Monday, March 5, 2018

Dalgety Bay - The Beast from the East

Well, that was quite a thing. Off work but unable, mostly, to get out. Nevertheless when I did get out it was a kiss from the princess. Not for all those weather casualties, of course, but it did bring some "patch gold" as farmland birds were forced into the tiny patch of exposed grass in my square. My first Dalgety Bay Golden Plovers showed up after not seeing one in the previous 20 years. Yellowhammers, Skylarks, Reed Bunting, Snipe. A bonanza. Churlish to complain about the lack of Little Auk, LT Duck, Scoters, Fulmar, Gannet ... and where are those Fulmars? They should be here anyway!

Here's some pack ice in the bay - very bizarre


There's really too much to cover in individual shots so here's a small collection from the kelp bed sweep

Watery wonderland

Water-loving things
One of my favourite things from yesterday was the hydroid Obelia geniculata, which even had a developing medusa like a little homunculus sitting in one of the "cups". From a Laminaria blade.

Obelia geniculata

Musical accompaniment -edit: E.S.T. Seven Days of Falling (snow). A bit of mellow genius




Numbers:
451 * fungus Laboulbenia vulgaris A fungus
452 coleoptera Pterostichus strenuus A ground beetle
453 bird Gallinago gallinago Common Snipe
454 flowering plant Chamerion angustifolium Rosebay Willowherb
455 fungus Trametes ochracea A fungus
456 lichen Hypogymnia tubulosa  A lichen
457 bird Alauda arvensis Skylark
458 * diptera Nanocladius dichromus A chironomid fly
459 bird Anthus petrosus Rock Pipit
460 bird Rissa tridactyla  Kittiwake
461 bird Uria aalge  Guillemot
462 bird Alca torda Razorbill
463 bird Pluvialis apricaria Golden Plover
464 bird Emberiza citrinella Yellowhammer
465 bird Emberiza schoeniclus Reed Bunting
466 bird Anthus pratensis Meadow Pipit
467 chordate Ascidiella scabra A sea squirt
468 alga Membranoptera alata An alga
469 alga Corallina officinalis Coral Weed
470 mollusc Cerastoderma edule Common Cockle
471 mollusc Doris pseudoargus Sea Lemon
472 cnidarian Dynamena pumila A hydrozoan
473 * annelid Eulalia viridis Greenleaf worm
474
echinoderm Ophiothrix fragilis Common Brittlestar
475 * alga Halidrys siliquosa Sea Oak
476 * alga Palmaria palmata Dulse
477 * cnidarian Obelia geniculata A hydroid
478 * alga Rhodomela lycopodioides A marine alga

4 comments:

  1. That's your new nickname, official...Mr Beast from the East ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really liking the look of that skinner trap btw. Looks like pretty good value. Wonder if they have a battery one

      Delete
    2. I think the actinic comes with a battery option. I can't say much in favour of my trap at the moment - yet to catch a single moth (or anything!) Then again, it's currently sleeting, not ideal conditions tbf.

      Delete