I think I have posted more mail in the last year that I have
in the last ten and as such I had another walk out this morning from home via
the Post Office and then up the hill towards Frindsbury All Saints Church.
The camera did not come out till I was nearly there and the
view opened up down over the Medway towards Chatham. A limestone retailing wall on the gardens behind
me had Red Valerian with a blister gall on the leaves that required some Googling
later and some wonderful cushions of Moss and the first of many Lichens to
distract me on my walk.
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Bryum capillare - thanks Enid
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Syntrichia ruralis - thanks Enid
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Syntrichia ruralis |
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Syntrichia ruralis |
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Trioza centranthi blister gall - it is a sap-sucking hemipteran bug |
Now, I am no Lichenologist but they are delightfully
distracting in their shape and colour with their little cups, horns and other
curious protrusions. Bob and Enid helped
me the other day and so as I wish to publish today’s exploits before Easter, I
shall just post the pictures today and leave the id labels for when I can avail
myself of both their services. As you will see I got slightly absorbed in them
throughout the day...
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Caloplaca flavescens
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Physcia adscendens |
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Lecanora campestris |
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Xanthoria parietina |
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Lecanora campestris |
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Xanthoria parietina |
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possibly Verrucaria baldensis |
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Xanthoria parietina
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possibly Melanohalea elegantula |
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Xanthoria parietina |
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Xanthoria calicola |
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Physcia adscendens
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Xanthoria parietina |
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Caloplaca citrina (green) Lecanora albescens (white) All of the above were on gravestones
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Anyway, there were plenty to look at throughout the
graveyard with different forms on different stone types but I also found some
tiny pupae on a carved English Rose but I was not sure if they were from a moth
until I spoke to Antony who informed me that they are indeed a Bagworm moth
called Luffia lapidella who live a parthenogenic all-female wingless existence!
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Pupae of Luffia lapidella - a Bagworm moth
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The Jays were being very noisy in the big Yew tree once
again but there were still no roosting Tawny owls and only a couple of wide
eyed plump Woodpigeons.
More twig loving lichens now caught my eye as I headed down
the lane toward Temple Hill STW along with many spent Oak Apple Galls complete
with the neat little exit hole where the wasp emerged and the Horse Chestnuts
already had sticky buds pointing skyward in an attempt to herald spring.
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On the Parsonage brick wall
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Probably the same for the above twig shots |
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Horse Chestnut buds
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Spent Oak Apple Gall
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Phytomyza ilicis on Holly - fly mine
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As I had my Muckmasters on for the first time, I decided to take
the short (almost pointless) footpath through the field to my left that leads
back up to the road (noting more Lichens on the stile as I crossed!). The field was nice and wet and I managed to
get right down to the now full stream that wends its way past the sewage
works. There was a nicely flooded
overspill area that I squelched around in the hope of at least flushing a
Common Snipe, if not something better but there was nothing – not one
bird.
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Three above are Lichen on an old wooden stile
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Redwings were in the bushes but it was quiet so I said hello
to the four rugged horses in the field and made for the other side and the gate
out and onto Upnor Road. I had never
walked this windy road as it has always felt a little dangerous but the field
were flooded when I drove past last Friday so I was hopeful of some wildlife to
be seen but alas they water had all gone leaving a couple of puddles with a
Woodpigeon having a bath. Hang on a minute... that’s not a pigeon! It was in
fact a female Sparrowhawk and despite the 40 yards between us I managed to take
a few shots of her avidly flapping in her puddle without her flying off
immediately or me getting mown down.
I stopped and had a coffee at the Frog Island Pond which has
had some good conservation work done to open up the water again but there were
no errant Jack Snipe or Rails around the edges of Redpolls in the Alders.
The verges were strewn with a wreck of obviously windblown migrant
Mills & Boon most of which appeared to have succumbed in the recent wet and
windy conditions. The one pictured below
was from the Eastern Mediterranean and was in better shape than most and may
even have been given a second chance if it had been swiftly taken to nearby
rescue centre...
