TQ6410: Birds and the bees and a Castle through the trees ....

A few more bits and pieces over the past week followed by a great day out around the square yesterday - courtesy of the Herstmonceux Castle Estate whose 600ha are right alongside my plot and extend into adjoining 1km squares to the south and east. Was allowed to extend my search for new species around the wonderful Castle grounds (moat, lake, woods, meadows, wetland) in summer weather (21C) and to go back again yesterday evening to check out the bats. The latter were interesting but we didn't find any Daubenton's surprisingly so will have to wait for a couple of other recordings at around 19, 22 and 25khz to be analysed first. The intriguing ones were a pair flying around 5m up that didn't show up on either of the detectors.

20/4
410 - Ivy-leaved Speedwell Veronica hederifolia - on the plant bench growing out of pea-beach shingle
411 - Tapered Drone Fly Eristalis pertinax  - along the sheltered wet woodland edge with Eristalis tenax 
412 - Hoverfly  Eupeodes luniger - along the wet woodland edge with many drone flies

21/4
413 - Lesser Whitethroat - just inside the Castle grounds by the bridleway
414 - Reed Warbler – in the Castle’s little pond by the bridleway (just inside the square)
415 - Tree Bumblebee  Bombus hypnorum along bridleway by the Castle (on Ground Ivy)

22/4
416 - Lapwing – flying over the arable field just south of the Church
417 - Red Currant  Ribes rubrum - naturalised in the far corner of the rookery wood 

418 - Alder Fly  Sialis lutaria – found on a fence post on the plot - dodgy??

419 - Common Carder Bumblebee Bombus pascuorum – at the plot

23/4
420 - Cuckoo  - calling as it flew overhead near the plot

421- Red Twin-spot Carpet Xanthorhoe spadicearia – an involuntary day-flyer in dappled sunshine around the parking area 
422 - Green-veined White  Pieris napi – flew up the front driveway at the plot
423 - Field Horsetail  Equisetum arvense by the plot’s front gate
424 - Garden Bumblebee Bombus hortorum  crawling along the ground in between Ground Ivy flowers
425 - Hollyhock Rust  Puccinia malvacearum -  on Common Mallow in the wild flower bank at the plot 
426 - Fleabane  - Pulicaria dysenterica first new leaves hugging the ground by the plot’s front gate 
427 - Moth Eriocraniidae sangii  (thanks to Skev’s ID of this micro’s family/group) 

24/4

428 - Shoulder Stripe  Anticlea badiata 
429 - Engrailed Ectropis crepuscularia

25/5  Herstmonceux Castle grounds yesterday - some new flora (in no particular order) for the square:
430 - Barren Strawberry Potentilla sterilis 
431 - Hemp Agrimony   Eupatorium cannabinum
432 - Ramsons  Allium ursinum
433 - Wood Sage  Teucrium scorodonia
434 - Wood Spurge  Euphorbia amygdaloides
435 - Wood Speedwell  Veronica Montana
436 - Persian Speedwell  Veronica persica
437 - Broom  Cystus scoparius

438 - Lousewort   Pedicularis sylvatica (above)

439 - Sharp Dock   Rumex conglomeratus

440 - Lesser Periwinkle  Vinca minor

441 - Wild Wallflower Cheiranthus cheiri  (well-established growing out of the castle wall by the moat)

442 - Pellitory-of-the-wall Parietaria officinalis   (ditto)

443 - Red Valerian  Centranthus ruber  (ditto)

444 - Ground Elder Aegopodium podagraria  (at the base of the wall)

445 - Water Forget-me-not  Myosotis palustris

446 - Lemon Balm Melissa officinalis  (naturalised on the edge of some wetland by the Castle’s upper lake)

447 - Tormentil  Potentilla erecta 

448 - Rough Hawkbit  Leontodon hispidus (leaves -  and mining bee - in a dry bank)

449 - Mouse-ear Hawkweed  Hieracium pilosella (ditto)

450 - Sweet Vernal Grass  Anthoxanthum odoratum (flowers just opening up)

451 - Greater Pond Sedge  Carex ripara (ditto)

452 - Water Horsetail Equisetum fluviatile (throughout a smaller pond)

453 - Broad Buckler Fern Dryopteris austriaca

454 - Springy Turf-moss  Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus (so many others too)

455 - Weeping Willow  Salix babylonica near the upper lake (ignored all the other trees for now as part of it's a sort of arborethum .... any takers for Chinese Juniper?? Even the 300 year old Sweet Chestnuts are in a sort of a line)

Other bits and pieces around the Castle grounds yesterday:

456 - Early Mining Bee  Andrena haemorrhoa

457 - Common Pond Skater or Water Strider Gerris lacustris (on lhs in pic)

458 - Pond Skater Aquarius najas rhs in pic (seen/photo’d side by side Gerris lacustris)

459 - Water Beetle Colymbetes fuscus (almost leapt/flew on to my lap while I was scoffing a sandwich by the lake).  Don't hold out too much hope of three good beetle ID's in a row. Also tripped over another Minotaur Beetle on my plot.

460 - 24-spot Ladybird  Subcoccinella  24-punctata

461 - Brimstone  Gonepteryx rhamni  (nectaring on dandelion by the wet woodland near the upper lake)

462 - Fallow Deer Dama dama  (wild herd of eight disappeared into the misty woodland early a.m.)

463 - Pigmy Shrew  Sorex minutus  (foraging in and out of leaf litter)

464 - Common Carp Cyprinus carpio (surfacing in the Castle’s upper lake as well as the moat)

464 species ..... and a few more things still to sort out ..... including another visit soon!

p.s.  the Castle grounds' bird list on the day was 44 species (incl. the four Egyptian Geese which are still there) ..... but nothing new yesterday for the square's list .... which is currently on 80 species.