Monday, January 21, 2013

Birthday Treat in TQ1960

No, I didn't meet any friendly ladies in the woods (even better than that)....a Firecrest on my patch!!!! Only my 3rd record for Epsom Common in 25 years, and on my birthday too. Well chuffed with that.
Still masses of snow and ice everywhere but the sky was clear for a while so I yearticked sunshine.

Note - I've removed Bracken from my total as all I've seen is dead stems/fronds from last year. Dunno why I even counted it since I'm only doing living stuff!!! Hence my total dropped back down to 174 before today's wee jaunt.

183 - Common Gull - 1 over Stamford Green
182 - Sparrowhawk - 1 female, Epsom Common
181 - Treecreeper - 1 (heard only so far), Epsom Common
180 - Firecrest - 1 female near Christ Church, Epsom Common
179 - Dacrymyces stillatus Common Jelly Spot on pine, Epsom Common (LIFER)
178 - Blackcap - 1 male at Wells Entrance, Epsom Common
177 - Raspberry - a long-established patch on Epsom Common
176 - Discus rotundatus Round Snail - found under a log on Epsom Common
175 - Grey Heron - 2 over Stamford Green, later found on Epsom Common

I'm resolutely pretending not to notice moss, I'm really struggling to motivate myself into tackling them. Which is daft, I know. But they look a bit...scary?


3 comments:

  1. No you're right, moss are officially scary things. They make my eyes hurt - although possibly I just need a better microscope/light. I also feel intimidated by them, but I've had about 50% success rate so definitely worth a go.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I found the light on my microscope wasn't really up to scratch especially at 40x so I bought this flexible LED lamp last year: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0051T1SJC/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00 and it made a world of a difference.

      And mosses are scary but incredibly pretty under the microscope. I'm also struggling along with them and have stuck to the relatively larger-leaved ones for now.

      Delete
  2. Thanks Rob - I've been thinking about this but didn't know where to start. Mr Amazon wins again, unless I can readily find a supplier who pays their tax...

    ReplyDelete