasps had made their way to the willow tree on a hot, sunny day.

So, what is the point of wasps? Well, wasps prey on caterpillars, spiders and other insects, which they take back to feed to their young. In doing so, they keep the numbers down and balance the ecosystem. Also, in travelling from plant to plant they do their bit towards pollination. So, they do have their uses, after all.

Daisy D

28 July 2023

Insects

Common Wasp, German Wasp

Common Toad

There have been dozens of young frogs and toads all over the grassy paths of the watermeadow. The pond has been so overgrown that we missed the tadpoles. I think we have seen both frogs and toads, but they have been so little and quick that we haven’t managed to get a good photo. In the end, Mr C caught this little toad, and then placed it back in the grass where I had my camera ready-focused for a photoshoot! We know this one is a toad as it was dry-skinned, and you can see the warts!

There are only two types of toad to choose from. The Natterjack Toad, although it likes the coast, has a definite yellow line down its back and is greener in colour. So, this is a Common Toad, clearly browner in colour and no stripe.

We had a toad in our greenhouse for a long while. We called him Terence, and he kept the greenhouse free of slugs and snails. Maybe one of his offspring will make it up the garden and become a new tenant.

Daisy D

27 July 2023

Animals

Common Toad

Yellow Dung Fly and Housefly

The Yellow Dung fly is common especially where there are cattle. There were cattle in the fields across the valley from us a few weeks ago. That said, it will breed on dung from a variety of animals including dogs, of which there are many locally. The adult flies eat insects and nectar. The larvae, which hatch out in the dung, eat other insect larvae that have also hatched out in the dung.

I wasn’t expecting to see a housefly in the watermeadow, but I suppose they have to come from somewhere. They eat rotting plant matter as well as carrion and animal dung.

The most interesting things about houseflies are its eyes, mouth, and feet. The eyes of a fly are compound, which means each eye is made up of thousands of simple eyes and the result is a mosaic view, not as detailed as a human eye, but wider-angled. The housefly cannot bite as its mouth is capable only of sucking and sponging up its food after dousing it with digestive juices. The feet can adhere to vertical or overhead surfaces by means of the sticky substance produced by pads on their feet.

Daisy D

26 July 2023

Insects

House Fly, Yellow Dung Fly

Brown Butterflies – Wall Brown and Meadow Brown

This is the Wall Brown, living up to its name resting on a bit of dry-stone wall that stops our ramp from collapsing onto the steps. Look how its white dots seem to pop out of the picture!

I wanted to know why so many butterflies have vibrant dots. There are a few hypotheses about this. The large ‘eyespots’ like those of the Peacock butterfly will fool predators into thinking that the eyes are of something much larger and more dangerous. At the very least some are put off or confused by a jazzy wing pattern. Smaller bright dots, like those on the Wall Brown serve as targets to divert predators from fatally wounding the butterfly by going for its head or body.

The Wall Brown is found in grassland and the caterpillars are found on various grasses including Cocksfoot grass, which we have here.

The Meadow Brown is also found in grassland and the caterpillars would have been enjoying our Cocksfoot grass. It is quite common, and we have been chasing this one for a couple of weeks trying to get a good photograph. At last it settled on the buddleia which overhangs our ramp.

Daisy D

25 July 2023

Butterflies, moths, caterpillars

Meadow Brown, Wall Brown

Two bugs – Cinnamon Bug and Thick-legged Flower Beetle

This is the Cinnamon Bug. There are three similar black & red bugs – the Plane Tree Bug and the Fire Bug – but the Cinnamon Bug has a kite-mark V on its back topped with two little heart-shapes and the two polka dots below. The others have distinct and different markings.

They like dry habitats and this one was found on the bank (Vole County) which leads down to the watermeadow and is home to several grasses and wildflowers. They feed on a variety of plants. They are currently mostly found in south-east England but are becoming more common throughout.

I had never noticed this beetle before. He looks as though he is made of metal, like an old-fashioned Matchbox car. He is a Thick-legged Flower Beetle, and I can be confident that he is a male, because only the males have the swollen legs, which look like two tiny Christmas baubles. This beetle is a pollinator of meadow flowers, feeding on pollen and nectar, and I spotted him on the bank of the watermeadow. Adults lay eggs inside hollow stems, so that the larvae can feed and grow hidden from view until they are ready to emerge.

Apparently this is one species that is growing in its distribution, previously found in localised spots in the south of England, they are now common throughout southern England, Wales, and further north. Although they have predators, they are thought to be equipped with a blistering chemical called Cantharidin, like the Blister Beetle family. This is interesting because they are actually in the family of False Blister Beetles. False Blister Beetles look like Blister Beetles but don’t generally contain Cantharidin.

Daisy D

24 July 2023

Insects

Cinnamon Bug, Thick-legged Flower Beetle

Wild Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum)

We had some teasels in our top garden. They are biennial. The first year, they looked like giant primrose leaves. We had no clue what they were, but we thought, let’s leave them and see what happens. They didn’t die back in the autumn, but the following summer they grew taller and taller, up to 2m, and we only realised what they were going to be when the iconic teasel-heads started to appear. The dried out hollow teasels were still standing in early spring this year, while a new generation of first-year teasels had started. Down in the watermeadow, meanwhile a couple of clumps of second-year teasels seemed to spring out of nowhere, as we obviously didn’t see the telltale leaves last summer.

There is another type of Teasel, Fuller’s Teasel, that has escaped from cultivation. Those teasels were grown to use in the textile industry. They were set on rollers to brush the cloth to give it a softer and more luxurious feel.

Daisy D

23 July 2023

Flowers

Wild Teasel

Tortoiseshell and Small White

I just love this butterfly! It has such intricate markings – so beautiful and I particularly like the way its blue mosaic edging seems to mimic the tiny buddleia blooms it’s feeding from. This is a Small Tortoiseshell. The Large Tortoiseshell has more pronounced ‘swallow tails’ to its wings, but a less striking border. Also it is declining in numbers, whereas the Small Tortoiseshell is more common. Back in my Nettles post, small tortoiseshells were mentioned as a species whose caterpillars eat nettles. I’d say it’s definitely worth a few nettle stings to see a sight like this.

I had to look long and hard at this one to make sure that it was actually a Small White. I went back to my Green-veined White post. Had I got that one wrong? The two seemed so similar. I read and followed my diagnostic process all over again. Sure enough, there were differences. Obviously neither are the Orange-tip or the Large White. The Green-veined has more noticeable veins, the black tip goes patchy across the upper edge of the fore-wing, darker wing-backs and two black dots which mark it out as female. The Small White has definite black wing tips, lighter wing-backs and one dot, which means it is a male.

Then, Mr C pointed out that the wing-shapes differ. The Small White has quite a triangular fore-wing, while the Green-veined White’s is more rounded in shape. Below I’ve put the two photos side-by-side so you can make your own comparisons.

Daisy D

22 July 2023

Butterflies, moths, caterpillars

Small White, Tortoiseshell