A tale of tides & the flotsam of modern life

This week has seen some of the highest tides I have ever seen here at the reserve in almost twenty years. Occasionally the concrete Victorian riverwall may over top a little way and even then only in one or two spots but these tides were big enough to cover it in almost its entire length from the Centre to the end of Aveley Bay and even push across the grass and up the flank of the current riverwall probably to a depth of about a foot.

Just coming over the Victorian wall

The Vic wall completely submerged

All gone...

Rodents and shrews swam to shore and every piece of floating timber was festooned with countless flightless homeless inverts with spiders in all shapes and sizes, bugs and their nymphs, rove beetles, springtails, woodlice and ants.  It really must have been like some epic Biblical scale flood event for them.

A wooden invert lifeboat

Carrion Crows, Magpies and Grey Herons were on patrol but unusually I saw them take nothing on this occasion. 

The intense squalls that pulsed through on Tuesday created some epic sky scapes as the weather systems headed down river from the City dropping tonnes of rain in the process which has still barely wetted the surface of our poor parched marsh.

Rain approaching fast

Yesterday was a lot cooler with a northerly element to the breeze and amazing cloud trains were watched heading our way against a speedwell blue sky.

This morning I headed along the river edge, tiptoeing through the strandline of branches, beams, sticks, grass and the un-natural detritus of human life.  There was perhaps not as much plastic as there has been in recent years which can only be a good thing but it will need clearing up as it will take another super tide to sweep it all back out again.  Thankfully we have some Team Challenge events coming up to help with such tasks.

The high point strand line up the ramp to the Willow

Balls in a myriad of sizes littered the line with foot, tennis and basket being the represented sports while several life rings, a large lemon shaped buoy and a few bits of rope linked to maritime origins.  Similarly, there were many coconuts amongst the debris, quite likely from offerings gifted to the sea by the crews of passing ocean-going tankers and such like.

Shoes poked toes from the rubbish but still seem to be able to find each other in the melange of debris and even though they did not match they still have the urge to be close to another of their species.  Just how single shoes end up in the Thames (or the middle or roads for that matter) has always been a mystery to me.

Coconut

Balls...

There are always tennis balls to be found but this one was enjoying the view

Always disturbing

Giant Lemon Buoy

Shoe blind date

Captain America's missing shoe

There were several wheels but this one had acquired a nest egg.

And in case you were wondering, I did not stage any of these shots; the items are as I found them.

Some of the huge jetty timbers that have adorned our stretch for years have also moved position and an intact leather two seater settee is now positioned on the rocks.  I will endeavour to move it so that it can become a new river watch look out.

New seat for the Motley Crew on Saturdays

As for the fate of the Dominos Pizza man, I can only hope he delivered the Stuffed Crust Ham and Pineapple with extra Pepperoni before his bag ended up in the Thames...

I am sure that there is more to find down here and I hope to get another chance for a poke around in the morning. 

All the while I was out, I could hear Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and Reed Buntings going over and Swallows flicked low along the shore. Several Chiffchaffs fed in the hawthorns and Redwings and Song Thrushes called from the big willow before erupting and heading west. There was a real autumnal feel and the chill air reminded me that October was now with us and that the South West beckoned for a week of lurking in the Cornish valleys.

Posing Flies... RSPB Rainham Marshes 30th September 2019

Monday offered up an opportunity to have a wander around the woodland and so with suitable cover I persuaded Annie to join me for some quality grubbing in the sunshine before the weather closed back in.

What followed was the best insect walk either of us have had this year and harked back to the distant days of Insect Afternoon walks where we discovered, not only a wealth of invertebrate life but gained like minded friends in Phil, Mel and Yvonne and were constantly amazed at the sharp eyes of some of the kids who joined us including the immaculately polite Asa who was ace at finding our first colonising Bryony Ladybirds.

It became a bit of a fly fest with a multitude of species lounging around in sheltered sunny spots.  Almost everything would have been described as lazy or sluggish but this made getting close with the macro bins much easier for Annie and for me without my camera, the chance to get in with my phone and take a snap.

Blue and Green Bottles abounded and we watched one large Calliphora blowing bubbles and then re-ingesting them. I do not think that there is a firm consensus on why they do this but it sort of feels like they are chewing the cud!

