Lowestoft Life - 23rd - 26th October 2024

A mid-afternoon potter out on the 23^rd with the now covid free Mr Wren took us to the Sotterley area to have a good shufty around for moth leaf mines and such like. We made three stops around the edge of the estate and found at least 42 different species on a wide variety of herbage including several new for me. The chapel graveyard was particularly good with both the mature Beech and Small Leaved Limes wiggled and blotched on many leaves.

The fallen Beech leaves with Stigmella tityrella mines were particularly wondrous with the still living larva exuding enzymes to keep the leaf immediately around it alive leaving obvious green islands within the nut brown.

Stigmella tityrella 

Stigmella hemargyrella  - the other Beech wiggle

There was plenty of other wildlife with Zig-zag sawflies on the Elm, Green Shieldbugs, Dock Bugs and even a few Dark Bush-Crickets still stridulating while a Peacock was resting up on a log looking like an almost black leaf.

Zig-zag sawfly

Dark Bush-Cricket

Peacock

The Yews in the churchyard had Nuthatches and Coal Tits and Buzzards were vocal but the surrounding farmland was devoid of any birds what so ever as seems to now be so often the case. The hedges were laced with red strings of Black Bryony like gaudy glowing scarlet pearls and the remaining Ivy was still being used by Common Wasps and Hornets, one of which allowed a close approach.   Araneus diadematus were strung across many hedgerow gaps and two of the really freaky Fork-palped Harvestmen that sit with their legs out to the side were found.  There is really a touch of the Alien Facehugger about them.

Fork-palped Harvestmen - possibly Dicranopalpus caudatus 

Fork-palped Harvestmen - possibly Dicranopalpus caudatus 

Black Bryony

Hornet

Hornet

That night the moth trap brought me my first Red-lined Quaker and Large Wainscot of the year and the Girdled Snails seems to be the most active mollusc up and down the fence panels.

Red-lined Quaker

Large Wainscot

Girdled Snail

Oh and a Cypress Carpet from the 23rd that I still had in the fridge 

The 24^th saw me heading down to Marsh Lane in Carlton for an explore.  It was a new spot for me as, although I have driven down there, I have not been able to park up. I was not inherently leaf mining but it quite easy to start notching them up and I ended up with 33 species including several new for me (with Antony’s later help).  I know that they may not be everyone’s cup of tea, even to moth’ers, but like it or not such records are actually probably more important in many respects that those moths that you distract long enough in your garden to descend into your glowing trap.  These wiggles, blotches, folds, seedhead and stem signs are actual proof of breeding at that site in that year.  Many of the species are almost microscopic and dust like and are not even identifiable as adults (or require some very permanent tampering with) and immature signs are the only way to verify their present.

Phyllonorycter kleemannella on Alder

It was a very pleasant out and surprisingly warm again and I found Common Darters and Willow Emeralds once again.  Hornets were with the Wasps and a few Hoverflies.  There were two funky Sawfly larva on the Alders and I also found Parent Bug and several Harlequin Ladybirds. The view out over Carlton Marshes was huge and I popped out just beyond the big line of Poplars that you can see from the reserve.

Playcampus luridiventris

And the second more caterpillar-like Sawfly

A Red Kite and male Marsh Harriers were patrolling and a few Meadow Pipits were disturbed by them.  A Great White Egret briefly lumbered west and two Chinese Water Deer were out in the sedge fields.

A stop later to pick up a prescription from the Victoria Road Surgery gave me a few minutes to check the Beech and Birch by the car and I very quickly found three species on the former and two on the latter including a funky Ectoedemia occultella on the Birch.  A Grey Wagtail flew over calling too.

Ectoedemia occultella

That evening we headed down to Blackheath Wood where a large Oak bough had been removed by someone with a chainsaw and was left by the entrance just crying out for a new home in my front garden.  It took two of us to move it! 

And with the temperature actually going up after dark we headed down to Pakefield Church to check on the still flowering Ivy for any Moths and found single migrant Rusty Dot Pearl and Scarce Bordered Straw, two Common and a Beautiful Plume.  All had to dodge the Araneus diadematus strung across the gaps.  The Bindweed also played host to another new mine with Bedellia somnulentella completely mining out between the layers of the leaves – another for me to look out for.

Bedellia somnulentella on Bindweed

My moth trap was on and Redwings called as I checked it the next morning. Quiet again with two Large Yellow and my first Lesser Yellow Underwing for a while Garden Carpet, Rusty Dot Pearl, Red-lined Quaker and the inevitable LBAMs with 23 counted.

I headed down to Pakefield Beach for a look at the murky sea where I counted 53 Dark-bellied Brent and a few dabblers south along with four Shelduck while a Merganser rocketed north. A female Peregrine was perched up offshore on ANS 2. It was very warm and I decided to take my time an properly look for leaf mines – all the while keeping my ear open for the hoped for Yellow-browed or Pallas’s Warbler. Alas there were no such waifs and just two Goldcrest for my troubles.  I did however do very well on the mines with 32 different ones found.  Still so much to learn.

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Great Black-backed Gull - not often one perches up here

Great Black-backed Gull

Teal

Dark-bellied Brent

Caloptilia rufipennella - early grazing and later stage folds

Stigmella aceris on Norway Maple

Stigmella trimaculella on Poplar

Eristalis pertinax

Mellinus arvensis

German Wasp - there were more of these than Common Wasps today

Mines...

Helophilus pendulus

Harlequin Ladybird

Harlequin Ladybird

Calliphora vicina

I had been noticing many native flowers still in bloom including Dandelions, Yarrow, Hogweed and Hedge Woundwort but back at home I even still have new flowers on Foxglove, Teasel, Ragwort and bizarrely, Cowslip.

Bristly Ox-Tongue

Great Mullein

Meadow Cranesbill

Borage

Creeping Thistle

Hedge Woundwort

Daisy

Ivy

Privet

Black Nightshade

Red Valerian

Pellitory-of-the-Wall

Annual Mercury

Mustard sp

Yarrow

Teasel

Ragwort

Cowslip

Large Flowered Evening Primrose

Foxglove

Dandelion

Red(ish) Campion

An inquisitive Robin

Haircut, lunch at the Lighthouse and then off for a drive around the Broads with a short stop at Hickling where the Yellow-browed Warblers did not make their presence known.  I did however buy a couple of Pitcher Plants from a random roadside stall! Six Cranes and some Pinkfeet were seen in flight on the loop round through Waxham and Horsey before heading back homewards.

The trap last night produced the much desired Merveille de Jour along with Delicate, Black Rustic and a cloud of LBAMs and while out there I heard Tree Sparrows calling and managed to pick up two heading high and south.  A most unexpected garden tick but being coastal now means I have a chance of such autumnal wonders.  A juvenile Marsh Harrier lazily flew east minutes later and I suspect a male as it was quite dinky.  The odd Chaffinch, Linnet, Grey Wagtail, Skylark and Meadow Pipit flew over and 36 Starlings were also seen very high up going south. A Goldcrest moved through the gardens too.

Merveille de Jour with three different backgrounds

Yin-Yang moths - Black Rustic & Delicate

I spent the quite a bit pf the day out the front garden manoeuvring those amazing logs (with able assistance) and they already look like they have been there for ever.  As usual there were some spare fernlets with which to start populating them.  I still find it amazing that the pond was only put in on 15^th February!

15th February

26th October