Shotesham - a whiff of spring?

Well, quite a busy weekend here in Shotesham. Both days this weekend have been dry, and there was even a bit of sunshine. Not a lot, but a bit. I have added a fair few new species, and still have quite a lot more in pots awaiting some work but it's too late now to keep going. Here's the new ones...

[First up, one late entry - the teeny spider I identified as Erigone longipalpis a few weeks back has since been confirmed as E. atra instead. Not too despondent - was rather pleased to get the genus right!]

Chickweed - no flowers yet, but the single line of hairs on the stem is sufficient I believe

Hazel Woodwart - had seen blobby fungus a while back, but only just gone back and confirmed it was on hazel.

Skylark - at last, one sang within the square

Geophilus flavus - cool centipede with long antennae

Allolobophora chlorotica - a green worm that seemed to check out fine for this species

Barnacle Goose - our regular visiting flock from the naturalised population in E Norfolk/Suffolk. 20 birds were present by a private lake (snapped through the fence!), along with their regular accompanying hybrid Barnacle x Snow (I think) which enables me to track this flock between here and Buckenham Marshes.

Nuthatch - one calling in expected line of large oaks.

Common Water-starwort - I fished a bit out of the stream to confirm the lower leaves were oval, unnotched and opaque.

Gammarus pulex - shrimp pulled out of the stream - ID on spines, exopods, eye shape but don't know how to separate pulex from lacustris except that the latter apparently is in northern lakes, not southern streams?

Pterostichus niger  - a gert big black carabid beetle under a log, keyed

Meadow Saxifrage - just the leaves, being a bit impatient really here.

Brachydesmus superus - flat-backed millipede with male bright yellow gonopods, groovy!

Common Striped Woodlouse - fifth woodlouse of the year, typically under a log

Paranchus albipes - another carabid beetle, smaller with very pale legs, quite distinctive and keyed fairly painlessly.

A few near misses too ... a butterfly whizzed by today at lunchtime, probably a SmaTo but I'll wait until I see one a little better. And then a few mins later, a bumblebee did the same trick. I also saw a moving molehill but despite waiting, and then some careful soil removal, I still failed to see the blighter. Also probable Tetragnatha montana, Philodromus sp, Baetis rhodani/vernus (latter were mayfly larvae in stream - need a bigger scope). And repeat appearances by March Moth and Spring Usher but nothing new in the trap. And repeat of the snazzy beetle Anchomenus dorsalis, this time in the garden.

Common Striped Woodlouse Philoscia muscorum

Anchomenus dorsalis

Barnacle Geese - as wild as wild can be...

Geophilus flavus