Winter Moth

The New Year started with an interesting record – a Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata) found in our porch on the way back home at about 2.30 am on the 1st January.

Winter Moth

Thanks to Brian Neath for the identification and for the information that it is the first Winter Moth record for Skye/Raasay since the Carbost Rothamsted site operated between 1966 and 1979.  He goes on to say “The “winter” moth species tend to be under recorded due to the lack of resident moth trappers and the fact that visiting moth enthusiasts don’t tend to visit during these months.  Northern Winter Moth is very similar but slightly larger and paler and only occurs during October to mid-December.  Other winter species include December Moth, Scarce Umber, Mottled Umber and Dotted Border.  All have flightless females except December Moth.”

2010 Wrap-up

Back from nearly three months travelling around the world, there are a few things that can be added to complete this diary of 2010:

Bruce Ing tells me that the slime mould on our  lawn is Physarum cinereum.  This is a new record for v.c. 104 and apparently the first slime mould recorded from Raasay.

Carole Millington sent me some images of a fungus that Dave Genney has identified as a false morel, “most likely Gyromitra esculenta, a spring species, but possibly G. infula which is more of an autumn species”. Since they were spotted near Dunvegan Castle in October, perhaps the latter is more likely.

False Morel

Philip Sansum sent me an excellent set of nearly 400 Skye records from early October and Robin Walls sent me over 800 records from time spent on Skye around the Field Meeting in July.  Tantalisingly, he recorded Arum maculatum (Lords-and-Ladies) but has since had possible second thoughts – I know the feeling well! This would be the first record localised to better than a 10km square and the first record since 1950. An early target for 2012.

Sarah McGrory sent records from Rum including many for Arabidopsis petraea (Northern Rock-cress).

A report for the second half of 2011 has been put on my home page.

This Blog Will Hibernate Soon

This blog is going into hibernation.  There will probably be no more posts until 2012.

A few things I have missed:

In late August I sent some scat from Raasay to Roger Cottis who assures me it is hedgehog. This is the first Raasay record for hedgehog and if more than one are present, not good news for ground-nesting birds.  I wonder how it/they got here?

The swallows finally left a couple of days ago – 29th September I think. I counted about 40 a few days earlier on the wires by the house – the same as last year.

The specimen of ergot on Nardus stricta (Mat-grass) has gone to Kew as there is only a single collection on this host that has been databased at Kew. Martyn Ainsworth says “I’m sure it is Claviceps and it will be assigned to purpurea for now (although quite how the fungus has co-evolved with its different grass hosts is probably not fully worked out yet). The size of the sclerotia is likely to match the resources available hence large on Spartina and tiny on Nardus.”

Four curious “weeping” Salix purpurea (Purple Willow) trees were spotted by the old road not far from Broadford:

Salix purpurea

and a dozen black poplars have sprung up by the main road not far away:

Populus sp.

Yesterday there were several patches of slime mould on the lawn. I think this is Mucilago crustacea:

Slime Mould

Return to Dunvegan Head

Yesterday was a beautiful day that merited an expedition. I decided to return to Dunvegan Head, the site of the July Field Meeting and see if I could spot any of the old records we had failed to re-find.  In particular I was looking for Viburnum opulus (Guelder-rose), Lycopodiella clavatum (Stag’s-horn Clubmoss), Dryas octopetala (Mountain Avens) and Saussurea alpina (Alpine Saw-wort).

I had most hope of the Viburnum as we had not gone into the gorge where it was recorded, but  despite adding quite a few species to the July list for that tetrad, I could not spot any V. opulus.  The Lycopodiella was more of a forlorn hope as we had looked for it in July and the area of heather from which it had been recorded had clearly been burned not too many years ago. Again I failed.

On the western side of the Head I also failed to find the Saussurea but there was quite a lot of Dryas, which was the one I was most hoping to find:

Dryas on Dunvegan Head

All in all I added forty plant records to the four tetrads I visited.

I found an additional site for Carlina vulgaris(Carline Thistle) not far from one of the July sites:

Carlina vulgaris

and there were still a few flowers on the Silene acaulis (Moss Campion):

Silene acaulis

I found a moth that Brian Neath has identified as a Treble-bar, and there were Heather Flies (Bibio pomonae) about.  There was a colony of the solitary bee Colletes succinctus(Common Colletes) and I managed to get a photo of one:

Colletes

I spotted what appears to be Ergot on Nardus stricta (Mat-grass):

Ergot on Nardus

There were lots of fungi and I have asked Ern Emmet to look at these two which I think may be Hygrocybe cocccinea

Hygrocybe cocccinea?

and Lycoperdon perlatum

Lycoperdon perlatum?

The birds were the usual mix of buzzards, ravens, rock doves golden plovers etc., but I also had a fine sight of a peregrine.

Pirri-pirri Bur

Acaena inermis(Spineless Acaena), one of the pirri-pirri burs, has been known on Raasay since the 1930s. Since 2004 I started to find it on Skye not far from Raasay.  Recently, John Philips reported it from the old road in Sleat some considerable distance from previous records.  Here it is in all its glory:

Acaena inermis in Sleat

More Moths

Another go with the moth trap towards the end of August yielded about ten species clearly identified by Brian including

Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

and

Square-spot Rustic

I am planning one more go if we get any dry weather in September and then I shall be away for some time…..

Heather Beetle Damage and Solitary Bees

I went with Emby to assess the damage done to heather at the north end of Raasay last week, which turns out to be quite extensive.  This year’s attack turns the heather a foxy red colour; plants attacked earlier are just dead:

Heather Beetle Damage on Eilean Tigh

We also found a large colony of the solitary bee Common Colletes (Colletes succinctus) that thrives on heather – another good reason to maintain a healthy heather population in the area.

Wall Lettuce

Jackie Parry has sent me details of Mycelis muralis (Wall Lettuce) at Luib where it has grown from a small plant on a wall about five years ago to a number of large plants all over her garden.  Known in the Broadford area for at least 50 years, other records on Skye are very few and far between.

A Day on the Limestone

I have  never seen Gentianella amarella (Autumn Gentian) or Epipactis helleborine (Broad-leaved Helleborine) on Skye and I have recently become aware of two additional sites for Potentilla crantzii (Alpine Cinquefoil).  All these are in the Suardal/Torrin area on the Durness Limestone.

I only found one of these species today, the gentian, which is subsp. amarella:

Gentianella amarella subsp. amarella

I hope to have better luck with the cinquefoil next May when it will be in flower.

There were some late-flowering primroses:

Primula vulgaris

and white-flowered Centaurea nigra (Common Knapweed):

White Knapweed

I checked up on the only known plants on Skye of Asplenium ceterach (Rustyback Fern), which were in good health:

Rustyback

The limestone pavement had plenty of Epipactis atrorubens (Dark-red Helleborine) and in some places there was Calmagrostis epigejos (Wood Small-reed) and Elymus caninus (Bearded Couch) growing together in the grikes.

Finally, a view of Loch Cill Chriosd from the south with lumpy foreground interest:

Loch Cill Chriosd

Moth Trap

I had my first go with a moth trap a couple of nights ago.  It is a Heath type and I trapped or attracted to the adjacent wall about 25 moths of about a dozen species.  Also two wasps and more than enough midges.

Brian Neath has kindly identified the images I sent him which included:

Common Rustic

and

Ingrailed Clay