Snipe, Brown Hairstreak eggs and Ladybirds

Common Snipe, Gallinago gallinago

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At Kithurst meadow today I saw 2 Commas plus 2 male Brimstones in the lane. Then at Pulborough Brooks there were plenty of male Brimstones in flight. A sign saying "Brown Hairstreak eggs" attracted my attention near the visitor centre. 3 pieces of green wool indicated the twigs with eggs, with a magnifying glass supplied for easy viewing! In the cafe dozens of Harlequin Ladybirds had hatched and were crawling over the windows. Outside I found a 7-spot Ladybird. A flowering primrose was beside the path. The visit finished with a great view of a Snipe feeding in front of Nettleys hide. A huge number of Lapwings and gulls rose up and wheeled in the air, presumably put up by a raptor.

Brown Hairstreak egg, Thecla betulae

7-spot Ladybird, Propylea 7-punctata

Harlequin Ladybirds, Harmonia axyridis

Primrose, Primula vulgaris

Pulborough Brooks

Common Snipe, Gallinago gallinago

Common Snipe

Lapwings, Vanellus vanellus and gulls

Grey Shoulder-knot Moth & waterfowl

Grey Shoulder-knot Moth, Lithophane ornitopus

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Yesterday I went for a walk in Houghton Forest to look for moths on tree trunks. I found one, a Grey Shoulder-knot Moth (Lithophane ornitopus). I saw a single holly berry and many hazel catkins. In the afternoon I visited Arundel WWT where I saw a Kingfisher on the outside of the reed bed hide, a Little Egret plus many wildfowl at the Ramsar Hide. I met birders who told me they had seen a Crossbill and heard others. No such luck for me though.

  Today I returned to Houghton Forest, this time walking from the Whiteways car park. I found an Orange Ladybird.

Houghton Forest:

Candlesnuff Fungus, Xylaria hypoxylon

Hazel catkins, Corylus avellana

Holly, Ilex aquifolium

unidentified lichen

unidentified fungus(?)

the fungus above on a log

Arundel WWT:

Gadwall, Anas strepera

Canada Goose, Branta canadensis

Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis

Little Egret, Egretta garzetta

Little Egret

Shelduck, Tadorna tadorna

Shelduck and  Teal, Anas crecca

Tufted Duck, Aythya fuligula

Houghton Forest:

unidentified bracket fungi

Orange Ladybird, Halyzia sedecimguttata

Medieval brooch, Littlehampton views and moths

silver Medieval annular brooch

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On October 21st I found a lovely Medieval silver annular brooch (probably 13/14^th Century) on a club dig. As usual with my good finds, it was at the end of the day when most people had left and I had only one person to show it to. I declared it as a possible treasure find and when our new FLO is up and running they will pass it to the British Museum for assessment. Judging by the past history of my treasure items, in about three years it will be bought by a local museum.

I also found a token issued by John Groomes of Stenning (now Steyning), a chandler. One of our members found a scout woggle and I found 6 foreign coins dated 1962 to 1989. I conclude that there was an international scout Jamboree on the site after 1988.

Some moths appeared on our balcony that night: Satellite (Eupsilia transversa), Treble Brown Spot (Idaea trigeminata) and Narrow-winged Grey (Eudonia angustea).

We walked along the sea front to the pier and looking at the photos reminds me of what good weather looked like!

silver Medieval annular brooch, reverse. 19mm diameter

token by John Groomes of Stenning, Chandler 

from 'The Tokens of West Sussex' by Ron Kerridge and Rob de Ruiter

various foreign coins

mouth of the River Arun

Littlehampton beach

River Arun

Oyster pond

Narrow-winged Grey, Eudonia angustea

Satellite, Eupsilia transversa

Treble Brown Spot, Idaea trigeminata

Dog Stinkhorns and Wrinkled Clubs

Dog Stinkhorn, Mutinus caninus

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The Dog Stinkhorn is a small thin, phallus-shaped woodland fungus with a dark tip. It is often found growing in small groups on wood debris, or in leaf litter.

 I visited a colony of hundreds of this unusual fungus growing in wood chips scattered underneath trees. The Dog Stinkhorn was on my wish list so I was pleased when the opportunity arose. There were other fungi present, including Wrinkled Club and some unidentified species.

Dog Stinkhorn, Mutinus caninus

unidentified fungus

unidentified fungus

Wrinkled Club, Clavulina rugosa