port eynon/horton sunday 18th

Nice enough day, cool enough to slow things down! Ligia oceanica above (all ids provisional).

Podalonia hirsuta 3 seen

Andrena flavipes in thousands, probably told by the yellow hairy tibia and yellow bands on abdomen (leaning fast I hope).

Same as above

Poor old Bombus lapidarius with a mite load already.

Another tadpole photo?

Underwater photo of common frog tapdoles in a ditch near Bridgend at the weekend. These individuals have absorbed all their yolk, are now free swimming and feeding on detritus and a range of microorganisms. They were about 1.5cm long.

Tadpoles at Middleton

I'm not sure if this is the official collective noun for tadpoles, but Barrie Swinnerton aptly labelled this photo taken in his Middleton garden pond today as a crush of tadpoles.

Pwlldu Head

Scattered plants of Yellow Whitlowgrass (Draba aizoides) were flowering at Pwlldu Head at the weekend and this rather beautiful velvet mite (Trombolidiformes) was out hunting at the same site.

Spotted Redshank at Kidwelly Quay

Spotted Redshank with Greenshanks

No sign of the Long-billed Dowitcher on either side of the Railway Bridge at Kidwelly Quay late afternoon today, although it was reported present this morning. However, the visit was made worthwhile when a Spotted Redshank appeared with a small group of Greenshank. Other notable counts included Goldeneye(1f), Little Grebe(3), Black-tailed Godwit(1), Greenshank(8), Redshank(c150) and Snipe(5)

I've attached a bit of video. The view of the Spotted Redshank is not great in it but I like the way it shows the Greenshank communicating from different parts of the saltmarsh. The distant birds must be at least 300m away

Spotted Redshank video 

The moth season has started

dew-covered wings of a Common Quaker 

The moth season never really goes away, as even in the middle of winter there are species on the wing. But mild March days can produce good numbers of the early spring species and this mornings catch was the best so far for us with totals of 18 Common Quakers, 17 Small Quakers, 5 Clouded Drabs, 4 Hebrew Characters and singles of Epiphyas postvittana, Early Grey and Grey Shoulder-knot, the latter being only the 3rd record for the garden. Hymenopteran interest was provided by a queen Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum). Many moths don't make it into the trap and end up resting on the grass around it covered in dew...

... I should add there is a very rare species called the Dew Moth, but sadly this isn't it!

Tiny Tangerines

This is a slime mould called Trichia decipiens. It's a fairly common species which grows on rotten logs in wet woodland. The fabulous tangerine coloured fruiting bodies are the spore producing sporophytes, which occur on little stalks. They are very small (about 1mm in diameter and 3mm high), but they normally occur in clusters like this, which makes them more visible. You usually find them when you're looking for something else! Slime moulds are often studied by mycologists (people who study fungi) but, in fact, they are probably more closely related to the microscopic animals called protozoa (e.g. Amoeba and its allies). There are hundreds of them in Britain, many are exquisite and the majority of them grow on decaying wood and plant material in woodlands.

The specimen shown here was found on a rotting log in the Clydach Valley near Bryncoch.