I spend at least part of any walk on roads and pavement and am well aware that sometimes this can be
dangerous but I keep my ears and eyes open and am always facing the oncoming traffic
but what I did not expect on a nice straight piece of road was for a battered
Astra with five lads in it to speed up towards me with hand on the horn and
then veer as close to me as possible whilst calling me a ‘corpulent, ladies reproductive
region who should go forth and multiply in the ditch’.
I did not even twitch and I think the driver was more scared
at that fact and just how close he had actually come to collecting me as they careened
off down the road in a cloud of pungent hash.
I waved vigorously with a single finger and a smile and ambled on with
the sudden urge to find something to eat. Now where was Coelho’s cake cafe?
Pastry in hand I swung onto Upchat Road and followed it up
and over the Grain road to the roundabout for the old Chattenden Barracks passing
more Lichens on trees on the way but no woodland birds at all.
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Flavoparmelia
soredians on English Oak
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Flavoparmelia
soredians on English Oak |
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On Wild Cherry
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On Ash |
I dithered about which way to go; hang a left and follow the
roads all the way home or go straight on and into the woods for a loop back
through Dillywood Lane. I opted for this longer option as at least I would see
a bit more countryside this way even through it was still mostly on tarmac.
Buzzards mewed overhead and a party of Long-tailed Tits and
Goldcrests moved across the road. I cut through the woods but they were in a
complete mess after the trail bikes and such like from the weekend so I cut
back to the main drag and ambled through the silent trees. The stream was flowing well under the iron
MoD bridge and rivulets were joining it from all directions. ‘Ooo... look some
lichens on the metal work!’ said Howard.
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Common Buzzard
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Churned up...
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On iron bridge
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On iron bridge
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The Ash trees lining the last bit of the walk before Haven
Steet were smothered in a selection of grey Lichens to such an extent that I do
not think that I could see much on the way of bark. A few Redwings came up from
the verge and a Green Woodpecker distantly yaffled.
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I have seen this little neglected Morris each time I head this way but there has always been another wreck in the way precluding a shot...
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The Raspberry tunnels all had their covers down for the
winter as I came down Common Road and the frames cut some interesting geometric
shapes against the skyline while down along Dillywood Lane the Rhubarb crowns
were just beginning to push through their straw mulch like lime green bunched
fists on skinny red arms. I was pleased
to discover what I think are some Liverworts on the roadside bank.
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Crescent-cup Liverwort - Lunularia cruciata |
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Rhubarb |
I noted some of my now usual Fly and Moth mine suspects on
Bramble, Cow parsley and Alexanders as I continued up the lane and the big
Pyrancantha hedge by Dillywood Nursery was unsurprisingly well populated with Phyllonorycter
leucographella moth mines. A large concrete post and the bridge back over the Grain
road added this medium to my Lichen sites for the day!
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Phytomyza chaerophylli - fly mine
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Caloplaca flavescens |
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Caloplaca flavescens |
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Caloplaca flavescens, Lecanora albescens and Physcia adscendens. All above on concrete
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Phyllonorycter
leucographella on Pyracantha
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I headed for the Strawberry tunnels which were similarly
open to the sky and the patterns they made were even more complicated than the
raspberry ones. Rabbits scampered off on
front of me flashing white undertails and one stopped long enough to give me a
hard stare before a clattering of Woodpigeons brought it to its senses. A pair of Kestrels were patrolling the field
edges and a flock of Fieldfare chacked from the top of a big Ash and were the
the first of the walk while a male Green Woodpecker played telegraph pole hide-and-seek with me.
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Green Woodpecker |
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male Kestrelreen Woodpecker |
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Bunneh! |
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The view northeastish towards the Kingsnorth jetty in the middle and Sheerness docks out to the left. The hump is Sheppey.
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From here it was back on the road for the last stretch where
several verge plants were doing their best to flower despite the fact that the
councils mowers area still doing the rounds before I cut through Rede Common
where Redwings were still foraging on Ivy berries.
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Groundsel |
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Shepherd's Purse
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Dandelion and Common Mallow leaves
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Daisy |
It was only meant to be a short amble today but with my
phone on the way out I did not turn on the mapping function but it was
somewhere near the ten mile mark.
Let’s hope the weather holds for another walk at some stage
this week.
Those Ash trunks are beautiful
ReplyDeleteThey are amazing when you get close up... wonder how many species are in that view?
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