Lucilia sp

Calliphora vicina

Calliphora vicina

Amongst the Lucilia Greenbottles were quite a few Neomyia with the shiny green extending to the area behind the eyes and some sneaky bristle counting suggested most seen well were Neomyia cornicina and one was Neomyia viridescens.

Neomyia cornicina

Neomyia cornicina

Neomyia viridescens

Imposing Mesembrina meridiana – The Noon Day Fly – were seen basking and nectaring, particularly on the Ivy and they too were seen blowing bubbles. Annie had never seen this before and was over the moon. 

Mesembrina meridiana

Mesembrina meridiana

Mesembrina meridiana

The Ivy was alive with the thrum of thousands of Ivy and Honey Bees but with very few Bumbles now but there were plenty of flies too with Volucella zonaria, Eristalis pertinax, tenax, nemorum and intricaria, Episyrphus balteatus, Melanostoma mellinum and Syprhus ribesii.

 

Ivy Bee - Colletes hedera

Volucella zonaria

Volucella zonaria

Syrphus ribesii

Melanostoma mellinum

However, the Fly of the Day award went to a little pointy snouted beast with yellow body patches and stripy red eyes that appeared in front of me.  I knew instinctively what it was but with no idea of the name. Andy Reid had taken some macro shots of what Phil Collins identified as Stomorhina lunata, the Locust Blowfly and here it was sitting in front of us. This is a scarce autumn immigrant from Africa and Phil found the first County record here in 2015 I think.

Stomorhina lunata

Stomorhina lunata

Stomorhina lunata

Stomorhina lunata

Over the next ten minutes we watched two males patrolling the Old Man’s Beard and Ivy in search no doubt of non-existent females. I would have to wait till later to dig out the name of this delightful little fly.

The walk around the rest of the Cordite produced many Mottled Shieldbugs and Dock Leatherbugs along with a single Box Leatherbug and Southern Green Shieldbug instar with red and white spots.   

Mottled Shieldbugs and Dock Leatherbugs

Mottled Shieldbugs instar

Dock Leatherbug

Box Leatherbug

Southern Green Shieldbug instar

Countless Musca autumnalis clustered on leaves and benches but the only Pollenia sp was a solitary golden haired beauty that had no friends to actually be a Cluster Fly with. Spotty Graphomya maculata and paddy footed Flesh Flies were skilfully avoiding the webs of the Garden Orbs and there were more Neomyia to be found on the inside than out while Stomoxys calcitrans thankfully decided that neither of us was worthy of a probe that that amazing drill bit of a drinking straw!

Graphomya maculata

Cluster Fly - Pollenia sp

Stable Fly - Stomoxys calcitrans

Neomyia cornicina

A smart little elongated silvergreen Dolichopodid with red eyes was familiar but my pocket Phil was required to identify it as an Argyra sp.

Argyra sp.

Tachina fera were still to be found although they were looking a little faded but I did find another super spiky Tachinid that Phil identified for me as Voria ruralis which would be new to me (not that I have a fly list you understand...).

Tachina fera

Voria ruralis

Voria ruralis

Voria ruralis

A third Tachinid looks like a Linnaemya but my picture is probably not good enough to go to species.

Linnaemya sp

Two Spotted Flycatchers patrolled the Elders for higher flying insects and were scornfully glared at by Annie and surreptitiously admired by me.

Dark Bush Crickets were leisurely slumped across Bramble leaves often with legs at jaunty angles to catch the warmth of the sun and Migrant Hawkers and Common Darters were still hunting although most were showing signs of wear and tear.

Dark Bush Cricket - female

Dark Bush Cricket - male

Dark Bush Cricket - female

Migrant Hawker

Migrant Hawker

The time had whizzed by and a radio call sent us back to the ranch passing more of the same on the way back out but with the addition an aggressive Devil's Coach Horse Beetle and a rather speedy Millipede along with a rather gravid hoverfly that I am pretty sure was Dasysyrphus tricinctus which was also new to me (and yes I do have a Hoverfly list... but that is different from having a full fly list...honest).

 

Devil's Coach Horse

Dasysyrphus tricinctus

I had taken nearly 100 photos on my phone and sorting would take a little while but it was good to be out among the smaller life forms around us in the late autumn air. Hopefully that will not be the last the season has to offer.